By LAURA SANICOLA
It is halfway through the second semester of the academic year, and by this point, many freshmen are acclimated to life at Fordham. After a second midterms week, hectic all-nighters are becoming less frequent and Netflix accounts get more use. However, Patrick Donovan Hood, FCRH ’17, has had little time to spare.
After writing a one-act comedy that was chosen to be produced at Fordham’s Blackbox Theatre, Patrick is currently rehearsing to be in yet another production — all before his freshman year draws to a close.
A native of Colleyville, Texas, Pat came to Fordham intent on studying art history with a focus on art preservation.
“Nobody at Fordham has downright mocked me about my major,” Patrick said. “But I have been getting used to the judgments made by people about art history majors, like that we are earning a degree that won’t get us anywhere in life. Mostly people are just surprised if I mention my major, unsure if art history is an actual subject you can study in college,” he laughs. “I don’t care. I like it and I’m good at it.”
When the school year started, Patrick became involved with Fordham Experimental Theater, (FET), an umbrella group that puts on shows that are cast, produced, chosen, directed, acted and sometimes written by members of the student body.
For last semester’s Playwright Festival, he co-wrote and acted in a short play called “It Came from Portland,” which is a comedy about a group of office workers in Portland, Oregon, during a monster attack.
As a novice playwright and a freshman, having a play performed in the Blackbox Theater in Collins Hall was quite an accomplishment. The play ran in Nov. 2013 and ha a packed house every night.
This semester, Patrick will be performing in the comedy, “The Detective Gets Results,” written by Nick Pappas, FCRH ’15, which is set to run at the end of March.
Although he seems to be a natural comedian on the stage and behind the scenes, this venue is relatively new to Pat.
“I didn’t do a lot of theater in high school. I was a band kid,” he reflected. “I mainly like being in FET because I like being funny and trying to be funny in front of people. Plus, I am surrounded by a great group of people and I spend my time just having fun.”
This semester, Patrick was chosen as a member of Free Pizza, the sketch comedy troupe at Rose Hill. Free Pizza performs about three shows every semester.
When Patrick is not writing, acting or making people laugh on stage, he is a member of Fordham’s Ultimate Frisbee Team.
Patrick also studies in the Fordham College Honors Program, spending his remaining time in class and keeping on top of his work.
If Patrick Donovan Hood has racked up this many accomplishments in his first year alone, only time will tell what great things he has in store for his next three years at Fordham.
