|
|
|||||||||||||
Sweet Home Alabama: This fall’s Gypsy of the Year fundraising drive has brought out a dedicated corps of committed volunteers who collect at countless shows over the six-week period. However, we’re already missing Michelle Tidmore, a volunteer who has collected at hundreds of shows over the past several years. By Andy Smith
If the management at the Winter Garden ever needs someone to fill in for the last 20 minutes of its long-running hit, Michelle can handle the job. “I’ve seen the end of Mamma Mia fiftysomething times,” says Tidmore with a characteristic laugh. “The funny thing is I’ve never seen the whole show.” For more than five years Michelle has donated countless hours to BC/EFA, volunteering her time for Broadway Bares, The Flea Market, and especially Gypsy and Easter Bonnet collections. "Michelle ranks as one of our top collectors, if not the top collector, among our volunteers. She collected a total of 67 times during one season,” says BC/EFA’s Keith Bullock, who coordinates the collections volunteers. “Michelle constantly offered up dates that she was available and happily showed up with a smile ready to hold the bucket." Fort Payne to the Big Apple As a child in Fort Payne, Alabama, a small town near the Tennessee border, Michelle grew up dreaming of becoming an actress. And, after college graduation, she moved to New York to pursue her dream. “I wanted to be a working actress on Broadway,” she says, adding, “I did a few cabaret shows and went on auditions…but mostly I did temp work.” However, as she expected, Michelle fell in love with the city and all the cultural opportunities it presented, including musicals like Aida and, more recently, The Light in the Piazza. Goodbye for Now Michelle left New York in August, returning to her home state of Alabama to get her masters degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Montevallo, the small liberal arts college where she earned her BFA in theater. This will be a two-year leave of absence but not a permanent defection. “I’ll definitely be back. My plan is to teach in the New York public school system,” Michelle says, adding, “I’ll miss my friends here. They’ve become like family and I’m sad to go. But for now I won’t miss the winters.”
|
