Ned Donovan - Ithaca ‘12

Hey everyone,

So it’s that time of the year where we all get together and stuff our faces in honor of good in the world.  That’s not me being sarcastic either, I love that tradition (I love food).  There’s not much to report here, I just hope that everyone’s having a phenomenal thanksgiving, that all my college friends are having wonderful breaks from school, and that everyone in my life is taking a day to relax, and just enjoy themselves.  I know I am.  I’m here in Allentown at my dad’s house with my Dad, Diana, Devan, and Graham joined me for thanksgiving as well.  We’re about to go out to a large thanksgiving gathering of friends which should be fun, and should have too much food involved.

My break has consisted of relaxing and eating and sleeping.  I’ve watched a bunch of football with Jason, played video games with Derek, watched movies with the gang, and one day when Graham, Jason, Christine, Danny Moss, Nick Taylor, and I went out for a hike in the woods of Ithaca.  The pictures are posted below.  Beyond that there’s not much else to report.  Graham and I got really lost driving down here…(okay I got really lost because I was driving and Graham was playing video games on his computer) and the trip which should’ve been 3 hours, took a little over 4.  Ah well, we can’t win them all.

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let you all know that I just came across the blog for the Ithaca College people in Moscow this semester.  I thought you guys would maybe want to check in with them and see what they’ve been up to, so here’s the link.  http://therussianzolls.blogspot.com/

My best to everyone,

~Ned Donovan

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.

Hey everyone,

So on April 22, we put on the freshman cabaret here at Ithaca College. Despite a few complications and scheduling issues we got it off the ground and running. We did songs from shows such as: Spring Awakening, All Shook up, The Drowsy Chaperone, as well as standards such as “I’m a Woman” by Lieber and Stoller. All in all I think it went pretty well, there were some minor problems but such things happen in a cabaret.

Thanks to everyone who got involved, and all the people who stuck it out despite scheduling conflicts, and to all of you who couldn’t be a part in this but wanted to, I’m sorry that we couldn’t make it. Thanks to Mitchell Murdock for filming the affair and editing it together. Thanks to Jen Shaw and Lucy Gram for Stage Managing and helping me get everything together. Thanks to the School of Music for the use of Presser Hall. Thanks to Laura Intravia and Omar Najimi for playing for us and being flexible about what songs were in it (many of them got added the day before). Thanks to my lovely girlfriend Nicole who put up with me through random rehearsal times and barely got to see me.