At The Academy Of Washington, Family Is A Drag
January 1st, 2009 | Published in Radio
-by Shauna Miller-
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Posted by Shauna Miller
Chad Phillips is an ex Marine, with the tattoo to prove it. But as he sits backstage at a D.C. nightclub, Chad is nervous. A makeup artist is painting on eyebrows that would make Joan Crawford jealous.
Today is Chad’s first time performing in drag with the Academy of Washington, the oldest drag organization in the country. Every month, members put on elaborate costumes and compete in a campy cabaret. Founded in 1961, the Academy is an institution in gay D.C. — and Chad is its newest member.
“There’s a persona you take on in drag,” he says. “It’s almost a … pride.”
Chad, 27, grew up in an Alabama town where doing drag — or being gay at all — was not an option. But at the Academy, he found acceptance.
“Some of these people have been disowned by their own families,” explains Mame Dennis, who took over the Academy’s reins in the early 1970s. “By joining the Academy family, they have a mother and father again. They find a place to belong.”
Out of makeup, Mame is a 67-year-old retired office manager named Carl Rizzi. With her beehive wig on, she’s the Academy’s drag matriarch. Over the years, Mame opened up the organization to all kinds of performers, including drag kings and “real girls.”
“You think it’s just a dying thing, that nobody’s interested anymore,” she says. “But there’s a big interest in drag.”
New recruits to the Academy get coached by “drag mothers” — like Charles McWilliams, who performs as Ophelia Bottoms. She estimates she’s trained more than 20 drag newbies over her nine years with the group.
“I’m a sucker for an ugly face,” laughs Ophelia, 30. “I want to make it pretty.”
Drag mothers coach their charges on the finer points of padding, makeup and lip-synching.
“You may not look perfect, but we’ll still accept you.” Ophelia assures. “You don’t need to be perfect, and we’ll help you. We won’t make fun of you … too much. But it’s all out of love.”
Chad says he finds that support reassuring.
“You’re in a group where it’s OK,” he says. “You know you’ll be judged because it’s an audience full of queens, but it’s a good type of judgment.”
It’s almost show time. He pulls a pair of stockings over foam-rubber hips, and touches up his lipstick. In a silver fishtail gown, Chad the Marine becomes Miss Alexandra B. Childs.
“I’m extremely nervous,” he admits. “But that’ll all subside with the rest of the storm when I get onstage. I just don’t want to forget the words. It’s funny to think you could forget the words to a Disney song.”
Alexandra’s big number is “Part Of That World,” from The Little Mermaid..
Out of the sea…
Wish I could be…
Part of that world.
In a way, the song is Chad’s story. It’s about finding a place to finally belong — and that’s what the Academy has offered for almost 50 years.
