|
|
|||||||||||||
Volunteer Spotlight: David Masenheimer
By Andy Smith It’s months before the 2007 edition of Broadway Bares, but David Masenheimer is already working on a tight deadline. He’s got 45 seconds to win a set of ram’s horns on eBay. “I can’t believe I got those for only $11. I was willing to go up to $75,” he says a minute later, adding that the fake horns will be part of props and costume for an upcoming photo shoot for this year’s Bares calendar. The theme is mythology and the horns, when combined with a wooly throw purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond, will be part of the “Jason and the Golden Fleece” tableau. As a carpenter and set designer for countless Broadway Cares events, Masenheimer has become known for his adaptability and problem-solving skills. “I love tackling unusual projects, going on Google and eBay to learn more about something or find the materials I need to make it.” And during the past six years this former actor/singer and current full-time carpenter has worked on almost every BC/EFA event, building an auctioneer’s stage for our Flea Market, building an outdoor performance space over a swimming pool and patio for the Fire Island Dance Festival, and converting Roseland into a suitable setting for Broadway Bares and then dismantling all his hard work over the course of a weekend. He’s not only mastered big projects, but smaller assignments as well. “When I was still working from home, I built a birthday cake for (former Ziegfeld girl) Doris Eaton Travis, who was turning 100. That was nuts; the cake was six feet tall and I lived in a studio apartment.” Starting out with little more than a jigsaw, David gradually built his business to its current thriving size – busy, but not overwhelming, just the way he likes it. After outgrowing his apartment, he used a windowless metal room inside a Manhattan storage facility as a workshop (“I doubt that was legal.”) and then moved into his current location, a carpentry studio in Hell’s Kitchen. Career Transition by Choice Born in York, Pa, David sang in the school and church choirs and studied voice, both in high school and while attending Muhlenberg College in nearby Allentown, where he began as pre-med and eventually earned a degree in art. “They didn’t have any drama majors, but they had an amazing theatre where I had plenty of chances to perform and did a lot of tech work as well.” After college, he moved to Philadelphia and split his time between theatre work at night, and a long-term day job working for a dealer in antique maps and prints, who eventually gave him the opportunity to relocate to New York. In addition to a number of national tours and a European tour, Masenheimer has five high-profile Broadway credits to his name. After a year playing Les Miserables’ villain Javert in the company’s national tour, David took over the role on Broadway, playing Jean Valjean’s pursuer for a year and a half during the mid 1990s. He then achieved another dream, creating a role in a new show, the critically acclaimed musical Side Show (1997). Next,he played several parts in The Scarlet Pimpernel, spent six months as Henry Ford in Ragtime and understudied the oft-absent Mandy Patinkin in 2000’s The Wild Party, performing the role of Burrs in 21 out of 106 performances of the short-lived production, which also starred Toni Collette and the legendary Eartha Kitt. Many Hats for BC/EFA He’s also gained a great understanding of our work by serving on the Grants Committee, a group of staff, volunteers and board members who review applications from AIDS Service Providers from across the country. “I was honored to be included. It really helps you understand the reasons why we do this work. You read through these applications and then go home and cry for a couple of days.” On a lighter note, Broadway Cares’ growing legion of ABC Daytime drama fans may know David for a recurring role on “All My Children,” as Dave the bartender, a small part he managed to squeeze in between full-time carpentry projects. “I’m not sure I’ll be back on the show because they burned my bar down six months ago. It was a biker bar, one where all the kids under 21 would go because we didn’t card. I’m not sure where they’ll go to drink now,” he muses. To see more of David’s work, visit his website at www.DavidMasenheimer.com
|
