Mode of Program Participation
Performances and Arts
Participation Type
Performance
Presentation #1 Title
Rainbow in the Mountains: Confessions of an Appalachian Drag Queen
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Rainbow in the Mountains: Confessions of an Appalachian Drag Queen is a theatrical performance by Ilene Over.
By integrating story-telling, stand-up comedy, and lecture, the audience joins the main character, Ilene Over, as she takes them along with her on a journey through time remembering what it was like growing up queer in Appalachia.
The show leaves the audience laughing, crying, and having learned something about Appalachia and the Queer community. Really, how many sociology professors can look this fabulous, be this funny, and give good lecture?
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Miss Ilene Over is a sassy gal who was born in Appalachia— a true mountain Queer. If Carol Burnett and Leslie Jordan had a love child, it would be Ilene Over.
She was raised in West Virginia to be specific where she graduated in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Basic Humanities—Classical Studies and in 1999 with a Master’s Degree in Sociology. Currently, she was just admitted into the MFA in Creative Writing program at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
One of the organizers of the first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Pride event in West Virginia, she has been active in the fight for LGBT equality and civil rights for twenty-five years on the local, state, and national level.
Ilene began doing drag in 1989 in Huntington, WV and performed for several years, in various settings, before going into semi-retirement to return to school.
Rainbow in the Mountains: Confessions of an Appalachian Drag Queen
Rainbow in the Mountains: Confessions of an Appalachian Drag Queen is a theatrical performance by Ilene Over.
By integrating story-telling, stand-up comedy, and lecture, the audience joins the main character, Ilene Over, as she takes them along with her on a journey through time remembering what it was like growing up queer in Appalachia.
The show leaves the audience laughing, crying, and having learned something about Appalachia and the Queer community. Really, how many sociology professors can look this fabulous, be this funny, and give good lecture?
