10 questions. Playing Both Sides

• Author: Jenny B. Davis
• Pages: 12-13

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBIN MCENTIRE

10 QUESTIONS

12 || ABA JOURNAL JUNE 2018

Opening Statements

Playing Both Sides

Once torn between practicing law and the performing arts, this

activist-turned-drag queen has built successful careers doing both

When Ben Schatz graduate d from law school in

1985, he had a decision to make: Should he pursue

a career in legal ac tivism or follow his drea m of

becoming a performer?

He chose law and put it center stage: Schatz

founded one of the country’s fi rst legal nonprofi ts

to combat AIDS-relate d discriminat ion, served as

executive direct or of the Gay and Lesbian Medical

Association and held a leadership po sition on the

Presidential Advisor y Council on HIV/AIDS during

the Clinton admin istration.

Over time, however, his arti stic side

started se eping in, reawakening his

love of the performing ar ts. The time

had come to shift to t hat second act.

In 1999, he left the world of law and

public policy for good and became a

full-time singi ng drag queen. It was

a risky decision, but not a sudden one.

Schatz had been per forming onstage

as Rachel since 1993, when he had

helped form the Kinsey Sick s, a

self-styled “Dragapella B eautyshop

Quartet” k nown for blending bit-

ing, mostly political sati re with a

capella harmony and high c amp.

The name comes from renowned

sex researcher Al fred Kinsey ’s

metric for gauging homosexua lity.

Over the past two-plus dec ades,

the group has released n ine albums

and two full-lengt h fi lms and has

staged origina l shows such as

Electile Dysf unction and Chick s

with Schticks for audiences a round

the world. Schatz’s resumé includes

a New Yorker profi le, a nomination

for a Drama Desk Award for Best

Lyrics and a tur n playing himself

on an episode of The Simpsons.

You could be the spokesmodel

for the concept of life af ter law.

Do unhappy lawyer s ever ask

you for career adv ice, and if

so, what do you say?

They do. And I say, “If you

hate what you’re doing, stop.”

This is the thing I’ve never

understood. People with law

degrees are general ly people with a bunch of options.

Having options is an enormous priv ilege. Do some-

thing intelligent with t hat. Do something that makes

you feel like you’re privileged and delighted t o do it.

Just don’t become a singing drag queen, because I

don’t want the competition.

Did you enter law school with your sig hts set on

legal activ ism and, specifi cally, act ivism within

the LGBT communit y?

I went to law school with no passion for the law—

trust me, I had none—but with a ver y

specifi c, strategic goal: I wa nted to be

Martin Luther Queen! At that t ime,

being a gay activis t was hardly a career

path. There were only a handfu l of people

working professionally for gay activ ism

organizations. I fi gured tha t a Harvard

Law degree would give me respec t-

able credentials that could cha nge the

demeaning way that many people viewe d

the gay and lesbian community, and

I would be more likely to be taken

seriously by people who would have

automatically dism issed me.

Did that happen?

Well, I went on to become a

singing drag queen, so who knows!

I seem to be doing my best to scur ry

down the totem pole of respect able

career choices.

Seriously, though, do you feel

your Harvar d degree helped you

along your path to professiona l

act iv ism?

Yes, after I graduated , I

received a fellowship in public

interest law from my fellow

law students. Because I had

been such an insu erable

loudmouth, they knew I

was serious. This wa s the

same time that the AIDS

crisis was just be ginning to

be recognized a s an issue, and

thanks to the suppor t of the

class of ’85, I became the fi rst

lawyer in Americ a working full

time nationally on AIDS -related

impact litigation case s. The com-

munity was dyi ng; everyone was

“I WAS ALWAYS

TORN BETWEEN

BEING A

PERFORMER

AND WORKING FOR

SOCIAL CHANGE .”

—BEN SCHATZ