Campion Ballroom’s “backstage” area—a large, fluorescent-lit room covered in stainless steel surfaces piled high with colorful costumes—was full of drag queens, kings, creatures and “things” chatting excitedly in hushed tones and preparing for their performances in Seattle University’s Annual Drag Show Tuesday, April 28, 2026.
Put on by Seattle U’s Triangle Club, the drag show is a longstanding tradition. This year’s theme, Heroes and Villains, inspired every type of performance—from Ana Erotika’s lip-sync and impressively bendy dance routine to mix of “What You Need” by Ashley Sienna and “Halloweenie IV: Innards” by Ashnikko, to Richi Luvv’s dramatic lip-sync to “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga dressed as Raven from Teen Titans, sporting a long, glossy, purple wig. Performers were a combination of Seattle U and Cornish students, as well as other Washington-based queens.
Ashton Larkin, as his drag persona Ember Royale Touche, lip-synced to “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette, sweeping the audience into her impassioned and energetic lament, eyes glowing under the beam of the spotlight.
“Ember is a mix of everything that young Ashton would wanna be if he had lived his life as a beautiful goth woman,” Larkin said. “It’s a big tribute to myself and being a trans man and the femininity that comes with trying to transition at a young age. She’s like a love letter to my soul.”
Vincent lipsyncing to “DANCE” by Slayyyter with extreme concentration and emotion.
Dr. Dude singing “Goddess” by Laufey in minimal clothing. His act involved slowly removing pieces of a decadent gown he made out of a table cloth.
Ana Erotika poses for the introduction of their performance.
Richi Luvv dressed as Raven from the show Teen Titans.
This was far from Larkin’s first rodeo as both a drag queen and drag mentor. The Everett-based queen, who has performed at over forty pride events since he started drag, is a drag mother for the Haus of Royale—not a literal house, but a close-knit group of drag performers, all of whom are trans. Members of the house support one another both personally and through their drag careers, sharing everything from performance opportunities to wigs to emotional support. Larkin wasn’t planning on “adopting” any more than her two drag children—until she saw Second-year Anthropology and Sociology major Mio Dacanay, performing as her drag persona, Holly Cow last year.
“I met her and I was immediately drawn to her,” Larkin said. “She was everything. For so young, she was so incredibly talented and had that spark that I had when I started out with drag. And I wanted to foster that… I cannot sing her praises enough.”
This drag show, which was largely planned and organized by Dacany, marks the one-year anniversary of Dacany’s first drag performance at last year’s Wicked-themed Seattle U drag show. Holly Cow was the evening’s host—kicking off the night in a glittering golden gown she herself made, with a lip sync performance to The Diva Dance from the movie The Fifth Element. She changed into three more costumes to perform different numbers throughout the night, all of which she either made from scratch, borrowed or modified from thrifted clothes.
Her performance to “Black Cat” by Janet Jackson—which she specifically included because her mother, a huge Janet Jackson fan, was in the audience—had the crowd in uproarious applause. In an all-black latex catsuit, Dacany made sure the cat was out of the bag and on the stage, plucking dollar bills out of the hands of agog onlookers.
Dacany also hosts a weekly drag race watch party featuring drag performances at Tailwind cafe, which gives drag artists under 21 the opportunity to perform in a non-bar setting.
Midwife Crysis as The Riddler lipsynching to the B-69’s cover of “Toxic” by Britney Spears.
Vincent taking off their cape to transition to the second part of their performance.
Holly Cow mid act and in the zone.
Dr.Dude fully dressed in their outfit during their performance.
“I’ve looked busted before and I will again because I try new things,” Dacany said. “I’ve performed chopped numbers because I’ve tried new things before, and I will again. Don’t be afraid of doing it, because no one remembers it except for you.”
The night’s performers had a variety of artistic backgrounds. Eclipse Marks, a second-year animation major at Cornish, started out exploring cosplay and burlesque. Marks was thrilled to perform as Purple Guy, the main villain of the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise, crawling around the stage and shining a flashlight into the nooks and crannies of the Campion ballroom catwalk.
Marks is grateful for the encouragement and support of her drag community, particularly Dacany.
“Respectfully, I’m an attention whore,” Marks said. “It feels so nice being out on the stage. I was like, ‘Okay, I haven’t done anything like this before.’ I saw it as an opportunity for growth.”
Vincent posing at the end to close out their performance.
Richi Luvv in their element during their performance.
Holly Cow performing to “Holding Out For a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler. The closing performance of the annual Seattle University Drag show included a surprise body-slam of an unsuspecting member of Triangle Club!
Along with Dacany, Masee Anderson, a fourth-year forensic psychology major and president of Triangle Club, played a large part in organizing the event and transforming the Campion Ballroom into a dazzling and decadent comic book come to life. She was eager to express her appreciation for Triangle Club as a space for queer community on campus, and encouraged anyone interested to get involved.
“For the young queer people, I want it to be so very clear right now. You are where you’re meant to be,” Anderson said. “You are who you are, who you’re supposed to be. And you will always succeed in your life if you believe you’ll succeed. Everyone says it’s delusion, but you need to be delusional until it’s the truth.”
To get involved with Triangle Club, check out the Pride Link, located in the MOSAIC Center, or keep an eye on the Triangle Club Instagram for upcoming events and meetings.