et al.: Short list 0 N 0 U R 5 H 0 R T L I 5 T ours of teamwork go into selling out wherever it goes," Domenici Staging staging RiPerdance, the marvels. Fortunately, Domenici is no breathtaking performance stranger to theatrical hits. He's toured as H of Irish dance and music. company manager for Phantom of the Riverdance On stage, that work Opera and MidJ Saigon, and has taken a emerges through the performers' preci­ swing around Europe with Michael sion and infectious energy. But audi­ Jackson's production of SiJtereLLa. ''I'm Tom Don1enici .1teer.1 the ence members never see the part of the lucky," says Domenici, who majored in team that brings them the spectacle­ drama in the College of Visual and dazzLing performance the technical crew-which is directed Performing Arts. "It's been a blessing for from behind the .1cene.1 by company manager Tom Domenici me to be part of such big shows." '78. "RiPerJance has been so successful Of course, Domenici's entertainment because of the incredible excitement career has a lso included less glamorous created through a group effort among jobs. "] started out as a page at NBC," the dancers, musicians, and tech crew­ he recalls. "But that was during the and without the help of special effects," days when SaturJay Night Li1'e was real­ Domenici says. ly popular, so it was great fun." After eight years of production work for NBC, first in New York City and then in Burbank, California, Domenici's love for the live stage drew him back to the­ ater. "I got my degree in drama," he says, "and after awhile, I found myself missing the theater." Domenici's return to New York set the stage for his work with a series of theatrical successes. He became an as­ sistant company manager for Gatchell & Neufeld Ltd., which oversaw pro­ ductions like CatJ and StarLight RcpreJJ. Last year, he was company manager for the Broadway staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair. Still, Domenici sees his job with RiPer'Jance as his biggest role yet. "It was great to be part of Phantom and MidJ Saigon," he says. "But RiPer­ Jance is different. A long with the Irish dance and music, there's folk ballet from Moscow, Spanish dan­ cers, and American tap ar­ College of Visual and Performing Arts graduate Tom Domenici (inset) is touring the country as the company manager of Riverdance, the acclaimed performance featuring Irish dancers and musicians. tists. The show has a n inter­ nationa l flavor that's so ex­ citing - it receives standing ovations ~,urin g every per­ Managing such a large produc- formance. tion requires an equally large effort. As Rim·Jance J widespread popularity RiPerJanceJ 80 performers and 20 crew shows no signs of fading. One million members move from city to city on the people have seen the show in the United American tour, so does Domenici. "The States, a nd millions of fans worldwide producers are based in Dublin, so we're have snatched up copies of the RiPer­ their eyes and ears over here," he says. "I dance video and CD. And since RiPer­ take care of the bills, contracts with the Jance is scheduled to tour throug h 2001, venues, a nd publicity in each city ." Domenici might as w e ll get comfortable. When it comes to promotion, RiPer­ "That's the first rule of the theater," h e dance has little trouble drawing a crowd. says. "Never leave a hit." "It's breaking box-office records and -A,;~n' NORTON 12 Published by SURFACE, 2012 SYRA C USE UN I VER S ITY MAG t\ Z I NE 1 Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 14, Iss. 2 [2012], Art. 6 Necessary Support La Verne HaneJ-Ste<,enJ '80 aVerne Hanes-Stevens '80 knows Lthat providing support to women in jail can help turn their lives around after they're released. "Jail is sometimes a rite of passage for men, but for women there is only shame and em­ barrassment associated with incarcera­ tion," says the executive director of Lydia's Place, a voluntary after-care program for women of the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh. "There is a great need for someone to offer traditional, emotionaL and spiritual support for these women." The Allegheny County prison system was in desperate need of such a pro­ gram. A 1990 survey revealed that 60 percent of the women there had been incarcerated three or more times, with many returning less than a year after their release. Eighty-five percent were also single parents, and by 1994 the fe­ LaVerne Hanes-Stevens directs a support program for female inmates at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh. male population at Allegheny had near­ ly tripled from that of a decade ago. "The increasingly hig h rate of recidivism among women made it even more im­ portant for them to have a successful re­ entry into society," she says. "We wanted to create a haven of safety for women trying to break criminal patterns." > Filmmaker Gary W. Gri/Jen G'75 has been as close to a bel­ Women's Christian Renewal Inc. ligerent bull moose as anyone would care to be. "He approached think­ launched a program called Lydia's P lace ing there'd be either a bull to fight or a cow to mate with," Griffen says. in 1993, and after a successful pilot "Instead, he found me." phase named Hanes-Stevens as execu­ Luckily, the perturbed beast lumbered off, leaving Griffen relieved tive director in 1997. The program's he didn't have to abandon his equipment and attempt to outrace the name refers to the New Testament creature. book of Acts (16:40), in which Paul Such is a day on the job for Griffen, whose award-win­ and Silas leave prison and seek ning natural-history documentaries on North American refuge in the house of Lydia . wildlife air on the Discovery Channel and National With th e help of two full-time Geographic TV. The S.l. Newhouse School of Public staff members and numerous volun­ Communications graduate takes two to three years to teers, Hanes-Stevens orchestrates produce one 60-minute TV show on the likes of whitetail pre-release counseling, parenting deer, ringneck pheasants, and wild turkeys. As the head edu cation, worship services, bible of Griffen Productions in Red Hook, New York, he is study, in-jail seminars, a nd a men­ involved in all aspects of these films, from researching taring program that continues after behavioral traits and scouting remote wilds for shooting release. "We move toward starting locations, to enduring long hours behind the camera in rehabilitation early so women be­ the most brutal weather. come empowered and return to the "We try to give the audience a look into an animal's life community as positive individuals," that they'd never see," says Griffen, whose photographs she says. also appear in the book Wild Turkey Country. Lydia's P lace, w hich assists 600 "Opportunity and skill have to meet in one place, and women each year, also offers a host GARY w. GR IFFEN that's how you get your shot." -Jay Cox of services for inmates' children and their caregivers. Children's workshops, 13 https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol14/iss2/6 WI N T E R 1997/ 98 2 et al.: Short list summer a nd holiday events, a nd a pro­ As executive d irector, Hanes-Stevens posed in-jail contact visitation program acts as a strategic p lanner a nd spokes­ Web Weavers help break the destructive cycle w hile person w ho meets with governme nt Larry PearL '91, Kyle Outlaw '89 keeping families together. "O ften the agencies, corporations, a nd foundation s children of offenders are the forgotten to keep the p rogram going. "SU taught omedia n D ennis Leary rants in victims of crime," Hanes-Stevens says. me to think beyond existing structu res," Ctelevision commercials about a "When mom is in ja il, grand ma, au ntie, says Hanes-S tevens, w ho holds degrees "zillion dollars worth of tech nol­ or foster-care workers are left w ith the in communications and marketing. ''I'm ogy" being wasted o n people casually responsibility of raisi ng the children. using that p hilosophy in my work today browsing the Internet. "Want to surf?" That can be a tremendous burden that as I strive to make Lydia's Place a na­ Leary sneers. "Go to Mau i!" T hat advice cau ses anger a nd resentment. We spon­ t ional model and an integral part of the is not lost on Larry Pearl '91 and Ky le sor healthy recreationa l events to sup­ crim inal justice system." O utlaw '89, w ho help Fortune 500 com­ port the efforts of the entire family ." -NATAL/EA. VALENTiNE panies "work the web" through Po ppe Tyson Interactive. From the international company's New York City office, account manager Pearl and art director Outlaw design, create, and manage state-of-the­ art web sites for such clients as IBM, Johnson & J ohnson, and Valvoline Motor O il. Pearl, w ho earned a d ua l degree in > To .Jongwriter Katby Hart '81, the value of music goes marketing from the S chool of Manage­ beyond entertainment-it also has healing power. So she offers her ment and television, radio, and fi lm musical talent to Songs of Love, a nonprofit organization that cre­ management from the S .l.