Seeing as how Fredonia will be celebrating Homecoming Weekend the weekend of Oct.17-19, we thought we’d give our readers a taste of some recent updates we’ve been getting from our alumni over the past few weeks. In no particular order, here’s some recent news:

  • Kwinn and Elizabeth (Purcell) Doran stopped by the old homestead just this past Monday on their way out to sunny LA. Elizabeth, who for many years has been the managing director of Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany NY, has taken a new position as Managing Director of The Actor’s Gang in Los Angeles. Founded by movie star Tim Robbins in the early 80s (and who remains the artistic director), The Actor’s Gang produces cutting-edge theatre and “daring re-interpretations of classic works.” Kwinn needs only to complete his dissertation to earn his PhD in History. His dissertation on native cultures in New York has already been picked up for publication upon its completion by SUNY Albany Press. They have one child, Giacomo, and one on the way.
  • Carolyn Castiglia returned to Fredonia on Oct. 1 to perform her stand-up comedy routine to the delight of the audience in the Spot. She will be on the road starting Oct. 16 with the Obama Girls of Comedy until the end of the month.
  • Law Tarello has taken a teaching position at the Rochester City School for the Arts. He got the position one week before school began, and is enjoying teaching theatre to 7th and 12th graders. He has plans to direct shows there, and is already scouting out the Rochester theatre scene to see what the possibilities are for a new theatre company.
  • David Bova has recently designed wigs for the National Tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and has been teaching makeup and hair design in Chicago. He is also working for Cirque du Soleil’s production of Wintuk, and is returning to Fredonia soon for the Hillman Opera production of The Magic Flute in November. He is now a member of IATSE 798, and he is still fabulous!
  • Katie White appeared in a critically-acclaimed production of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Rabbit Hole at the Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo. She went from that immediately to the Buffalo United Artist production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, playing the role of Sister James. She hopes to re-mount her production of the one-woman show My Name is Rachel Corrie sometime in February.
  • Christopher Springer and Todd Giglio have released the trailer of their upcoming indie full-length feature Drawing With Chalk. Release is scheduled for around Thanksgiving, with a possible screening in Fredonia in the works. Click on the link to check out the trailer, which has been getting rave reviews from Fredonia alums everywhere. Chris has the long hair; Todd has the cool tattoo.
  • Melissa Kate (Miller) has hooked up with an organization called Artfully Aware, an organization promoting human rights through the arts. She is sponsoring a fundraising event on November 7 in New York City for the organization. Melissa serves as the Drama Consultant for the group, as well as continuing to pursue her career in “sultry cabaret blues.”
  • Marcus Goldhaber is releasing his latest CD Take Me Anywhere on November 25. Marcus is a singer/songwriter in the NYC club scene specializing in vocal jazz stylings.
  • Jeff Whetstone and Jenna Link were recently married in Rochester. 15 theatre alums were in attendance to celebrate with them. They’ve now returned to the sunny climes of California, where they are both member of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and are doing ASM work for opera companies.

There are probably a lot more updates we haven’t included here, but it’s a real pleasure to celebrate the various and wonderful ways our students go out and create careers for themselves. Happy homecoming!