Full name: Luke Nosal
Stage name: Laurel Charleston
Year and major: Senior, Bachelor in Music, Performance
Instagram: @Laurelcharleston
All photos by Katerina Procyk | Her Campus Penn State
With the PSU Fall Student Drag Show coming up this Thursday, we’re thrilled to be featuring some of the incredible queens who will be performing. Luke Nosal, a Penn State senior, serves looks like no other as Laurel Charleston — as pictured above. Check out our interview with the “fishy mother of ten” below!
HC: How long have you been doing drag?
LN: This October will actually be my one year anniversary of doing drag!
HC: Did you follow the art form before you started it?
LN: Omg yes. I’ve been watching Rupaul’s drag race since I was a senior in high school and I’ve been actively following a ton of queens and queer artists on Instagram for years.
HC: How do you think drag has changed you as a person?
LN: Drag has changed how I approach gender dramatically and has made me more aware of the many constructs that our society creates around gender. It also has made me a killer performer and entertainer, making me extremely comfortable in my skin so that I can always turn the party for my audience.
HC: Why do you feel drag is important?
LN: It’s an amazing experience to be in such an [accepting], loving and creative environment for one night. It’s also bomb entertainment presented to you at a very high level; it’s hard to find this anywhere else especially at other universities. It’s such a creatively immersive art form. As a drag queen, nobody is there to put your look together, choreograph your number, paint your face, etc. — so it’s wild to see all of these queer students [working so hard] and being so damn creative!
HC: How do you feel drag fights gender norms?
LN: Drag queens take the gender norms that are put on the women and our society and magnify them, showing how goddamn ridiculous they are. A successful woman should wear heals (so we wear 7-inch heels), should wear lipstick (so we overdraw our lips), should have nice nails (so we wear 2-inch nails), etc.
HC: What do you hope the audience takes away from this show?
LN: I honestly just hope that people have a good time. I want people to come into Alumni Hall, forget about any worries or struggles that they might be going through and just have a sickening night where we can celebrate all of these amazing performers!
HC: How do you feel drag plays a role in Penn State becoming a more inclusive environment?
LN: By having large, public drag shows we are giving visibility to our queer community and hopefully providing an inclusive space that is accessible for everyone on campus.
Don’t miss out — come to the PSU Fall Student Drag Show at 10 p.m. on October 12 in Alumni Hall! Admission is free with a valid PSU student ID.