Divas/Divos competition.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: ENTERTAINMENT

The Divas/Divos Competition is designed to entertain: "Those who are vying for the crown can do that by singing or dancing or juggling or jumping through hoops," says Elizabeth Nelson, Artistic Director for First City Players. The competition is an annual fundraiser for First City Players, a community theater in Ketchikan. "We do about ten individual events a year, everything from a four-week summer youth camp to a full-on musical to original playwriting," Nelson says.

Competition starts long before the event with contestants selling votes, which cost two dollars each. "Our motto is vote early and vote often," Nelson laughs. "It all leads up to a big, dynamic evening of performance," for a crowd of approximately three hundred people. "The winner gets a crown and the glory of wearing it for a year everywhere they want," she says.

While competition is fierce, Nelson says, it's also fairly non-serious. "Mostly it ends up being a party with some really good entertainment." The performers are accompanied by a band...