Lorraine Ahlers-Mack of Weehawken always believed she would make it on the grand stage, as a celebrated actress.
“When I make up my mind to do something, I usually do it,” Ahlers-Mack said.
That’s why she set off to find the footlights of the New York stage some 20 years ago, after graduating from Manhattanville College with a degree in American women’s history.
“I started to get involved in theater while in college,” said Ahlers-Mack, who has called Weehawken home for the last four years. “I was interested in singing, but I didn’t have a voice. I read something for a professor once and he nearly fell off the chair. When he did that, I figured I had to be pretty good at acting. It hooked me.” For 10 years, Ahlers-Mack pursued the dream of becoming a full-time actress, receiving an occasional role, like the Off-Broadway play, “Mothers,” which was produced at the 13th Street Theater.
“I played a street person and a prom queen on different nights,” Ahlers-Mack said. “That was a lot of fun.”
During that time, Ahlers-Mack said that she performed in about 25 different plays and showcases, but the acting roles really didn’t pay the bills.
“I was driving cabs and waiting tables to get by,” Ahlers-Mack said. “I figured that there had to be a better life than asking people if they wanted ketchup on their fries. I did it for 10 years, but the time had come. I wanted to have a family and I couldn’t see myself putting my family through a lifestyle with no fiscal planning. It was a difficult life. I wanted to be something more normal.”
A friend suggested to Ahlers-Mack that she should consider a career in law.
“People kept telling me that I should go to law school, but I didn’t listen,” Ahlers-Mack said. “They said that I had issues to deal with, that I was an advocate for issues and I could argue well. I figured it was a good thing to do, so I went to law school.”
It was while attending St. John’s Law School in Astoria, Queens that the Westchester County native realized that she was doing the right thing.
“I was fascinated by law,” Ahlers-Mack said. “I have a liberal, pro-feminist background and I found out that most laws were written by wealthy white men. I think it was tough for me at the time to give up on a dream. Even though I’m very strong willed, I’m also very practical. And the law was being very practical.”
After graduating from law school and gaining admission to the New York State Bar in 1993, Ahlers-Mack went to work as part of the staff counsel for the insurance company, AIG.
“But after a while, I really grew tired of arguing with people all the time,” Ahlers-Mack said. “So I got into real estate law and opened my own practice.”
While working at AIG, Ahlers-Mack met a man from the litigation support team.
“He called me and wrote nasty letters about something I did,” Ahlers-Mack said. “I was ready to be tough with him, but I met him and he just melted my heart.”
Tom Mack and Lorraine Ahlers became husband and wife two years ago and decided to each take the other’s name in a hyphenated form.
Recently, Ahlers-Mack decided she wanted to branch into the world of New Jersey real estate.
“I love living in Weehawken and living in New Jersey,” Ahlers-Mack said. “I loved living in New Jersey. I just missed practicing law here. The area is going through so many changes that I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to open my own practice in New Jersey, so I figured this would be a good opportunity for me.”
Last summer, Ahlers-Mack studied for the New Jersey Bar Examination and finally took the test.
“It’s a very difficult bar exam, with a fail rate of about 70 percent,” Ahlers-Mack said. “So it was a very difficult summer for me, getting ready for the test.”
However, two weeks ago, Ahlers-Mack received notification that she passed the bar. On Nov. 15, Weehawken Free Public Library Director Philip Greco officially swore in Ahlers-Mack as a New Jersey certified attorney. “I was very excited, because I’ve always wanted this, ever since I became an attorney,” Ahlers-Mack said. “I can do what I want to do now. And it was a great moment for me to get sworn in by Mr. Greco, because I love the library so much.”
Lorraine and Tom Ahlers-Mack are also members of the Skyline Players of the Weehawken Cultural Affairs Committee, performing plays and shows on the local level, so Lorraine can continue to dabble in acting. Both husband and wife performed in former Guttenberg mayor Peter LaVilla’s “99 Cent Special,” which was produced earlier this year, and Lorraine was in “Lend Me a Tenor,” which was done last year.
“It’s been very fulfilling to continue to act,” Ahlers-Mack said.
Now that she’s an official member of the New Jersey Bar Association, Ahlers-Mack said that she would like to pursue work in helping the YWCA of Jersey City as a grant writer. She would also like to do pro-bono legal work to enable underprivileged people the chance to work in the hotel and restaurant management field. “I want to help those who are less fortunate than I am,” Ahlers-Mack said.
Ahlers-Mack said that she doesn’t look back at any portion of her life with regret.
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Ahlers-Mack said. “I knew I couldn’t continue living that way, so I decided to do something else. And it’s been wonderful. Nothing was a waste. I’ve enjoyed it all. I had a ball acting and I’m enjoying my practice now.”