Benni Bernard works so Miss E’On can buy clothes.

“Miss E’Ons (is) expensive,” said Bernard while primping his alter ego in a closet fit for a queen.

“Benni has a bureau of clothes, but Miss E’On has a ton of (stuff),” Bernard said. 

Bernard is a drag queen, a man who dresses on occasion as a woman. 

“I do it more for the fun, the experience and the performance,” Bernard said. “The crowd clapping and the applause gets me going. I love it.”

Bernard, 30, was born and raised in Poland Spring. He attended Poland schools where he fell in love with theater on a shoestring budget. “I got my first love of making things in theater at school,” said Bernard, who learned to be creative while building sets, props and making his costumes. He graduated from Poland Regional High School in 2002, the same year he was crowned the school’s prom queen.

“I’m not the girliest person most of the day,” said Bernard, who works alongside his father and older brother at Professional Piercers of Maine in Lewiston.

“Drag up here is pretty simple,” Bernard said about the Maine drag scene. The farther south you go, the more competitive queens can be. Boston can be outright nasty, according to Bernard.

People often ask Bernard what being a drag queen is like. “It’s like being a stripper clown,” he said. “I don’t take off my clothes, but I dance for money.”

It takes Bernard about one hour to change into Miss E’On. He shaves first, then he applies makeup, attaches eyelashes and then covers his head with three Toni Ponies, a type of wig. 

“Most drag queens don’t like how they look until they put their hair on,” Bernard said.

Miss E’On has a small bedroom-size closet full of outfits. Most everything has been handmade by Bernard. There is everything from a wig made from pool noodles to a pair of high heels with small dinosaurs attached. “I call those my homosorous rex shoes,” Bernard said. 

Tucked in the corner is Miss E’On’s “2010 Miss AIDS Awareness” sash.

“I do a lot of of charity work,” said Bernard while rattling off a list of benefit shows Miss E’On has performed in. “MS (multiple sclerosis), AIDS awareness, breast cancer and Outright,” Bernard said.

Miss E’On will help raise money for Outright L/A during the 6th annual Lewistunning Dragapalooza on May 3 at Bates College. Veteran queens will perform alongside newcomers starting at 7 p.m. inside Schaeffer Theater.

Miss E’On has participated in all six Dragapaloozas. “Being a veteran queen is a good chance to help the new ones,” Bernard said. 

“I have a soft spot for Outright,” Bernard said. “Outright Portland was a safe haven for me while growing up.” 

Outright is a support group for sexuality- and gender identity-based cultures. Outright L/A is the last of seven support groups left in Maine. The others closed due to lack of funding.

The Lewiston and Auburn-based community group lost funding as well when it lost its parent agency in 2013. Outright has since formed a relationship with New Beginnings. 

Tickets for the May 3 show are available at Downtown Handmade & Vintage and Orbit Hair Styling. Doors open at 6 p.m.