Ned Donovan - Ithaca ‘12

Like our fake teeth?

Hey everyone,
So I’ve spent the last few days getting an “about me” page on the site, as well as uploading some pictures   and other things up.  Now I think it’s time that I start really using this thing, so I think the first thing for me to do is give a little recap of how my time’s gone here at Ithaca College thus far.
I arrived at the end of August and was greeted by my roommates: Martine, Jason, Alan, and Max.  They are awesome and I couldn’t have asked for a better living arrangement.  We live in this fantastic 5-person suite with a common room with attached triple and double bedrooms.  Out of our common room window we have a beautiful view of Cayuga Lake, and if you crane your neck you can just barely see Cornell’s buildings on the opposite hill.

I’m taking 8 classes here: Voice and Movement, Scene Study, Repertoire and Pedagogy, Introduction to Musical Styles, Stagecraft, Script Analysis, Ballet, and Academic Writing.  Each of my classes is unique and utterly fascinating.  Voice and Movement is designed to help an actor use their body in order to accurately and completely portray characters, which contrasts nicely with Scene Study which is designed to help an actor naturally and organically interact with other actors in order to make their scenes believable.  Repertoire and Pedagogy, and Introduction to Musical Styles are my two Music classes.  The first is simply a gathering of my voice studio where we listen to various members of the studio sing and help critique them in order to give them feedback, as well as realize habits that we may possess ourselves.  The second is a class designed to break down the different levels of music theory possessed by the freshman class, and help them readapt to the Ithaca College mindset of interpreting music.  Stagecraft is an introductory class to Technical Theatre, and Script Analysis is exactly what it sounds like…we analyze scripts.  Ballet is my one dance class, because I can’t take Jazz due to my knee.  Academic Writing is my one “general education” class, and it is simply a place for developing writing skills, our specific section is doing so by analyzing social capital.  It’s relatively interesting, if a little bit disjointed.

Optimus Prime?!

The food here isn’t great, but it’s not terrible.  They have nice facilities though, and they’re very accessible in relation to where my classes are so I don’t have to worry about not getting a meal…unless I wake up too late which has happened a couple times.  Speaking of the facilities, the buildings on this campus are gorgeous.  The buildings I use frequently are the Whalen School of Music, the Dillingham Center (home of the Department of Theatre Arts), and Textor Hall which is the building with lecture halls.  Dillingham is undergoing renovations on the entranceway and basement and so while it’s not all that aesthetically appealing right now, soon it will be gorgeous.  The teachers here are incredible across the board and the training I’m receiving is simply awe-inspiring.  

So that’s my first update about my time here at Ithaca.  In a couple days I’ll write about the shows and projects I’ve been involved with, and I’ll also give you a nice little update on upcoming events.
So for now, thanks for reading!

Much love,
~Ned Donovan