Ariel Rimm Finds Himself in the Spotlight

At FAU’s 2018 drag show, Ariel Rimm opened with his own version of Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime performance. Elevated above the stage, he looked out at a packed auditorium that included friends, family and colleagues from the law firm where he worked.

“I’ll never forget how accomplished I felt that night,” he said in written responses to OutFAU.

For Ariel, the memory captures what drag has given him: a place to perform, a community to belong to and the confidence to embrace himself.

He began doing drag around 2009 or 2010 while pursuing his associate’s degree. A full-time college student who wasn’t doing much theater, he wanted a creative outlet.

“Drag was an outlet to take that back and create a space for the creative in me to live,” he said.

His name started with a childhood favorite, Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Ariel supplied the princess reference; Rimm supplied the punchline. He is particular about the spelling: two M’s.

His performances combine fashion and comedy, drawing on the pop culture he grew up with. The Spice Girls are a major influence, alongside figures such as Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.

“I am fashion, and I’m also in on the joke,” he said.

FAU became part of his story after an earlier college plan proved too expensive. He started his bachelor’s degree at UCF but couldn’t afford to keep living in Orlando. Moving home, he applied to FAU’s theater program and found a department that eased his nerves about starting over.

“The theater department quickly erased all of those fears and created a home for me at FAU,” he said.

He first performed at the university’s drag show in spring 2011, before officially becoming an FAU student. He later earned his bachelor’s degree in theater, building a connection to the university that continued through years of performances.

Beyond the stage, Ariel describes a harder process of learning to accept himself. He felt that people treated his interest in drag as evidence that he was too effeminate or less credible as a man. Performing helped him reconcile the parts of himself that drew criticism with those audiences celebrated.

“Drag gave me the courage to love and understand every part of me,” he said.

He also describes losing work amid Florida’s political efforts to restrict drag. Ariel said his bookings had included university events, bars, restaurants and theaters, with opportunities ranging from lavender graduations to makeup demonstrations.

“Everything that I had built up in my career was gone within months,” he said, attributing those losses to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s policies affecting LGBTQ communities.

For an FAU student nervous about trying drag, his advice is direct: pursue what inspires you.

“I never want to wake up with regret,” he said. “Go after your dreams and do what inspires you.”

Angie Ovahness Brings the Energy and the Heart

When Angie Ovahness thinks of a performance she will never forget, she returns to the talent portion of Miss Noche Latina. The song was “Last Dance,” and she remembers letting the music move through her.

That memory offers a glimpse of the performer who describes her drag in four words: “High energy pure entertainment.”

Ovahness began performing 14 years ago at a Thursday competition show at Azucar nightclub, she said in written responses to OutFAU. Her influences include Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland.

Her name grew out of a joke among friends. They called her Big Ang, a reference to the personality from “Mob Wives,” which inspired Angie. Ovahness came from ballroom.

For college audiences, she brings a desire to feel connected as well as to entertain. She described those performances as a reminder that she and others are loved and appreciated, rather than merely tolerated. That support reminds her they are not facing their struggles alone.

Behind the energy is work she wishes more people recognized. Asked what audiences misunderstand about drag, Ovahness pointed to the time performers put into entertaining people and producing their shows.

She also described losing places to do that work. Asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis’s efforts to restrict drag in Florida, Ovahness expressed frustration and said performers had lost spaces where they previously worked. For her, the purpose of performing is to spread love and joy.

That generosity carries into how she describes herself away from a performance. She wants readers to know she is loving and caring, someone who wants the best for everyone.

Her advice to an FAU student considering drag acknowledges that finding a place onstage takes effort. She encourages beginners to discover what suits them, keep developing it and resist letting others discourage them.

“It’s not easy,” she said. “Find what works for you and perfect it and don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way.”

For Velvet Lenore, the Connection Outlasts the Show

Velvet Lenore likes to say a few words at the end of a performance. One audience member’s response has stayed with her ever since.

After a show, a man approached her and said her speech had changed his mind about taking his own life, she recalled in written responses to OutFAU. They are still friends today.

The encounter helps explain why Lenore cares about what an audience takes home after the music stops. She wants people to leave feeling that they can keep going and be themselves.

Lenore began doing drag in 1997, learning from her drag mother, Melissa St. John. She also credits performers Erica Norell, Tiffany Arieagus and Nikki Adams among her influences, describing the artists who came before her as essential to the performer she became.

Her name carries another personal connection. Lenore was the name of her first serious boyfriend’s grandmother, who loved her, she said.

Onstage, she describes herself as energetic and comedic. Dancers help her turn performances into something resembling the music videos that inspire them.

“They help me bring music videos to life, and that’s what I’m known for,” she said.

Her connection to FAU runs through her chosen family. People she considers family attended the university and call her “mother.” Performing there gave them a chance to see her onstage while she watched them grow into adulthood.

For Lenore, a college audience offers an opportunity to encourage young people who may be struggling to find their footing. She hopes a performance can help even one student feel able to keep pursuing what they believe in.

That sense of purpose also shapes what she wishes people understood about drag. She points to its charity work and the comfort audiences find in shows, describing performances as a source of emotional support.

But she says Florida’s political climate has made her own sense of security harder to maintain. Asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis’s efforts to restrict drag, Lenore described feeling less protected and more watchful about her safety. She also expressed sadness about losing opportunities to reach younger audiences, whom she sees as especially receptive to messages about courage and self-expression.

At 54, she said, she still feels she is fighting to be herself.

Her advice to students considering drag reflects that experience. Starting takes nerve, but she wants them to give themselves permission to try.

“Put your big girl panties on,” she said.

The point is to get out there, experience life and enjoy the chance to perform. Her encouragement arrives with the same insistence she brings to her message from the stage:

“Be free, be free, you only get to live once.”

Kat Wilderness Finds Her Confidence Onstage

Kat Wilderness took her first name from someone whose confidence she hoped to find in herself.

Before coming out as transgender, she watched a trans YouTuber named Kat. Choosing that name for her own drag persona was a way to reach for the self-assurance she admired. Wilderness came to her in a dream.

“It’s not really a last name but it stuck!” she said in written responses to OutFAU.

Her stage experience began long before drag. Wilderness performed in local musical theater productions starting at age 6, then began doing drag at 21 in Port St. Lucie.

Her style draws on the pop divas of the early 2000s, especially Destiny’s Child, the Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguilera.

“Put them all in a blender and that’s me!” she said.

One performance that tested her abilities was a 15-minute Beyoncé “Renaissance” medley at Pride in Miami, complete with an outfit change halfway through. She remembers being proud of pushing herself to pull it off.

At FAU, she finds another reason to push: the audience. Wilderness counts performances at the university among her favorite moments, crediting students’ energy with encouraging the queens to work harder.

She also wants audiences to recognize the range of talent transgender performers bring to the stage.

“Trans drag queens can be more than just a pretty face,” she said. “WE CAN DO IT ALL!”

Asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis’s efforts to restrict drag in Florida, Wilderness emphasized her determination to continue performing alongside her peers.

For an FAU student considering drag, she offers encouragement and a reminder to stay grounded.

“Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” she said. “Never let your ego take the wheel and have fun!”

Readers can follow her at @katwilderness for upcoming performances.

Rianna Petrone: Artistry With an Attitude

Rianna Petrone was performing at a Miami club in 2018 when one of her inspirations walked in: Gloria Estefan.

“And tipped me down!” Petrone recalled in written responses to OutFAU.

After 19 years in drag, she still remembers that encounter. Her reasons for starting were equally memorable: fascination with the artistry and, she admitted, “to piss off my boyfriend.”

Her first name came together just before a performance. Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” was playing, she hadn’t chosen a name and she was about to go onstage. She chose Rianna.

Today, Petrone describes her style as a mix of old school and new school, combining dancing, high energy and character illusion. Her influences span music and acting, from Lady Gaga and Madonna to Meryl Streep, Kelly Clarkson, Reba and Estefan.

Having performed at FAU and other Florida colleges, she sees campus shows as opportunities to introduce students to creativity and artistic expression. For her, that exposure belongs in the experience of learning and growing up.

She wishes audiences understood the work beyond the clothes.

“Drag is entertainment, drag is Art, drag is my expression,” she said.

Asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis’s efforts to restrict drag, Petrone said the political climate has affected her work and sense of safety. She described fewer welcoming establishments and discomfort about being visibly in drag in public.

For students considering their own debut, her advice is to seek support rather than rule themselves out.

“Never say I can’t,” she said. “Always ask for help.”

Offstage, Petrone is a dog lover with interests in comic books, video games, science fiction and anime. She lists HG Roosters and Hullabaloo in West Palm Beach, along with Pub on the Drive and Alibi in Wilton Manors, among her performance venues.

TP Lords: From Ballroom to the FAU Stage

Born and raised in Miami, TP Lords started performing at 16 in the ballroom scene, where groups called houses compete for trophies, bragging rights and sometimes cash. That’s where she found her stage name. Lords came from the House of Lords, and TP was a nickname the house gave her for the range of talents she brought to the floor. It stands for Total Package.

Ballroom opened the door to nightclub work. Lords began performing professionally at 19 and has spent 23 years in the business, according to a biography she shared by text. Along the way, she won titles including Miss Florida at Large, Miss Latina World, Ultimate Miami Drag Queen and Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride.

Music and fashion inspire her work. What she loves about drag, she said in the text, is the freedom to express herself without having to follow a set of rules.

In an earlier story about a Pride Month dance party she was set to host at Respectable Street, Lords recalled performing outdoors at Hullabaloo when Clematis Street was closed to traffic after the pandemic. The performances eventually moved inside, which suited her just fine.

“Now we perform inside, but I prefer to be inside anyway, because it’s South Florida and the heat is not forgiving on drag shows,” Lords said in that interview.

Her work has also taken her to Florida Atlantic University. From 2021 through 2024, Lords performed in FAU’s drag show alongside Rianna Petrone, Velvet Lenore, Kat Wilderness and Ariel Rimm.

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