College Offers Drag Queen Make-Up Course
 

submitted by dadaist


MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - An Australian college has introduced a drag queen make-up course to meet rising demand for the skill to hide beard shadows and to enter the glitzy glamour of the drag world.

The short course, targeted at occasional drag queens, cross dressers and make-up students, has also sparked wider community interest from those who want to know the basics about the thick, theatrical style make-up.

"Even the quietest, shyest person really comes to life," make-up artist and Swinburne University of Technology lecturer Michael Schifferle told Reuters on Wednesday.

"It is a way of transforming yourself. I think there is a suppressed
performer in everybody."

Students will have the opportunity to don wigs and their favorite dresses at the end of the make-up course as they take on their complete drag queen persona.

Schifferle said cross-dressing movies such as "The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" had sparked interest in drag queens, but they were part of history over thousands of years.

"It is a serious art form, but it is a bit of fun too, as all make-up should be," he said.