Salons participating in Straight to Diva are Wild Orchid, Nava Hair, Hair on Earth and Bloom Hair and Body Studio, which Ormandy manages.
Each salon is tasked with transforming their contestant into a drag queen extraordinaire. The transition includes pantyhose, stage makeup and a diva attitude, to name a few.
“It’s going to be interesting to see what these straight guys look like when we turn them into women.”
Straight to Diva kicks off tomorrow night, May 17, at 9 p.m. during OUT Jasper’s Loud and Proud social at the Whistle Stop. The four contestants will be introduced to the crowd “and we’ve got a couple things up our sleeves for the candidates to do that evening,” said Ormandy.
“Then it’s a month-long event and we’ll be doing an update on each contestant for the paper once a week.” Updates may include subjects like learning to walk in high heels or trying on a bra for the first time.
The four men will have time to prepare their act for the June 14 finale, also at the Whistle Stop. “It’s going to be insane.”
Dressed head to toe in drag, contestants will lip-sync to a song of their choice. “Putting everything on to look like a woman and then having to perform as one is going to be a test in itself,” said Ormandy.
No one knows that better than Ormandy. His drag diva alter ego is none other than Jasper’s own Toni Lester Van Blam, so his contestant will benefit from having a mentor that knows what it takes to perform on stage.
It’s up to each contestant to create his own costume. “Already my guy has some great, funky ideas. It’s going to be a good time.” The men also have to create a diva alter ego.
Voting is based on audience applause and there will be secret judges in the crowd.
Attending the event not only benefits OUT Jasper’s fundraiser, it also supports the men during their journey from straight to diva. And the men will need a lot of support because becoming a drag queen requires more than a physical transition, said Ormandy.
“If they want to be a good diva, they have to really work their ass off because it’s not easy to throw on a pair of shoes and walk down a runway.”
