A flamboyant character who lives for acting, singing, or performing in general. They love the spotlight, have memorized every line from their favorite musicals, took modern dance or ballet at some point, and are constantly trying to break into theater. The female variety is invariably straight, but unlike the male version, stands a good chance of also being a Soapbox Sadie.
The association of live performance with Camp Gay is well enough known that the expression "he's into musical theater" is a well-known euphemism for being "gay."
Compare the Distaff Counterpart Lesbian Jock, where "she's into soccer/tennis" is a well-known euphemism for being "lesbian."
Examples
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Anime & Manga
- Nathan from Blood+ lives for the stage and is the producer/manager/whatever of Diva's musical debut. Of course, the performance he most wants to direct and present to an adoring audience is Saya's death at Diva's hands. God help you if you try to screw it up by doing something silly like killing Saya before he sets the perfect stage for her and Diva. Lights, camera, action!
- Tomo from Fushigi Yuugi. Justified, as he was raised by a troupe of performers.
Films — Live-Action
- Ryan Evans from the High School Musical movies has starred with his sister in all the school musicals before the first movie. The subtext is allegedly unintentional.
Literature
- Annie in Annie on My Mind is a rare female version of this trope, being a keen and talented singer with a passion for the dramatic.
- In Loveless, Pip and Sunil are flamboyant in their own ways and are big fans of theatre. They immediately sign up for Shakespeare Soc.
- Tiny Cooper in Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Even to the point where one of the book's major subplots is the direction/casting of the musical he wrote about himself.
Live-Action TV
- Degrassi: When Marco and Ellie have to film a commercial for their product advertisement he plans a bright, Bollywood-inspired version. She's the director and he's the actor. She rags on his version, calling it "flaming." He also loves pop music and fashion.
- Interview with the Vampire (2022):
- In two Season 2
trailers, Lestat de Lioncourt performs onstage in a French play during the late 18th century, and he fits the camp stereotype for male actors because he's a flamboyant bisexual Drama Queen.
- In Season 2 promotional materials, Santiago is a Théâtre des Vampires thespian who gives grandiose introductions to the spectators, is over-the-top when he consumes his victims onstage, and during rehearsals, he'll throw a hissy fit (and toss away the script) if he disagrees with the direction of the show.
- In two Season 2
- Jack ("Just Jack!") of Will & Grace. He does a lot of one-man shows because — at least early in the series — he's pretty much unemployable as an actor.
- Yellowjackets introduced Crystal in season two through her consistently humming and singing theatre songs. She ends up befriending Misty and introducing her to the theater.
Newspaper Comics
- JJ Caucus from Doonesbury tries to work every aspect of her life into performance and video pieces, which may have contributed to her divorce from Mike.
Puppet Shows
- A running gag for Gonzo from The Muppets, particularly The Muppet Show, where Gonzo would introduce his bizarre stunts with a random assortment of Noodle Implements like a rubber tire, a highly explosive bomb, etc. while simultaneously performing a classical musical number, reciting poetry or a Shakesperean soliloquy, etc.
Visual Novels
- Averted with pretty much all the musicians in Melody. The title character in particular has to be convinced to start performing in public.
Western Animation
- Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants. Granted he's pretty straight, but he is on Spongebob Squarepants.
- The fusion gem Sardonyx (Garnet and Pearl) has this vibe in Steven Universe. She's big, she's boisterous, and she loves to show off her talents. "Know Your Fusion" shows that she can let this get out of hand by overshadowing everyone around her.
