Everyone wanted to lip sync in drag when DeMarcio Slaughter started emceeing the main stage at Denver's annual PrideFest two decades ago.
"It was 15 drag queens out of 17 performers," he remembered.
That history is one reason why this year's talent pool stood out to him so much. A significant portion of the 21 people who tried out for the event's Center Stage last week did more than silently move their mouths. They sang. They spun in midair. One did a Celtic dance. Another slayed a violin.
"The live talent was something we haven't seen with such consistency," he said. "Maybe the medium is changing."
A few performers were offered spots on the big stage, in June at Civic Center Park. Others will be courted, and possibly trained, for the main event. Those not picked can always come back next year; they received a warm welcomes however things ended.
"Everyone supported everyone," Slaughter told us.
More than this one show, Slaughter is building a rolodex of talent that he knows will do the local LGBTQ+ community proud.
Meet the people who tried out, and learn why they want a spot on Center Stage:
"Music is a language," Preston Faye told us after he performed his song, "Fly."
"It's something we all bond with and connect with on an intimate and personal level, so I just want to spread my music out there – love, light and joy to all that are here," he said, also revealing his drive to win a spot onstage. "I will murder someone to get this."
"Denver's kind of like, for our state, the pinnacle. It allows me to be more in front of our community. Being one of the few R&B queer acts in the state, I would definitely love to be on that stage and gain more support," Dominique "Dminq" Robbins, who grew up in Colorado Springs, said. "It would mean the world to me."
"I've been performing all my life," Elijah Bleu told us. "I've always wanted to perform on a bigger stage.
"When I was younger I didn't know this was an option," Sophia Eliana said after performing her autobiographical song, "Kissing Girls in Church Parking Lots."
"Being able to be out, to be able to kiss girls and have it be the real deal – and growing up I didn't have immediate role models in my life," she added. "I can be an [inspiration for] someone that's younger than me – and I'm young – but someone thats a pinch younger than me and say, 'It's ok, it's cool, it's sparkly, it's beautiful and it f****** rocks."
"I would like to be on the stage, because as young aerialists, people don't understand how much skill we have, and I think it's cool to show people you can do anything," Kaylee Whitney said after she and Amelie Hobson suspended themselves in midair before the crowd.
When they finished, Slaughter announced they'd been granted a space on the PrideFest stage.
"I am so happy," Hobson said when they heard the news. "We were so nervous before, but I am so excited to have done that. We’re actually from Greeley, so we drove an hour here. It was amazing."
"It's what i was born to do," Suga told us after performing her song, "Intensions."
"It's about the music. I live and breathe music," she said. "I love to write, so that's why I love to be out there. And performing is part of giving back, too."
"I love Pride, Pride makes me happy," Marcie Smith said. "I want to share that with people."
Paige and Rayne, who declined to give their last names, said they just love to be onstage.
"I never ever got to do Pride before," Paige said. "I came out being bi two years ago, and I'm 32, so I really want to be able to perform."
Gila Moonstar told us she's performed a lot, including a recent stint as a "resident drag queen" on a cruise ship. Still, she said this audition was different.
"I really want to perform for my community and my city," she said. "It would be more personal, and it would be more of the community that I grew up in and helped make me."
"This piece in particular was something I really worked on, with all my heart and soul. I want to touch people's hearts in a way that has helped me through a lot of things," Lunar Eclitoris told us after they left everything on the stage with a dance to Sia's "Chandelier."
"Music and dance can almost be therapy in a way," they added. "You are seen."
"I want to perform on this stage because it's a stage where I feel I'll be accepted fully. I want to be an example of queer greatness, queer excellence and black excellence, and showing that at Pride, a place where I'm proud to be myself," comedian Shanel Hughes said after her stand-up set. "This is my first time auditioning, so I'm feeling like its alignment."
"We love the inclusivity and the acceptance of Pride. When we performed the first time [at Center Stage], we felt the positive community and we just love being part of this," Ashley Monroe, founder of The Rhinettes dance troupe, said after their "Barbie" inspired set. "We represent love, equality and inclusiveness."
"I just came out about five years ago, and it's just been the most amazing experience," Bettie Belladonna said after her gravity-defying dance number. "The power and the energy and the love that Pride represents is just fantastic, and it would be an honor to perform."
If she does land a spot on Center Stage, she'll get to perform on her birthday.
"I think it's important to be loud and present. Being a trans woman and being in this industry of performing in drag, being able to express myself and show myself its so important," Poptart Sexton told us. "It'd just mean the world if I could show how much being queer means to me."
"Pride is everything," My'Stroe told us after she sang onstage. "It's very welcoming – the vibes. And I just love performing in front of my community."
"I want to perform at Pride to show that we have variety," Vio the Violinist said after he finished playing Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" on his instrument.
The variety he brought paid off: Slaughter invited him to Center Stage moments after he finished.
"I want to celebrate all of the people, and it's just such a joyous occasion," C.L. Fondal said. "I'm just really excited to possibly be a part of it."
"I want people to see drag that is not all RuPaul's Drag Race. I want people to see drag that runs the gamut of gender and embraces sexuality and sensualitiy that's much broader than overt displays of sex appeal," Boyish Charm said after it dressed up as a vampire to perform The Count's song from Sesame Street. "I love that, but it's not who I am. So I want people to see people like me, and see that theres a place for them in our community."
"I always have dreamed of being on such a big stage," Jane Doe, who is 13 years old, said after their audition. "This is the perfect momet to get my drag out there so people can really acknowledge the art of Jane Doe."
"It's very important for me to be in the queer community," Blaine Donovan said after his intense Celtic dance performance, explaining a bit about the character he embodied that evening. "A lot of us aren't given the opportunity to be ourselves, so [I am] a demon within us that's craving to be let free. By the time it comes out, it gives us the opportunity to celebrate and be free together as a community."
"[I want] to be a representative for other trans people, honestly, and wanting to be seen myself and show people that trans people can also be exactly what they want to be," Jordin Dearinger said after gracing the stage with his voice.
"I love performing and I love people to feel my energy," Enoc Lopez said after he crooned for the audience.
"I love making people smile and bringing the magic," Patricia del Rosario added, the last act of the night, as he strutted around offering to "make a man" out of everybody in the audience.
Denver PrideFest takes place on June 22 and 23 at Civic Center Park. Slaughter and anybody who made the cut will appear onstage at the Greek Amphitheatre.
