Debbie Thompson
Debbie Thompson is a remarkable alumnus of Chappell Players who has had a fulfilling career in the arts and beyond. She has carved out a unique career path for herself to fit her diverse interests and skills, and it all started in Queens.
Since she was a child growing up in Queens, Thompson always knew that she wanted to attend St. John's University. She remembers walking past the campus with her grandparents as it was being built and deciding there and then that she would one day attend the university. When she was finally old enough to attend the campus, she enrolled as a communication arts major with a business minor. She got involved with the Chappell Players at St. John's after seeing one of their shows and deciding to sign up for props for the next show. She eventually ended up working in costumes for many productions and even was in the cast for some shows. Thompson also got the TV club, which she was a part of, involved with Chappell Players. Her favorite show that she participated in was Funny Girl in which she played Mrs. Brice and helped with costumes.
After graduating from St. John's in 1974, Thompson jumped right into the world of professional entertainment and started working at small production companies and theaters. One of the people she met through Chappell Players even recommended her for the position of assistant costume designing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. After that, Thompson got hired to do costumes and be an understudy for the national tour of Godspell for 6 months. The stage manager left part way through the tour, and Thompson stepped up to stage manage the remainder of the tour. After this production, the connections she made were able to get her jobs stage managing and doing costumes for several other shows. She has had the opportunity to travel to places such as Rome, Paris, and Madrid because of the theater.
In the 80s, Thompson took a step back from the world of theater because she got interested in computers. She started working for Ticketmaster on and off in between other jobs in the theater. Eventually, Thompson worked her war up to being a phone center manager and began to work at Ticketmaster full time. In 1993, she moved away from Ticketmaster and took a job in reservations at the Sheraton hotel in New York. She once again worked her way up the ranks at the Sheraton. She proved herself to be a talented worker and moved from reservation to human resources, where she worked for several years. She left the company for a while during the pandemic, but she is now back in her old reservations department with people she hired when she worked in human resources.
Throughout her life and especially her time at Chappell Players, Thompson has collected many wise words and lessons to share from her experiences. She emphasizes the importance of extracurriculars in college because they expose you to people outside of your field and can allow you to make connections with people that might end up helping you succeed down the road. Being involved with theater in college and after college also helped prepare Thompson for the hospitality industry, especially in cases of running meetings and other special events. The skills learned in theater can be applied to any field. Thompson also stresses that everyone has to start somewhere. You must be willing to put in the work and work your way up from the bottom. While in some cases, success can come from being in the right place at the right time with the right people, without hard work, you will not make it anywhere. The final piece of advice from Thompson is school and college are great: savor this time. It will prepare you for the rest of your life.
Since she was a child growing up in Queens, Thompson always knew that she wanted to attend St. John's University. She remembers walking past the campus with her grandparents as it was being built and deciding there and then that she would one day attend the university. When she was finally old enough to attend the campus, she enrolled as a communication arts major with a business minor. She got involved with the Chappell Players at St. John's after seeing one of their shows and deciding to sign up for props for the next show. She eventually ended up working in costumes for many productions and even was in the cast for some shows. Thompson also got the TV club, which she was a part of, involved with Chappell Players. Her favorite show that she participated in was Funny Girl in which she played Mrs. Brice and helped with costumes.
After graduating from St. John's in 1974, Thompson jumped right into the world of professional entertainment and started working at small production companies and theaters. One of the people she met through Chappell Players even recommended her for the position of assistant costume designing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. After that, Thompson got hired to do costumes and be an understudy for the national tour of Godspell for 6 months. The stage manager left part way through the tour, and Thompson stepped up to stage manage the remainder of the tour. After this production, the connections she made were able to get her jobs stage managing and doing costumes for several other shows. She has had the opportunity to travel to places such as Rome, Paris, and Madrid because of the theater.
In the 80s, Thompson took a step back from the world of theater because she got interested in computers. She started working for Ticketmaster on and off in between other jobs in the theater. Eventually, Thompson worked her war up to being a phone center manager and began to work at Ticketmaster full time. In 1993, she moved away from Ticketmaster and took a job in reservations at the Sheraton hotel in New York. She once again worked her way up the ranks at the Sheraton. She proved herself to be a talented worker and moved from reservation to human resources, where she worked for several years. She left the company for a while during the pandemic, but she is now back in her old reservations department with people she hired when she worked in human resources.
Throughout her life and especially her time at Chappell Players, Thompson has collected many wise words and lessons to share from her experiences. She emphasizes the importance of extracurriculars in college because they expose you to people outside of your field and can allow you to make connections with people that might end up helping you succeed down the road. Being involved with theater in college and after college also helped prepare Thompson for the hospitality industry, especially in cases of running meetings and other special events. The skills learned in theater can be applied to any field. Thompson also stresses that everyone has to start somewhere. You must be willing to put in the work and work your way up from the bottom. While in some cases, success can come from being in the right place at the right time with the right people, without hard work, you will not make it anywhere. The final piece of advice from Thompson is school and college are great: savor this time. It will prepare you for the rest of your life.
