|
It’s
no
surprise
that
South
Beach
resident
Trae
Williamson
was
one
of
the
first
people
to
urge
Stephanie
Ansin
and
her
husband
Oleg
Kheyfets
to
start
a
children’s
theater
in
Miami.
After
all,
Williamson
has
long
had
an
interest
in
theater.
“As
a
child,
my
parents
took
me
often
to
live
theater,
and
it
was
a
magical
experience
that
gave
me
inspiration
later
in
life,”
Williamson
says.
Williamson
and
Ansin
first
became
close
friends
while
attending
Ransom
Everglades
School
in
Coconut
Grove,
Fla.
There,
they
shared
a
mutual
passion
for
the
stage.
Years
later,
the
two
ended
up
once
again
at
the
same
school:
Williamson
went
to
New
York
City
to
pursue
a
law
degree
at
Columbia
University,
while
Ansin
went
to
the
big
Apple
to
get
her
MFA
in
directing,
also
from
Columbia.
It
was
while
in
New
York
that
Williamson
first
saw
the
fine
work
of
Ansin
and
Kheyfets
first
hand.
“I
think
their
work
is
really
high
quality
and
really
high
caliber,”
Williamson
says.
“So
when
they
approached
me
to
become
involved
with
their
organization,
I
was
happy
to
jump
on
board.”
Williamson
now
serves
as
president
of
the
board
of
directors
for
the
Playground
Theatre,
which
produces
professional
quality
productions
starring
adult
actors
aimed
at
young
audiences.
Williamson
is
also
president
of
his
family’s
business,
Williamson
Cadillac-Hummer.
He
says
he
tries
to
stay
involved
in
local
organizations,
and
in
addition
to
working
with
the
Playground
Theatre,
Williamson
serves
on
the
boards
of
the
Yes
Institute
(an
organization
that
works
for
gay
and
lesbian
youth),
the
Melissa
Institute
for
Violence
Prevention
and
Treatment,
and
the
University
of
Miami’s
Presidents
Council.
Williamson
is
also
involved
in
the
United
Way,
Greater
Miami
Chamber
of
Commerce,
Leadership
Miami,
Young
President’s
Organization,
Miami-Dade
Gay
and
Lesbian
Chamber
of
Commerce,
and
Save-Dade,
a
Miami-based
gay
civil
rights
group.
Williamson
is
like
a
cat
with
nine
lives:
for
such
a
young
man
(he
is
33),
he
has
already
lived
several
incarnations.
In
college,
he
had
an
interest
in
diplomacy
and
foreign
affairs,
and
got
his
degree
in
international
affairs
from
Princeton.
His
studies
led
to
summer
internships
at
the
U.S.
Chamber
of
Commerce
in
Paris,
the
U.S.
Embassy
in
Madrid,
a
Swiss
bank
in
Geneva
and
a
British
bank
in
London.
Yet
after
completing
his
studies,
Williamson
realized
foreign
relations
were
not
for
him.
So
for
the
three
years
between
college
and
law
school,
he
explored
his
creative
side,
even
recording
a
dance
album.
“I’ve
always
been
interested
in
different
things,”
Williamson
says.
“So
I
tried
different
things
out,
and
I
learned
what
worked
and
what
didn’t.”
When
he
embarked
to
study
law
at
Columbia,
Williamson
applied
his
interest
in
music
and
entertainment,
focusing
on
intellectual
property
and
contracts.
The
hub
for
entertainment
lawyers
is
Los
Angeles,
so
after
obtaining
his
law
degree,
Williamson
made
for
the
West
Coast.
For
three
years
he
worked
for
a
law
firm
that
represented
major
studios.
When
life
at
a
large
law
firm
didn’t
satisfy
him,
Williamson
was
poised
to
return
to
college
and
get
a
Ph.D.
in
psychology.
Then
his
parents
asked
him
to
join
the
family
business.
Williamson’s
grandfather
opened
the
business
in
1967.
His
great-grandfather
began
selling
cars
right
after
they
were
invented.
“As
a
young
kid,”
Williamson
says,
“I
always
thought
about
stepping
into
my
dad’s
shoes.”
Williamson
started
getting
involved
with
charities
and
organizations
while
still
in
law
school.
Coming
back
to
Miami,
he
jumped
not
only
into
mainstream
charities
such
as
the
United
Way,
but
also
organizations
that
serve
and
benefit
gay
and
lesbian
causes,
like
Save-Dade
and
the
Miami
Gay
&
Lesbian
Film
Festival.
Perhaps
part
of
the
reason
he
is
such
an
avid
believer
in
supporting
gay
causes
is
that
Williamson
feels
he
came
out
late
in
life.
“A
lot
of
friends
came
out
in
college,
which
I
think
is
a
safe
time
to
come
out,”
Williamson
says.
“But
my
coming
out
process
occurred
during
law
school
in
New
York.”
Growing
up
with
church
messages
and
as
a
conservative
kid,
Williamson
thought
that
being
happy
and
gay
and
successful
couldn’t
happen.
Between
college
and
law
school
he
became
friends
with
a
woman
he
describes
as
“non-confrontationally
and
non-apologetically
out.”
He
credits
her
with
reassuring
him
one
could
lead
a
professional
existence
in
the
mainstream
business
world
and
still
be
open
about
being
gay.
At
first,
Williamson
says
his
parents
were
scared
by
the
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