Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Apr 05/02) - Rusty Ryan first put on a dress in 1970 and had such a good time with it, he made it his career.

Ryan joined two other female impersonators in 1972, in Fort Erie, Ont. to become the Great Imposters.

The Great Imposters are (from left): Dwayne Collins, Rusty Ryan and Dale Barnett. - Terry Halifax/NNSL photo

"I wanted to be in show business," Ryan said simply.

The trio rolled into Inuvik last week as part of a 38-day tour throughout western Canada, and Ryan said they are loving the North.

"I'm having a great time. I love performing to crowds like this one," he said. "I get to say what ever I want and people laugh."

The show is a variety of lip-synched songs and choreographed dances smattered with some raunchy humour. Ryan has a variety of monologues and said he never performs the same jokes used on previous tours.

While this is a first for Inuvik, he says the reaction has been a good one.

"They seem to be liking it," he said during the intermission. "A lot of times women will drag their husbands to the show and it turns out their husbands have the most fun."

While he had to tone down one heckler, Ryan said the people here have been very enthusiastic about the show.

"The people are very friendly here, much more so than in Yellowknife," he said.

Dwayne Collins is originally from Newfoundland and first performed in a dress five years ago.

"I was always into theatre and into the arts," Collins said. "I did it once for fun and thought I could make money at it."

"Ever-since, it's been my full-time job."

He loves performing, but also contributes with a needle and thread.

"I make most of the costumes and when I'm not on the road, I work for a designer," he said.

Dale Barnett first performed as a female impersonator during a show in Toronto at the O'Keefe Centre.

"The make-up man said I could look just like Cher, and I said, 'Well, that's going to do me a lot of good,'" Barnett recalled. "He told me I could make a lot of money doing it."

"Ive never been a starving actor since."

He's been on the road for 15 years now.

"I like entertaining, I like educating and I love seeing our country," Barnett said. "I absolutely love it."

He said education is a big part of what they do; exposing people to a lifestyles that they wouldn't otherwise encounter.

"People are unknowing as to what female impersonators are," he said. "Sometimes playing a town like Inuvik, makes them think."

"As weird as it sounds, small town Canada is our market," he said. "I guess it's because it's something they've never seen."

At the end of the tour, Barnett will return to his hometown, Barrie, Ont. to perform at the Legion.

"The newspaper usually writes: 'Hometown boy makes good as girl.'"