Drag Queen tells his tale of glam and glitter

As a business analyst, Eric Morrison must be serious and analytical when he works during the day. His head is shaved and he doesn't always care if he has facial stubble. But when the sun goes down, he lets loose by sporting big hair and flashy costumes decorated with feathers and jewelry. His face is layered with makeup — and certainly no stubble. Morrison becomes his drag queen persona — Anita Mann.

Morrison, who graduated from the university in 1995 did some female impersonation when he was a student at the university, but it was mostly for fun on Halloween. Morrison studied theater, played music and sung occasionally, but after graduating he was too busy to continue these artistic pursuits. After one night at a drag show, though, he was hooked.

"I thought it was a great theatrical expression," Morrison says. "The next month I entered an amateur contest — I won. I was really happy and I have been doing it ever since."

Morrison has performed across the East Coast, and he also hosts a charity event called Bingo-A-Go-Go approximately seven times per year. The next event is March 14. The event is a joint fundraiser for Delaware Pride, an orginization that promotes diversity and a more visible, united LGBT community, as well as AIDS Delaware and The Rainbow Chorale of Delaware. This is Morrison's third year as President of Delaware Pride. The group organizes fundraisers, social events and charity work.

Morrison's drag queen character, Anita Mann, dances, lip syncs and does some comedy. She also emcees and has hosted karaoke nights and private parties.

"I don't sing live usually," he says. "I have a couple times and it's not my strong point."

Morrison says he chose the name Anita Mann because he wanted something that was both elegant and funny. He says the name — which is a bit campy without being over the top  — popped into his head while brainstorming ideas.

"I thought it was the most original name in the world, but I have come to learn since there are a lot of people named the same thing," Morrison laughs.

Morrison says he created Anita Mann's character as he went along, and he soon realized she allowed him to be an individual on stage.

"It was also exploring the female side of me, or the way I would act if I didn't live in a world that was so, ‘You're male, you're female, this is feminine, this is masculine,' " he says.

Morrison says he comes out of his shell on stage, and he feels a certain exuberance that he does not embrace as a man. His friends are often surprised by his personality the first time they see him as Anita.

"A lot of my friends will tell me, ‘You're a very different person when you're Anita,' because I'm much more outgoing and confident," he says.

Despite his confident persona, Morrison still gets stage fright from time to time. Nerves are not the only struggle he faces as a performer — the physical aspect of performing has also become more difficult as the years have passed.

"It's also harder as you get older because wearing the heels and all those things can take a toll on your body," he says. "I feel a bit rougher the next morning than I used to."

Morrison mostly performs as Anita Mann, but he has done some other iconic characters before — even celebrities who don't wear heels.

"I have done Sinead O'Connor because I have the shaved head, and at my next show I'm doing Boy George," he says.

Morrison says it was trial and error when he first created Anita Mann's appearance. He learned to do makeup by listening to professionals, observing and experimenting. Morrison says his theater background also helped him apply makeup — drag queen makeup is more like theater makeup than "girl" makeup.    

"There's a saying, ‘CoverGirl doesn't cover boy,' " he says.

Today, Morrison tries to teach beginner drag queens how to pull off the feminine look. He says just like any other group, drag queens develop cliques, but overall there is a sense of belonging. There needs to be a sense of family in the drag queen community in order to learn how to be a successful performer, Morrison says.

On the other hand, Morrison says there is definitely competition, but it also depends on whether the drag queen is performing or doing pageantry. He says the most competitve people are often called "Pageant Queens," and they are very serious about their art form. He has been in the audience at Miss Gay America for the past two years and has witnessed how intense pageants can be.

"It is five nights of competition and about six hours a night," Morrison says. "Your evening gown might cost you six or $8,000."

Miss Gay America earns between $60,000 and $80,000 for a year, but Morrison says for the majority of drag queens, earning money is not a top priority. However, they invest a significant amount of money into essentials like costumes.

Morrison uses a Web site called Sequin Queen to find his costumes. He says he is not  good enough at sewing to make things from scratch, but he often dresses a costume with feathers or stones, or even adds or takes off a sleeve.

"I don't have an interest in learning [sewing]," he says. "I get frustrated sewing on a button."

When he organizes shows he tries to give the audience a full line of entertainment — dramatic ballads, dance numbers and comedy. He says more than anything he tries to give them an illusion. He has been to shows where audience members seem awkward — especially straight men — but they eventually loosen up.

"At the beginning they are very reticent about being there and maybe a little uncomfortable," Morrison says. "By a couple of numbers into the show they've bought into the illusion this isn't a man pretending to be a woman, this is a character up there."