DON GORMANLY
Don made incredible contributions to the Chappell Players and St. John's University when he was a student, including establishing the Annual Cabaret for Charity show, and has never stopped as an amazingly supportive and involved alumni.
While having a six-year-old son and working in the US workforce for over 13 years, Don was able to sit down with CPTG and have a few words with us about himself and his experience in the Chappell Players and past 15 Cabaret for Charity performances.
While having a six-year-old son and working in the US workforce for over 13 years, Don was able to sit down with CPTG and have a few words with us about himself and his experience in the Chappell Players and past 15 Cabaret for Charity performances.
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How was Cabaret for Charity started?
The Cabaret series of shows was started by the board of the Chappell Players back in Fall of 1999. At the time, we were just doing one show each semester (usually one musical and one non-musical). I believe the idea was my fellow Chappie Michael Rosenberger's concept (hope no one hates me if I'm wrong). It was sort of the beginning of trying to get more things going for the group. The first one - in December 1999 - titled Y2Kabaret, for the most part, was a very formal event, with guys in suit-like attire, and women in dresses. It was pretty much all musical theater songs performed, with a traditional revue-style of one song right into another. No plot, no between-song dialogue, etc. It was fairly successful and I believe everyone had a good time doing the show, and the audience seemed to enjoy it, too. So, it just happened again the year after that, and the year after that, etc. Now, here the Chappell Players are, getting ready to hold auditions for the sixteenth Cabaret For Charity. How many Cabarets have you been a part of? I've been in all fifteen of them. I typed out the word "fifteen" so it would be more apparent that this wasn't a typo. Yes. All fifteen Cabaret For Charity shows have had me actually perform in them. My running gag-plan is to stop doing the Cabaret For Charity shows after next year's, which would be seventeen of them. Because, once I hit eighteen shows, I will start running into Freshmen that weren't even alive when the first C4C was performed. Let that sink in, how it would sound when I say to a Freshman, "Yeah. The first Cabaret For Charity was in 1999. Oh... you were born in the year 2000?" Truth be told, I probably won't stop until the school tells me it's too creepy having me around. |
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"I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T (OR EVEN CAN'T) FULLY REALIZE HOW MUCH BREAD AND LIFE HELPS PEOPLE."
How important to you is the charity aspect of Cabaret?
The charity aspect is extremely im portant. The CPTG is considerably more active now than when I was here as a student. When I was in High School, we drove out to Nebraska for the annual International Thespian Society (ITS) festival. It was a whole new world to me, as my HS was a small, private school and didn't have a huge theater program. Prepping for one of the Nebraska trips, my director mentioned how St. John's is such a big name school and is so close to Broadway (arguably the center of the theater world) but doesn't have a theater program! Then, years later, I went to SJU and started doing shows there, and he was right. I mean, I graduated as a Computer Science major, so I wasn't looking to make a career out of performing. And I'm grateful for the opportunities that not having to compete with theater majors may (or may not) have offered me while I was a student. But, watching the CPTG grow like it has is goodness. Then, on top of that, to have a show once a year be performed for the sole purpose of raising money to help people just adds to that goodness. I think a lot of people don't (or even can't) fully realize how much Bread and Life helps people.
The charity aspect is extremely im portant. The CPTG is considerably more active now than when I was here as a student. When I was in High School, we drove out to Nebraska for the annual International Thespian Society (ITS) festival. It was a whole new world to me, as my HS was a small, private school and didn't have a huge theater program. Prepping for one of the Nebraska trips, my director mentioned how St. John's is such a big name school and is so close to Broadway (arguably the center of the theater world) but doesn't have a theater program! Then, years later, I went to SJU and started doing shows there, and he was right. I mean, I graduated as a Computer Science major, so I wasn't looking to make a career out of performing. And I'm grateful for the opportunities that not having to compete with theater majors may (or may not) have offered me while I was a student. But, watching the CPTG grow like it has is goodness. Then, on top of that, to have a show once a year be performed for the sole purpose of raising money to help people just adds to that goodness. I think a lot of people don't (or even can't) fully realize how much Bread and Life helps people.
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Don with alum Richard Masin backstage during
the 13th Annual Cabaret for Chairty: CabaFear
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Have you been able to remain involved with theatre as much as you had thought/wanted?
Sometimes I think I've remained TOO involved in theatre since graduating. In addition to the annual Cabaret For Charity show, I made the rounds in the local Queens theater groups for a bit. I still do shows when I can today. I'm currently part of a few touring shows that have performed in Riverhead, in Pennsylvania, and in Florida. The Josephine Foundation, a not-for-profit that I work with -
http://www.thejosephinefoundation.org
- helps support programs in the Arts and Sports, so that has gotten me involved with some of the educational aspects of performing, as well. Once you find people that you enjoy working with, it's tough to tell them that you don't want to be involved in something. And it's tough to limit yourself to just one company, as NYC and Long Island have a lot of groups that do some fun shows.
Sometimes I think I've remained TOO involved in theatre since graduating. In addition to the annual Cabaret For Charity show, I made the rounds in the local Queens theater groups for a bit. I still do shows when I can today. I'm currently part of a few touring shows that have performed in Riverhead, in Pennsylvania, and in Florida. The Josephine Foundation, a not-for-profit that I work with -
http://www.thejosephinefoundation.org
- helps support programs in the Arts and Sports, so that has gotten me involved with some of the educational aspects of performing, as well. Once you find people that you enjoy working with, it's tough to tell them that you don't want to be involved in something. And it's tough to limit yourself to just one company, as NYC and Long Island have a lot of groups that do some fun shows.
Do you have any advice for Chappell Players going through college or the ones who have
already graduated?
For those Chappies that have graduated, I hope all is going well. Definitely do your due diligence and find out all you can about directions that your life can go in, but don't hesitate too much, as you only get one life to live and, no matter how far into it you already are, change can always occur.
For those Chappies that are looking forward to graduating, it's tough out there, no doubt. But, life chugs along regardless of whether you're proactive or stagnant. There's no secret recipe to a perfect life, at least none that I've found. So, give it your best shot.
already graduated?
For those Chappies that have graduated, I hope all is going well. Definitely do your due diligence and find out all you can about directions that your life can go in, but don't hesitate too much, as you only get one life to live and, no matter how far into it you already are, change can always occur.
For those Chappies that are looking forward to graduating, it's tough out there, no doubt. But, life chugs along regardless of whether you're proactive or stagnant. There's no secret recipe to a perfect life, at least none that I've found. So, give it your best shot.
