With a cigarette in hand and an assortment of makeup in front of him, 33-year-old Jason Eberle begins his transformation. For the next few hours he will no longer be Jason but rather Jayla Desmond Foxx, the vivacious vixen who struts her stuff to the beats of Madonna, Mariah and Kelly Clarkson.

For Eberle, this is a normal Tuesday night. After all, it is his job – a job he loves.

Eberle is one of the drag queens who perform at the bar Uptown-Downtown on Tuesday nights, and having been there for the past seven years he is a familiar face to many.

For as much as he loves performing, Eberle admits that being a drag queen is no easy task.

‘People don’t realize the time and effort that goes into this,’ said Eberle, who is originally from Fremont but now resides in Bowling Green.

After the makeup comes the fake nails and eyelashes, three pairs of pantyhose, body pads, a girdle, tape, a dress and a wig to top it all off. The girdle helps to give him the voluptuous shape that Jayla is known for, while the tape is used when extra cleavage is required.

Effort also goes into choosing songs that he thinks the audience will like.

For Eberle, the hard work pays off when he hits the stage. The crowd goes crazy when they hear Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin,’ to which Eberle dances and lip-syncs.

Whether he is sporting a spandex suit with feathers or a frilly wedding dress, Eberle dances across the stage with enormous energy, stopping now and again to accept dollar bills from fans in the crowd. He often gets up close and personal with the patrons as many of the dollar bills are intentionally lodged in people’s mouths, cleavage or pants.

After his performances, Eberle quickly returns to the dressing room to revert back to his original self. Then it’s back downstairs to drink a couple of Long Island ice teas and dance the rest of the night away.

With as much work as it takes to perform every Tuesday of the year, Eberle is showing no signs of slowing down.

‘I still feel young,’ Eberle said. ‘To quote Madonna, ‘Life begins at 40.”

In addition to performing at Uptown-Downtown, the divine Jayla Desmond Foxx can occasionally be seen guest starring in drag shows throughout Ohio. During the summer Eberle performed at bars in Akron, Cleveland and Columbus.

Eberle also takes time now and again to compete in drag queen pageants.

‘Pageants are fun once in a while, but I try not to get carried away,’ Eberle said. ‘Drag queens can be evil when they compete.’

Nevertheless, Jayla currently holds the titles of ‘Miss Lima USofA’ and ‘Miss Columbus America.’

Outside of doing drag, Eberle lives a pretty normal life. When he isn’t moonlighting as Jayla, he can be found working over 40 hours a week at the Luther Home of Mercy where he helps care for mentally retarded

and developmentally disabled individuals.

Luckily, Eberle enjoys this job, too.

‘It’s the most fulfilling job

you could possibly do,’ Eberle said. ‘It takes a big heart and a lot of patience.’

He also enjoys spending time with his boyfriend of nearly three years, whom he hopes to move out west with someday.

Eberle can be seen performing as Jayla Desmond Foxx every Tuesday night at Uptown-Downtown, with shows starting at 11 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

There is also a Web site for Jayla, which can be found at http://jaylad.foxx.tripod.com.