The popular Columbus drag king troupe H.I.S. Kings packed the audience, including a standing crowd five and six rows deep around the edges of the lawn, craning to see their performance.

What is most amazing about H.I.S. Kings and their production company, Fast Friday Productions, is how they operate like a collective community. All four owners do their part and then some. Singleton emcees along with being the head of show direction and operations. Applegate deejays and coordinates the promotion and booking, Harris is responsible for photography and displays, and Madsen is in charge of all the financial matters. ALl of these duties are above and beyond their performing responsibilities. This is true of the kings as well. Along with creating and practicing acts, kings promote, organize, videotape, set up shows, create scenery and props, and ultimately ensure that every thing runs smoothly.

And on a larger scale, all of the "behind the scenes" work would not be possible without the unending support of friends, family and fans (especially those making up the Kings Court) , throughout the greater Columbus community. Their unconditional support and loyalty keeps the kings at the top.

The uniqueness of this group bleeds into the acts they put together, which involve several--and sometimes all--the members. Standard 'drag' tends to showcase one performer at a time. The Kings know of other drag kings performing around the country, but they don't know of anyone executing drag the way they currently are, in troupe format.

All 15 women are involved in the creative process for generating their acts. Because of the great heterogeneity of the personalities within the group, collaborating is sometimes a challenging process. Singleton and Porter concurred that the group is trying to eliminate stereotypes that lesbians are non-creative, non-sexual beings."

To see the Kings perform it's quite clear that their interpretation of men is not as hyperbolic as a typical drag queen's portrayal of a woman.

Armed with the prior knowledge that the performers are indeed women donning male trappings, it is hard to say whether or not the illusion is complete; however, that is exactly what the group is shooting for. 'Our goal is toe so real that you can't tell,' said Singleton' 'you've got to question yourself.' 'Deep down, you know that it is a woman,' added Harris. 'But you have to ask what are you really attracted to?'finished Applegate.

Not only are the performers seeking to break down the glass box of gender definitions, they are also challenging the notion of lesbians as somber, flannel-wearing dykes. 'I want to break out of that idea that lesbians don't have any fun,' said Singleton. 'Additionally, women don't always get creative support--in the gay world, they think all the creative juices are from men, men, men, but women have talents too. We are sick of the boys getting all the credit!'