Performance School of the Arts
2014 Variety Show
It’s All in the Family
Padraig Bond, a seventh grade student at Gowana Middle School in Clifton Park, NY, comes from a long line of professional actors. His parents, Will Bond (The Siti Company, Drama Desk Nominee) and Barbara Gulan (Law and Order, The Sopranos, Actors Theatre of Louisville) have worked on stage and screen in NYC and regionally. His uncle, Timothy Gulan, a Broadway veteran, currently working on Sting's new musical, The Last Ship, is also in the acting profession.
On June 14th, Padraig will have a chance to step into the family business, as he performs at RPI’s state of the art EMPAC Theater with us in our 2014 Variety Show. Padraig will play the part of Thénardier (Master of the House) in a segment of the show featuring highlights from the Broadway sensation, Les Misérables, just as his uncle has been doing on the 25th anniversary tour this past year. Padraig will also be performing selections from Shakespeare, including “King Lear”, and “The Seven Stages of Man” with other students in our acting department.
Our 2014 Variety Show will feature music, dance, art and theater selections put on by students, faculty, and special guests in an effort to support our newly established Christian M. K. Martin Memorial Scholarship Fund. Proceeds from this event will be put toward our fund which supports arts education for children throughout the Capital District as well as high school seniors within our school who are seeking to pursue the arts in higher education.
Christian Martin, the scholarship fund’s namesake, was a vibrant energetic twenty five year old young man who knew what he wanted and went after it. In his young life, he was a great teacher, conductor, composer, and advocate of music education. Christian was also head of our bowed strings department. He used his great leadership skills to inspire, develop, and transform hundreds of students in his short career. Christian fought hard to hold on to life after he was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma. He was taken from us in a blink. Even though he is no longer with us, his dedication, and spirit are still with us, motivating and inspiring us with his vision.
It was Christian’s vision to provide a way for any child who has the desire to learn an instrument have the opportunity to do so. We at Performance School of the Arts have setup the Christian M. K. Martin Memorial Scholarship fund to ensure that these opportunities happen for children every year going forward. In addition, the fund will gift at least one scholarship annually to a student from any discipline within music and the fine arts to be put toward their pursuit of the arts in higher education.
Performance and Ticket Info: EMPAC Theater, on Saturday June 14th
- Art Gallery Showing and Auction, 4:30 – 5:30pm
- Honors Piano Showcase, 5:30 – 6:00pm
- Selections from Theater, Dance, Orchestra & Rock Bands, 6:00pm
Tickets are required for admission and may be purchased from the following link:
https://tickets.empac.rpi.edu/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent199.html or you may call the box office directly at 518-276-3921. Please purchase tickets as soon as possible since best seats tend to sell out quickly.
Supporting this show goes a long way for children like Padraig and many others to help realize their dreams. Come join us at RPI’s EMPAC Theater on Saturday June 14th to enjoy the show and help Christian Martin’s vision to build a better community for us all.
