Ned Donovan - Ithaca ‘12

Hey everyone,

The reference in the title is how I feel (and I think most of my classmates feel) right about now.  Sophomore year is not easy, and part of the reason for my silence is the amount of work needed in the last couple weeks.  So we’ll recap to start.  Children of Eden entered tech week, and my life went away.  Then Children of Eden opened, and the amount of energy to keep that show alive is immense.  It’s not just that our production is great (which if I do say so myself, it is), it’s that everyone is onstage almost the entire time.  When not onstage as a character, the “storytellers” are there to help the audience along.  Think a giant Greek chorus that sings and dances.  So there’s very little room for water breaks, and to keep energized for the entire show is a daunting task.  I think we succeeded however, because we’ve had nothing but fabulous reviews.  Here are four examples (one, two, three, four).  As Eden opened, everything started to set in, such as the knowledge that the second acting review of the year is coming up in about three weeks, singing review is this afternoon, final projects for classes have kicked into full swing, and frankly there are so few hours in the day that sleep is basically not an option.  This may sound like I’m complaining, and that might be the lack of sleep talking, but the fact of the matter is, I love every second of what’s going on.  The challenges are many, but all of us seem to be pulling through and working to create some really fantastic work together as a group.

Hey everyone,

So I’ve been here at school freaking out about life and the things I have to do, because everything is so hectic right now.  It was only today, that I had a sort of epiphany, where I realized just how confined to my own program I am right now.  Looking at the trials and tribulations of my friends and family I realize just how much less stressful my life is than I thought.  Specifically my brother and my father have been having truly stressful and trying months.  We’ll start with my father. My dad (Michael Donovan, and no, not the director who is all over my resumé; they are different people) is a city councilman in Allentown Pennsylvania. Earlier this year he was assaulted by some teenagers he asked to stop go-karting in a park they were not allowed to be riding motorized vehicles in.  One kid punched him in the face and broke his cheek bone.  My father, did not push the full wrath of god upon this kid to make an example of him, instead he talked with the boy, the judge, and the boy’s father, and came up with a suitable juvenile sentence.  I can tell you if I had been hit, I would have gone after him in a heartbeat.  Later on this year my father went next door late at night to ask his neighbors to quiet down and to bring their barking dog inside.  When he knocked on the door, he was answered by an angry woman who was screaming at him, and she slammed her glass door in his face.  The door shattered, covering him in glass, and he (wisely) left the scene after calling the police.  Soon after he was served with two cases, one for criminal harassment, and one for destruction of property (she maintains that he broke her door).  The harassment case was thrown out by the judge at the end of the summer, and the DOP case was voluntarily removed by the complainant after receiving a letter detailing the penalties for the consequences of wrongful use of civil proceedings and abuse of process.  You can read the details here on Bernie O’Hare’s blog.  The time between the charges being dealt, and the dismissing of the cases was a few months, however, and over that time many biting personalities in Allentown were able to take potshots at my father over the case (Bill Villa being the #1 instigator).  These people have been coming after my father a lot recently, and this is the other trial my father is constantly facing.  On his public blog he hopes to allow a forum for people to get ideas through to the city council.  As with all political public blogs, these bring out the best and worst of people.  Recently he’s been getting a lot of the worst from Bill Villa and his supporters.  In that blog post I just linked, Mr.

Hey everyone,

So it’s been a while since my last update, mostly because the last couple weeks have been extremely stressful.  But here we are, it’s September 7th, and I think I can finally start settling into a normal schedule.  Upon arriving here the theatre department was dealing with the Dillingham Renovations (which are awesome by the way), auditions for the fall mainstage season, and just the acclimation of the new freshman class, as well as the returning students back into the swing of things.  Auditions went very well, and I’m pleased to say I’ve been cast as Shem in Stephen Schwartz’s Children of Eden.  Last year around this time it was really hard to come in and become adjusted to the new atmosphere and classes, but with that year of familiarity having gone by, the year has just started without a hitch.  I’m really happy with all my teachers and classes, and I’m excited to get down to work.  Review is coming up in only about a month, or a month and a half…so it’s time to buckle down and get stuff done.

The school year is over.  It’s weird to look back and think that I have completed one quarter of my time in college.  Weirder still to think that I only have three more years of schooling to go (that is unless my life plan changes drastically and I head off to grad school).  It’s amazing to me that this year has actually happened, that my life has actually been altered in the way it has.  Over the next week or so I’ll be posting on my experiences in the last 3 weeks, from review to getting ready to leave.  I won’t do it in one long post, that just seems silly.  All I will say about review, however, is that I got what I expected, and I am continuing as a Musical Theatre major for now, as always I will have to work as hard as I possibly can in order to remain in the program, but that is true for everyone, not just me.  In this post I want to talk a bit about an experience I had right at the end of the year, on the last night that Dillingham was open to students.

Hey everyone,

It’s been a while since I last posted, sorry about that, I’ve had a lot to do.  The largest of which is that the show I am a part of, A New Brain, is opening at Ithaca College this week.  This thursday, March 26th is the opening performance, and let me tell you the show is amazing.  I’ve been watching it unfold since the beginning, and as an understudy, I am there to know the Minister’s part in the off-chance that Bruce Landry (the Minister) can’t perform that night.  Because of this, I’ve watched the set go up, the technical aspects join the show, I’ve watched the music grow, and the story become clear, and I have to say that this show is beautiful, and everyone should see it if you have a chance.  You can read my quick summary in an earlier post, or go here.  Please come see it, you won’t be disappointed.

On March 14th I auditioned for summer stock theaters at the New England Theater Conference.  There were 42 theaters there this year, and I received a good amount of response from the theaters there, so hopefully I can find a fun job for this summer.