Thinking About Getting Into is a newsletter about cultivating interests.
Tom Anderson performed his whole life, but he never thought he’d do so in heels. That changed when a friend asked him to do drag for a good cause: the Ruth Ellis Center, a Detroit-based organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, with an emphasis on young people of color, experiencing homelessness, involved in the child welfare system, or facing barriers to health and wellbeing. Not only did he perform in a drag competition (a Miss America pageant of sorts) for charity—he won it.
By day, Tom is the director of employee engagement at Doner, the Detroit-based full-service advertising agency that counts The UPS Store, Jiffy Lube, and Meijer among its clients. Tom is a people person whose role extends beyond management platforms and training to event planning and community building. Above all, he loves to make people happy—and when he brought his character Dusty Fields to the stage, he did just that. Here, he shares his drag journey.
How did you get into drag?
I did gymnastics when I was young, so I got pretty flexible. Then I taught Pilates and cycling. I did aerobic championships—you know when you see the people in the tights and stuff on TV? That was me.
This is how it happened. I got a phone call in 2019, and it was from a dear friend of mine who puts on some pretty big shows and events. They said, ‘Listen, we’re doing this show, and it’s going to benefit the Ruth Ellis Foundation.’ It’s a wonderful organization, and I knew a lot of people on its board. They said, ‘You’d be the perfect person to compete in this.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, okay,’ and then they said it’s going to be a drag show. I'm like ‘Oh God no—I wear Converse tennis shoes all the time.’ They go ‘No, no, no, it’s going to be great. It’d be wonderful.’ And I’m like, ‘It’s for Ruth Ellis. You know what? Why not?’
So I went to the first meeting. It was me and basically nine other professional drag queens. So I’m sitting there, and they’re looking at me like, ‘What’s he doing in the room?’ The drag queens are intense because they’re amazing. Because drag is hard!
I thought well, I’ll come up with my drag name based on a state. I used to sing—I had won a scholarship for singing—and I loved Oklahoma. I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ll be from Oklahoma, and my character will be Dusty Fields.’ I was going to be the farm girl. I had the best makeup artist do my makeup. Driving to the performance, this huge truck with tons of lawnmowers and eight guys in a lawn crew pulled up next to me. And I have the hair and makeup on, and I’m staring straight forward because it’s daylight. Beauty is a light switch away. You want a dimmer switch with Dusty.
In the show, you had to come out and announce yourself, then you had to do swimsuit, talent, and interview. There were five different looks in total. For talent, I found a red and white polka dot dress and paired that with red ruby slippers, pigtails, and beautiful makeup. I had the word ‘yes’ in red sequins sewed in the front of the costume and a question mark on the back. So I’d sing, ‘I’m just a girl who can’t say no,’ and I’d lift up my dress and it’d say ‘yes.’ I got a lot of money thrown at me. I won that first competition.
After that, this country club was doing something to promote the Ruth Ellis Foundation, so they asked me to come back. That time, I was judging. I didn’t really hit the mark—the dress I got was really expensive, but it looked like a mother-in-law dress for a wedding, and my makeup made it look like I was kind of dead, so I called myself ‘Dead Dusty’ and played into that. For Halloween two years in a row, I went as Dead Dusty—I freaked people out.
Last year, I made Dusty new and improved. I got this catsuit that came from Bulgaria, I got the best makeup artist, and I performed the opening number for the show.
Those are the three times I’ve done it. People do ask me to do [drag] all the time, but I pull the heels out for a good cause. It is a lot of work, but it’s fun once you get in character, and then you have to own it. The whole path of learning and talking to drag queens and watching them and what they do is awesome. It’s crazy to be backstage and watch these people transform.
What was your process of developing this character and prepping for those shows?
I wanted to do something that I was familiar with, so that way it would seem authentic. I knew I would be comfortable if I sang. I could definitely see myself getting into a character who seemed innocent, but I wanted people to see the naughty side, too. So I started out like, ‘What does it look like if I were to write a little play? How would I introduce myself?’ Something is always a little bit more fun if you can throw in an accent—with the Southern drawl, you think of the Golden Girls and Rue McClanahan.
I like to make people laugh. So I really want the character be funny, because I have to be honest with you: I know I can’t be sexy up there. Some [drag queens] are amazing at it, but the super sexy look, that is not me. As a judge the second year, I thought I could go kind of glamorous. That was a big mistake. I should have just worn my overalls, brought my watering can, and just went with it, you know?
What did you learn working alongside those professional drag queens?
They have so many tricks. You watch how they walk, you watch how they hold themselves, and what they do. It was a fast learn for the first time. The next time, I felt like I knew what I was doing, which was kind of funny.
They all have a different way of doing their makeup, and it’s amazing how fast they do it. They basically make a blank canvas and recreate everything—it’s wild. You know what I learned? Press-on nails are not good.
What do you do instead?
I get them painted. I tried press-ons and eight of them popped off when I was walking around. So I get them painted, and they’re not super long, but then I don’t have to panic.
Another big thing is wigs. I ordered all these wigs and spent hours teasing them until they got big. People do really nice stuff, and to do your own wigs is major. You don’t touch anybody’s wigs.
It does seem like Dusty wouldn’t have long nails as a farm girl.
No, plus it’s hard to eat ribs.
It seems like drag isn’t something that you necessarily ever like saw yourself doing until someone approached you and was like, ‘Hey, would you consider doing this?’ What did you take away from the experience?
The respect I have for drag queens: How articulate they can be, how talented, how clever—their wit is so fast. It’s easy for people to be just kind of nasty, but to be really funny is an art. I like seeing the art behind it and how amazing they all are. There’s also the time and rehearsal it takes—some are learning a different song every week.
Has developing this character changed your sense of humor in any way?
With the Dusty character, I knew I could have a lot of fun with it. It’s a lot of play on words. I think it’s more fun than if I were a sexy drag queen from New York—I don’t know how I would do that. So I wanted to go for the more country girl, all-American character with that little naughty side. That kind of humor is what I like. I love to joke with people like that, and then they say ‘Did you just say what I think you said?’ and I go, ‘What do you mean? That’s weird. I can’t believe you just took it like that’—and then I put it back around on them.
What I really respect about the whole art of drag is that everyone I know who comes to those shows says it’s the best evening they’ve had in so long because they’re amazed by the transformation, the music, and the humor. It’s a little bit of everything, and people leave so happy.
What would you tell people who are thinking about getting into drag?
Be ready to put the time in it and the thought, because you can tell when people don’t and just throw a wig on. Be ready to put in the work and, and own it. Be confident and have the best time—you’ve just got to go for it.
Live the dream. Have that moment where it’s like, ‘I’m just gonna do this no matter what.’ My mom always empowered me to do that. There was a routine called King Tut that Steve Martin did that some of us performed in high school. I remember going, ‘Man, this is social suicide. This is not going to be good.’ My mom said, ‘Do it. You’ll be surprised.’ And we got a standing ovation.
Step out of your comfort zone, but own it—put in the work and surround yourself with the good ones. Hire good makeup artists. Get good wigs. And wear Mary Jane heels. ▲