Ned Donovan - Ithaca ‘12

Hey everyone,

So on May 2nd, some of the members of the class of 2012 here at Ithaca College Department of Theatre Arts put on a cabaret to raise money for The Dysautonomia Foundation. We filmed the cabaret and I have put up the videos that people involved wanted posted. So there are some gaps as some people preferred to keep themselves YouTube free, however you can see all the posted videos at Ned’s YouTube Page or in the player posted below!

Here is some information on the Dysautonomia Foundation: FamilialDysautonomia (FD) is a rare genetic neurological condition that affects the sensory and autonomic nervous systems, causing severe gastrointestinal,cardiac, pulmonary, orthopedic, renal and ophthalmologic problems. The Dysautonomia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity that supports medical treatment, research, public awareness and social services for the benefit of people afflicted with FD. The Foundation has established the world’s only two FD treatment centers and is the largest single source of funding for research and treatment specifically for the benefit of people with FD. For more information, visit http://www.familialdysautonomia.org/

Performing members of the Class of 2012 were:

Will Boyajian
Sarah Brenner
Danny Bristoll
Ned Donovan
Beth Ellson
John Gardner
Megan Green
Hannah Guillory
Elizabeth Hake
Priya Iyer
Andrew Karl
Bruce Landry
Danny Lindgren
Mary Malaney
Mallory Newbrough
Emily Putnam
Josh Sedelmeyer
Tony Vo

Accompanists were:
Drew Benware (School of Music Faculty)
Katie Peters (Class of 2012)

Here’s the player! Enjoy!

Hey everyone,

This is a sadder post to pay homage to a great man.  My senior year in high school I performed in a show called “Broadway at Good Theater” at Good Theater in Portland Maine.  I sang “Muddy Water” from Big River with a man named George Merritt.  George passed away at the age of 67 on February 15th.  I found out on Friday the 19th when I went to see The Importance of Being Ernest at Good Theater.  I remarked to Brian Allen (the Artistic Director) that I still had George’s name on my resumé and he quietly asked me if I was aware if George had passed away.

I was stunned to say the least.  You see I only knew him for a total of about 4 days, but we had so much fun singing that song, and we talked at great lengths backstage, and afterwards George immediately emailed me to keep in touch.  He was like that, he was always reaching out.  His obituary can be found here and it talks about many of his charitable activities.  He sent me an email or a message on facebook/linkedin every couple months or so to see what I’d been doing, and to update me on what he and his wife had been doing.

Hey everyone,

So if you know me at all, you know that I am obsessed with the musical “Passing Strange”.  My story with Passing Strange is kind of fun, because I didn’t want to see it when I first read about it in the NY Times that February, and then when I went to the city in March, my friend Debra Evans informed me that if she was going to help me find cheap tickets, I was required to see Passing Strange.  I begrudgingly agreed.  Man, was I wrong.  I was on the edge of my seat, laughing uproariously, crying, rocking out, enjoying myself fully, just the way theatre was meant to be.  I saw many shows that week, including Sunday in the Park with George, In The Heights, A Catered Affair, and more; and Passing Strange easily took the cake for the best thing I saw that season.  I came home, saddened that no CD of the show

existed yet, and told everyone to go see it if they were in New York.  Not many people listened.

Fast forward a few months and we’re in June of 2008, the CD rendition of Passing Strange is totally a letdown in comparison with the beauty of the show, many songs are overlooked, and the interludes which made the show so great aren’t in there.

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to drop a quick note and let you know an exciting update in my life.  All the BFAs were put into a hat and names were drawn at random, and I’m singing for Patti Lupone in a master class on Wednesday, December 9th.  It’s going to be an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to hear what she has to say about my work.  I will post again later about how it was.

Love to everyone as we enter the holiday season!

~Ned Donovan

Well hey there everyone,

Long time no post on my end, and I’m sorry about that…it’s been a busy month.  I want to start this post off in a shameless plug for a show I am involved in.  Fenix Theatre Co. in Portland has been producing Shakespeare in the park this summer, and after a very successful run of Taming of the Shrew at the beginning of the summer, they are about to open A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  I am a co-fight director for the project alongside the absolutely amazing Sally Wood (this woman had a C-section about 2 weeks prior to the first rehearsal, and she’s out there teaching things and kicking ass and taking names).  It’s directed by Peter Brown who directed The History Boys for Madhorse Theatre Company, and having watched it, it’s gonna be awesome.  A couple shoutouts to the cast as well, Seth Rigoletti (my drama teacher at Waynflete) is playing Demetrius, and Vano Kimmel (graduated from Waynflete with me, is now an Acting major at Clairmont) is playing a fairy in the fairy ensemble.  I’ve loved working on the show, and I can’t wait to see it, and you all should too.  It opens wendesday, and runs wednesday through saturday starting at 6 o’clock and runs for two weeks.