On Thursday, March 13, the third-annual Wendy Babcock Drag Show exploded onto the stage in the JCR, covering all present in glitter, mascara, and Bambino. This year’s incarnation was hilarious, inspiring, and – most importantly – entertaining.
The night kicked off with a video produced by Quinn Harris of Mock Trial fame. The film documented some goings-on in the first-floor men’s room, including the application of makeup, some undefined but undoubtedly scandalous activity involving three performers packed into a stall, and no small amount of footage of one student spinning tassels attached to his nipples. What a wonderful thing.
Kudos also to Dan Akinbosede. “My Humps” is over four minutes long, and you danced the whole thing with such conviction that we were all transfixed. You’re a national treasure.
The faculty contingent at the Drag Show has grown steadily larger each year. 2014’s offerings were stellar. Lady Bhabha returned to join the Mock Trial Band for a performance of “Karma Chameleon”, a distinctly more retro choice than last year’s performance, and one that doubtless introduced an entire generation of law students to Culture Club.
Professors Girard and Murphy also took to the stage for the year’s second homegrown Osgoode performance of “Wilkommen” from Cabaret. This number then gave way to Lisa Durnford and Rebecca Ying (who was, in her own words, “dressed as a man dressed as a woman”), the evenings hosts, who took to the stage and promptly engaged in some saucy ribbing of Dean Sossin and Assistant Dean Mya Bulwa, both of whom appeared to be enjoying themselves. The continual support of Osgoode’s faculty for this worthwhile event couldn’t be more clear (in 2013, Dean Sossin donned a feather boa and recorded a message for the audience when he could not attend the show in person).
Little did I know, however, that another faculty member was hiding in plain sight, waiting for his time to shine. In the second act, Mock Trial Band alumnus Tom Wilson (nice legs, as usual) accompanied the stunning Professor Bruce Ryder. On the one night of the year when Ozzies show off their absolute best in the field of makeup art, Bruce Ryder was positively transformed. There are no words. Tom accompanied the Professor in a mesmerizing cover of “Satisfaction”, though he never did sing the chorus. What a tease.
The Mock Trial Band were typically skilled, and they deserve our compliments, even if Mike Sheps spent a significant portion of the night asking people to touch his chest. Nonetheless, MTB was not involved in all of the night’s performances. Sileny Chamorro threw down a remix of a timeless Sir Mix-a-Lot track entitled “Baby Got (Respect) Back”. Better than the original, judging from the reaction of the audience. In my experience, it is an easy thing to make an unfiltered political statement, but its effectiveness fades. On the other hand, through some unfathomable quirk of human perception, subtly placing your statement behind the veneer of satire somehow gives it longevity and, ironically, makes it seem more true. Sileny was not the only one to embrace this phenomenon at this year’s drag show. For the second time this year, Justin D’Aloisio donned a costume and a funny voice, this time in a send up of Trinity Western University’s proposed law school.
Here’s a newsflash to law students across Canada advocating against TWU’s proposal: your message is stale. Public communications isn’t about who’s right or wrong; it’s about getting people to listen. That may not be fair, but it’s the truth. The legalistic and academic rhetoric that has characterized the campaign against TWU to date is directed at – you guessed it – lawyers and academics. If you want to convince British Columbians and Canadians that this proposal is a farce, you have to stop trying to make people afraid of TWU’s law school, and start trying to make people think it’s funny. Funny beats fear, and Justin D’Aloisio in a wig beats an op-ed any day of the week. Buy that man a drink.
On another serious note, this year’s program included a screening of a CBC feature on Wendy Babcock, a few words from Osgoode alumni who knew her, and a slide show of pictures from her time at Osgoode. Obviously, not everyone takes away the same inspiration from Wendy’s story, and I can’t speak to what anyone else learned from her. But I can say that, as far as I can tell, one truly tragic thing about Wendy’s passing is that she wasn’t able to continue working as an advocate. The fact that she derived a great deal of her own happiness from working to benefit others in myriad ways is the hallmark of a good and satisfied lawyer. Hers was a loss for the entire profession.
This seems like an appropriate time to mention and thank Louise Lafleur. She worked tirelessly from two continents for months to put the show together, and I must say that she deserves a great deal of credit for the quality of the show. Sometimes it’s disappointing when people graduate and go to the Netherlands. This is one of those times. Nonetheless, there is a certain someone in Haarlem who is not so disappointed, and was even good enough to perform by video for a bunch of people she’s never met. That was cool.
You know what else was cool? Mike Ashley’s eyelashes. They were so long that I’m sure they brushed Adam Del Gobbo’s face ever so gently as Mike, in a brilliant turn as Goldilocks, climbed into “Papa Bear’s” lap as the curtain fell on one of the most entertaining skits of the evening.
Also deserving of mention were the Jets vs Sharks-style boy band dance battle, and Jeremy Fisher’s return to the stage as one Roberta Ford, a highly promising mayoral candidate. All in all, this year’s Drag Show left me feeling elated and inspired for the entire evening, and left me feeling like a big bag of dirt for the entire following day. I choose to blame this on too many “Babcocks”, the weaponized shooter developed by the crafty folks behind the JCR bar that tasted primarily of After Eights.
Oh, and the Mancers were there. You all know how I feel about them.