12 to compete in Miss Gay Arizona America Pageant

By Kim Stredney

Twelve contestants will compete for the right to be called Miss Gay Arizona America as the state pageant observes its 25th anniversary.

For the first time, the pageant will have preliminaries and finals competitions, a format modeled after the national contest.

Preliminaries will be July 31 at the Rock. The five finalists will be announced on Aug. 1 at the start of the finals at the Tempe Center for the Arts. The winner will succeed last year’s winner, TC Taylor.

The new Miss Gay Arizona America and the first alternate earn the right to compete in the Miss Gay America pageant in October in Columbus, Ohio.

During the local pageant’s preliminaries, contestants will compete in four events — evening gown, onstage interview, male interview and solo talent.

Taylor said that the male interview, where contestants do not appear in costume, is a vital part of the competition.

“One of the biggest things about this pageant is separating the male persona from the female persona,” said Taylor, who is also known as Toby Craver. “So there are no breast augmentations or hormone injections — these are all boys.” Contestants will be scored on how well they answer questions and their look.

The solo talent competition is a chance for the judges to see how well a contestant performs without the help of visual enhancements.

At the finals, contestants compete in evening gown, talent and interview, and will be scored by five judges.

For performances in the finals, contestants are allowed to add props and backup dancers to their numbers.

To observe the pageant’s anniversary, former Miss Gay Arizona winners have been invited to take part in the opening number at the pageant’s finals evening.

Taylor, 32, of Phoenix, is a Montana native who came to Arizona 14 years ago to attend college. Taylor works as a bartender at The Rock in Central Phoenix and does female impersonation shows at four Phoenix bars.

Taylor entered last year’s pageant with the encouragement from a friend because it was the next step as a performer. After winning the state title on the first attempt, Taylor came in 26th out of 52 competitors at the national event.

Besides helping to organize this year’s event, Taylor will perform during the opening production at the finals. “I won’t give it all away,” Taylor said about the number, but he may have provided a hint in saying he’s been doing a lot of Cher lately.

VITAL STATISTICS
Miss Gay Arizona America

Preliminaries:
6 p.m. July 31
The Rock
4129 N. Seventh Ave., Phoenix.
Tickets: $15

Finals:
6 p.m. Aug. 1
Tempe Center for the Arts
700 E. Rio Salado Parkway
Tickets: $17.50 general admission; $20 VIP

Miss Gay Arizona contestants
Six title holders and six alternates from other pageants will compete for the Miss Gay Arizona America title.

Di Va — Miss Gay Tucson America 2010
Jasmine White — first alternate
 
Tyra Marie — Miss Gay Copper City America 2010
Divinity — first alternate
 
Lady Ashley — Miss Gay Queen of the Desert America 2010
Victoria Knight — first alternate
 
Neveah McKenzie - Miss Gay Phoenix America 2010
Olivia Gardens — first alternate
 
Patricia Mason — Miss Gay Metropolis America 2010
Masquerade — first alternate
 
Celebrity Starr — Miss Gay Valley of the Sun America
Afeelya Bunz — first alternate