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A night filled with dancing, storytelling, prizes and most importantly drag — last weekend, Pitt’s Nordy’s Place welcomed students to “Drag Me to Bingo,” an event sponsored by the Office of Inclusion and Belonging. The evening was hosted by the alluring Mrs. Kasha Davis, whose spirited personality gave way to a fun night for the students in attendance.
Mrs. Kasha Davis is a drag queen from Scranton, Pennsylvania and is well-known for her appearances on season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race and season eight of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. As host of the bingo event, alongside her husband, Davis took command of the stage for the entire evening with musical performances, her iconic dad jokes and stories from her time on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The event consisted of five rounds of bingo, with each round’s winner receiving a prize. However, the evening was about much more than bingo, as Davis made her time on stage interactive for everyone. In between each round of bingo, Davis had an activity for the audience to participate in, including creating drag queen names, lip-syncing to Ariana Grande and a dance party in which everyone was encouraged to get up and bust out their best moves.
Davis’ showmanship was at the forefront of her drag bingo performance. She shared funny stories and jokes but was also able to connect with the audience through her personal life stories, like the reality of her time on television and her sobriety journey. Davis discussed her discovery of wanting to be a drag queen and how it helped her realize who she was. Davis shared she was inspired by a performance by Miss Richfield 1981, realizing she wanted to take part in drag.
“[Miss Richfield] sings live, and she storytells, and I was like, ‘I want to be a drag queen. I love what she’s doing, now I get it,’” Davis said. “Because I was able to take the theater aspect and the dressing aspect and find this character that we built.”
The organizer of the event, Maggie Calvert, a program coordinator in the Office of Inclusion and Belonging, was responsible for bringing in Davis to host the event. With a combination of her past involvements and her love for the drag star, it was an easy decision to have Davis host this event.
“Mrs. Kasha Davis is the Chief Entertainment Officer of Drag Me to the Stage, LLC. I worked with the operations partner, Tim, last year for a different event,” Calvert said. “He reached out about bringing Kasha to Pitt, and I’m a huge fan of hers and love the positivity she puts into the world.”
As a program coordinator, Calvert works to create events that are engaging to students. They want to create a space for students to have fun experiences that they might not get a chance to have otherwise.
“I hoped to give students a fun night enriched in LGBTQIA+ culture and to introduce drag to students who haven’t gotten the chance to experience it yet,” Calvert said.
The event was well received by all who attended, with students applauding and cheering just after Davis’ opening runway walk. One student, Madi Buettner, a first-year on the pre-pharmacy track, was excited to attend a new take on a familiar event for her.
“I just really like drag. I actually worked a drag bingo once,” Buettner said. “So I’m looking forward to having fun with this tonight.”
As for Davis, her performance was more than just calling numbers and making jokes — she spread the message of the need for more goodhearted people in the world. She participates in different drag events, including drag brunches and drag story hours, but her message is always the same — be kind.
“What we teach at the drag story hour, and what I would love to express,” Davis said. “If you happen to see someone different in the world, treat them with kindness — that’s it. That’s the simplicity of the message.”
By the end of the night, Davis not only entertained an endearing crowd of fans and newcomers alike but left the audience with an optimistic message about acceptance and self-love. The bingo event was made memorable by Davis’ energy and message. The evening’s combination of entertainment, connectivity and positivity, brought the powerful theme of kindness to the game of bingo and to all who took part in the event.
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