Femboys and gentlethems, ladies and trans men, queer people of Kenyon College, welcome to the 2026 Kenyon College Drag Show! 

That was the cheerful introduction that attendees of the Horn Gallery’s semesterly drag show received on Friday night from emcees Mihir Joshi Lennox ’26 and Zach Eisenman ’27. Spanning roughly an hour, the show featured 14 acts and raised money for Black Queer & Intersectional Collective, an organization providing protection and support to Black queer individuals in Ohio and beyond. 

The show kicked off with a bang as Jesse Hosek ’29 and Claire Cameron ’28 took the stage to reenact scenes from The Sopranos, to the soundtrack of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” overlaid with sound bites from the show. The audience’s energy was palpable as hoots and hollers erupted as the drama unfolded onstage. 

Later, another duo, “Eunhye Undead” (Isaac Yu ’28) and “Vanilla Coke” (Arden Kraunz-Brown ’28) found each other amid the pulsating pop of Ayesha Erotica’s “Where You At.” The show was full of firsts for Kraunz-Brown: Not only had she never done drag before, but she was able to explore her own identity in an entirely new way. “You can become a different person when you go onstage, and … it doesn’t feel like a disguise. It doesn’t feel like you’re hiding. It feels more like, ‘Look at this new, fun person,’” she said in an interview with the Collegian. “I think it’s really important for Kenyon to host things that provide students a chance to sort of experiment with their identity, experiment with who they are.” 

“Let’s remember to stay loud, stay queer and to be undeniably present,” Joshi Lennox, who performed as “Masala Kumari” in addition to emceeing, declared before performances began. Many participants were certainly mindful of that message. Event organizer and performer Kendall Sommers ’26 has been involved with the Horn’s drag shows since their inception in the spring of 2024. Sommers brought a vision to life for their final performance in a scene with Aimee Halpin ’26 where the two fought and eventually bonded over a fabulous fur coat to Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.” They wore matching patterned shirts, navy track pants and cropped wigs, and told their story through energetic choreography, bouncing back and forth across the stage before synchronizing as each donned their own coat.

As one of the show’s organizers, Sommers hopes that its legacy will live on even after they graduate. “The plan is for it to continue semesterly until forever,” they said. As the show has evolved, organizers have streamlined the planning process, requiring performers to attend just three meetings to prepare and opening participation to the entire campus to increase accessibility.

Despite limited time together, Sommers still appreciates the bonds that develop in these practice sessions. “I cried a little bit at the end when we did the group bow,” Sommers said. “It’s funny because the group composition of who [performs] always changes, but it’s always so beautiful to come together at the end to do that bow. Because even though we’ve only been together for a couple meetings, everyone is so supportive of each other, and we have so much fun. … It just made me really excited that the event will be passed down and continue to happen.” 

However, the show was not only significant because it was Sommers’ last. They believe that philanthropy is inherently intertwined with the art of drag itself, and emphasized fundraising as central to the event’s core. “I think it’s really important to be supporting our communities right now, especially because at Kenyon, we’re in such a bubble that … in the broader world, it’s really important for Kenyon students to stay connected, and I think financially is a great way to do that,” they said. 

The meaning of the night was not lost on its audience. “We’re in the middle of Ohio. So I feel like it’s not just for the arts and culture part of it, but also for the fact that it’s queer culture, and there’s so little of that where we are,” Faedra Hose ’27, one of the show’s attendees, said. “My friends talked a lot about how [the Ohio House is] trying to pass another anti-drag bill that’s going to turn into an anti-trans bill. … So the whole aspect of continuing to do these things [matters], because that’s how you resist.” 

When reflecting on her experience performing, Kraunz-Brown also touched on the importance of the College’s flourishing drag culture. “It’s important for Kenyon to host these things, keep it alive, preserve it within the bubble … because if we don’t, and it’s being harmed on the outside, then suddenly it’s just going to be gone,” she said. “We can do what we can legislatively to fight against the drag ban, but doing things like the drag show, it seems small, it seems like one night, but it’s so much more, and it keeps it alive.”

Editor-in-Chief Dorothy Yaqub ’26 participated in the drag show.