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Volunteer Profile: Judith Drasner
Judith Drasner is living proof that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s adage about “no second acts in American life” is a load of bunk. After years as a housewife in suburban Washington, DC, 20 years ago Drasner decided to follow a dream of working full-time in the theater, an adventure that’s taken her across the country and eventually back to her native New York, where she carves time out of a hectic schedule to volunteer for Broadway Cares. Little Girl from the Village She escaped briefly, attending the University of Vermont (Burlington) for a year, but a shortage of international cuisine (“they had one Chinese restaurant”) and limited cultural options drove her back to the city after a year. “I finished up at NYU.” A 20-year marriage produced a daughter, Johanna, and, eventually, an amicable divorce. When Johanna – who today is a sign-language interpreter based in Los Angeles – left for college, Judith took on a new career as a theatrical stage manager, which began with Shear Madness, an inauspicious-sounding show set in a hair salon. “It was a small, fun production. There was murder and the audience got to pick one of three endings to act out,” she says. Boy’s Club “It was an all male show, which I guess is why I know more men in this business than women,” she says. The 1950s nostalgia theme continued. From Plaid she went to stint as company manager of Grease, another positive experience. “Brooke Shields was great; no star attitude at all!” Spoiled Rotten “Plus we spent the last part of the tour in Vancouver,” she says. “Everyone had such a great time there. I’m still friends with everyone involved with that show.” One of those friends is dancer Chris Davis, now a producer with Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA). “She was our den mother in Miss Saigon,” Davis says. “I’ve known her since 1994. She’s one of the most giving people in the world and she’d give you the shirt off her back.” Despite the six-days a week grind, Judith also found time to earn a Masters Degree in Theater Education from NYU in 2006. Too Pooped to Party “I used to do all that prep work for Bares, watch both shows and then go out dancing,” she says. “Now I’d rather work in the office during the day,” she says. “I can’t stand on a ladder and decorate things anymore.” But she still gets a lot of work done, lighting up any room – even a staid conference room of volunteers stuffing envelopes or addressing postcards. “I wish I had ten of her.”
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By Andy Smith