Class Note 1987
Issue
Jul - Aug 2018
In this column I celebrate the diversity of career paths we ’87s have taken, from theater producers to politicians to photographers to bankers!
In theater, the Lucille Lortel Awards celebrate the best of off-Broadway theater, and Drew Desky is on the list of this year’s honorees. Drew and his husband, Dane Levens, coproduced Who’s Holiday!, one of two nominees in the outstanding solo show category.
In circus to politics, how is this for a catchy campaign slogan: “Aim High! Vote Lough!” Former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clown Steve Lough is running for the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District. If he wins the June primary, Steve will face Republican Ralph Norman. On his campaign website, www.clownforcongress.com, Steve states that the horror of the 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, is part of what motivated him to consider running for public office. Steve also feels that his circus experience gives him a unique insight: “Living on the train, touring America by rail, and working with performers, both human and animal, from all different parts of the world was the best education of all! When you sweat beside a person and laugh with them, wherever they are from, whatever the color of their skin, whatever god they worship, you learn to love all of humanity.”
In fine art, artist Liza Ryan focuses on Antarctica in her current photography series. Taken during a 50th birthday trip, Liza’s photographs are not only stunning—she uses other media such as charcoal and graphite to emphasize the architecture of the icebergs and glaciers—but quite timely, given the current administration’s environmental policies. In a recent blog post, Liza wrote that Antarctica “has a palpable power that is indescribable.” She has never worked on a particular series as long as she has done with Antarctica: “Since Antarctica is melting and could disappear soon, it’s difficult to stop.” A selection of Liza’s photography is online at www.kaynegriffincorcoran.com, and this summer the German publishing house Steidl will release The Unreal Real, a book surveying the last two decades of her work.
In banking, after stints at Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, Peter Bogardus joined Union Bank as a vice president and private wealth advisor in January. Although I didn’t know Peter while we were at Dartmouth, I have had the pleasure of spending quality time with him at our annual Bay Area mini-reunions. Peter also was the first person I saw at our 30th reunion. After a very long travel day, including an unpleasant four-hour drive from Logan, I walked alone in the dark up to the class tent, feeling a bit nervous and wondering who I would recognize. Then a voice called out my name and Peter came out with a big smile to graciously escort me to the registration table. What a warm and fuzzy start to a wonderful reunion weekend!
—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com
In theater, the Lucille Lortel Awards celebrate the best of off-Broadway theater, and Drew Desky is on the list of this year’s honorees. Drew and his husband, Dane Levens, coproduced Who’s Holiday!, one of two nominees in the outstanding solo show category.
In circus to politics, how is this for a catchy campaign slogan: “Aim High! Vote Lough!” Former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clown Steve Lough is running for the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District. If he wins the June primary, Steve will face Republican Ralph Norman. On his campaign website, www.clownforcongress.com, Steve states that the horror of the 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, is part of what motivated him to consider running for public office. Steve also feels that his circus experience gives him a unique insight: “Living on the train, touring America by rail, and working with performers, both human and animal, from all different parts of the world was the best education of all! When you sweat beside a person and laugh with them, wherever they are from, whatever the color of their skin, whatever god they worship, you learn to love all of humanity.”
In fine art, artist Liza Ryan focuses on Antarctica in her current photography series. Taken during a 50th birthday trip, Liza’s photographs are not only stunning—she uses other media such as charcoal and graphite to emphasize the architecture of the icebergs and glaciers—but quite timely, given the current administration’s environmental policies. In a recent blog post, Liza wrote that Antarctica “has a palpable power that is indescribable.” She has never worked on a particular series as long as she has done with Antarctica: “Since Antarctica is melting and could disappear soon, it’s difficult to stop.” A selection of Liza’s photography is online at www.kaynegriffincorcoran.com, and this summer the German publishing house Steidl will release The Unreal Real, a book surveying the last two decades of her work.
In banking, after stints at Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, Peter Bogardus joined Union Bank as a vice president and private wealth advisor in January. Although I didn’t know Peter while we were at Dartmouth, I have had the pleasure of spending quality time with him at our annual Bay Area mini-reunions. Peter also was the first person I saw at our 30th reunion. After a very long travel day, including an unpleasant four-hour drive from Logan, I walked alone in the dark up to the class tent, feeling a bit nervous and wondering who I would recognize. Then a voice called out my name and Peter came out with a big smile to graciously escort me to the registration table. What a warm and fuzzy start to a wonderful reunion weekend!
—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com