Ned Donovan - Ithaca ‘12

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share with you a review written about our production of “A New Brain” here at Ithaca College.  It’s a great review, and you still have tonight, tomorrow, and two shows on saturday.  www.ithaca.edu/theatre for more information.

Here’s the review.

~Ned Donovan

I’ve been trying for a couple weeks to address this issue here at IC.  Some background.  A piece was written by a member of the class of 2008 named Emily McNeil.  She wrote about her experience being a volunteer helping people in the West Bank, specifically she was supporting the Palestinian civilians who are being wronged by the Israeli citizens and military.  Her piece was published in the IC View, a monthly send out to parents, students, and alumni of Ithaca College.   Many alumni rose up claiming this was an anti-jewish piece, a pro-hamas piece, or many other awful things.  This pressured the President into writing a formal apology in the next IC View, as well as forcing the IC View editor to do the same, and creating a new review board for IC View submissions.  Many members of the student body have risen up about how this is essentially censorship.

The piece can be read here.  Please read it, it’s a great piece which really closely examines the awful circumstances these people are placed in.  There is also nothing inflammatory about it.  You can read the President’s apology here, and the editor’s apology here.  

I was torn as to how I felt about the piece, my first problem being that her point has been made moot.

Hey everybody,

I have some exciting news.  I’ve been cast as the understudy to the Minister in William Finn’s “A New Brain”!  This will be my Ithaca College Mainstage Debut, which is very exciting.  I’m thrilled because this is the show I was hoping for, and I was not expecting to be cast.  Kudos to the Ithaca College BFA class of 2012 however, we were cast in every show, and in many cases, in prominent roles.  A New Brain is about Gordon Schwinn, a composer who hates his job as a writer for a children’s television show featuring an annoying frog, Mr Bungee.  While at lunch with his agent Rhoda, he collapses and is rushed to the hospital where he finds out he has arteriovenous malformation and needs brain surgery.  Surrounded by his lover Richard, his agent, his neurotic mother, a contemplative and insightful homeless lady, and a whole mess of doctors, nurses, (and the hospital minister) he attempts to recover from his predicament.  The music is exciting, and the story touching, hilarious, and downright scary in some cases.  For me, this is William Finn’s masterpiece, and I am so happy that I will get to be a part of it.  The show previews on tuesday, march 24th, then opens thursday march 29th with a run through sunday april 4th.

Hey everyone, this is part two of updating what’s been going on in my life.  This one dedicated to the theatrical things I’ve personally been involved in.

Evil Dead: The Musical, opened and closed as a roaring success.  We had 65 or so people come each night, and everyone left with positive remarks.  A bunch of people have commented about how they’d rather see this on Halloween night instead of Rocky Horror Picture Show, so we call the whole experience a win.  I’d like to thank each of the people involved in the show, both cast and crew, and I know I’ll forget people, so if you don’t see your name here and you worked on the show…you’re thanked.  Thanks to: Matt Musgrove, Angelica Duncan, Nicole Intravia, Marcin Pawlikiewicz, Elizabeth Hake, Danny Lindgren for being a wonderful cast to work with; thanks to: Nick Bombacino, Pete Kielar, Nia Sciarretta, Sledge Shendge, Natalie Scott, Jason Barrera, Kendra Slack, and many more for being an awesome production team and crew.  If I have forgotten you in that list, I apologize greatly…don’t hurt me.

I was also involved in a staged reading of an irish show by Frank McGuinness called: Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme.

Hey everyone,
So it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here, mainly because my life has been pretty crazy.  Instead of creating one long post, however, I’m going to write a couple around different themes.  This will be the one on just general knowledge.  So where to begin?

We have a new president!  Well no, but we will soon!  Barack Obama was elected president and I’m happy to say that the man I voted for came out on top.  I will say it was interesting to be at this school and be a republican voting for Barack Obama.  It is intensely liberal here, it’s more intense than being back at Waynflete and surrounded by the dems there…and that’s saying something.  Just to give you an idea of what happened when Obama won the election…here’s a youtube video of the ensuing mayhem on Ithaca College’s campus (this subsequentially was played on CNN.com and other news sites)
I would like to say congratulations to the world, while I don’t know if I buy into the idea that this is going to bring a new era for America and that Barack Obama is a savior…I will say that he is better than our current president, his administration will be better than our current administration, and it will certainly be different.