As I sat in the Levin Ballroom waiting for the Drag Show to start, I didn't know what to expect. Was it going to be some sort of drag fashion show? Would people be in drag and sing? Would there be a cappella groups in drag performing their songs? These questions ran through my head as I fidgeted in my seat, impatient and thinking about the mountain of homework and reading I had to complete afterward. Finally, the show started, and quite soon all thoughts of worrisome homework had slipped from my mind. The Drag Show was a raunchy and entertaining affair, shocking the whole audience into laughter more times than can be counted.The show was hosted by a duo dressed in drag, Simon Zahn '12 and Kaamila Mohamed '11 (also known as Jessica and Derrell). There were four basic main acts that night: Derrell performed a rap song as Jessica danced with him; Jessica herself performed a solo lip-sync/dance to the song "Baby Got Front" by Jackie Beat, a parody of the famous song "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mixalot; and finally, a group of girls dressed in drag performed a couple of songs, "If You're Into It" (Mary Dunn '12, Rachael Pass '13, Leah Pearlstein '12 and Aviva Paiste '13), and "Business Time" (Paiste, Halee Brown '13 and Mariah Henderson '12) by the comedy folk duo The Flight of the Conchords from New Zealand. Every show had a "wow" aspect to it; the very fact that the performers were doing all of these sexual things onstage in drag was making me laugh and giggle nervously, but each act had a unique shocking factor. I commended their bravery, but to me one act stood out as the most impressive.

Michael Castellanos '10, hereafter Sasha LaBeija, performed four songs by arguably the biggest and most popular pop star of the day, Lady Gaga. Incorporating some sound clips and the plotline of the hit movie series Kill Bill by the eccentric Quentin Tarantino, Sasha created a fluid connection between the two very different media of pop songs and hit films. I had some time to talk to her about the show.

JustArts: How did you think of what to perform? What did you do to come up with it?

Sasha LaBeija: I mean, I just like coming up with stories. So essentially, I knew that I wanted to do Lady Gaga because she's kind of the hottest pop star out there right now. Doing her would essentially allow me to do anything I wanted because she's so crazy.

JA: How did the Drag Show become a tradition for first-years? Do you think that some first-years might have been a bit shocked by the show?

SL: Not at all. I mean, I think it's a great facet of the Brandeis community. It's funny because it was so well attended, but I don't think many people even know about it. I think there's a sense of fun and a little bit of joust, joust in a sense of making fun of the fact that we're having people come to see Brandeis, and an aspect of Brandeis that is not necessarily highlighted all the time. And also, it's just a fun show. So even if it's a little off the beaten path, it's still a nice, welcoming, warm environment and just a fun thing for them to see. And I think it's been a tradition since before I got here.

JA: Was there something you wanted to tell people in the audience?

SL: I mean, I don't think there is something inherently that I want to say or I want to prove, but I think that for one, I want people to come and have a good time. As a performer, that's one of my main goals. But also maybe, in a subtle way I guess, a message of acceptance, as hokey as that sounds, not to judge a book by its cover and not to take everything at face value.

Be sure to catch Sasha again at the Culture X show, where she will close the first act with a special original performance.