Meet Danny Gorman

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Danny Gorman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Danny, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is something that I have lived with for most of my life, and I would be lying if I said I have completely figured it out. It is that creeping, nagging voice that wakes me up in the middle of the night to tell me that I am not good enough, that I am a fraud, and that everyone is going to find me out. I had never really put a name to this growing up, but it began to shape how I would approach my work and my life.

I got my Masters Degree in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City, and shortly after graduation, I began working for an esteemed theatre, film, and television director named Lonny Price. Lonny is truly one of the kindest, most sensitive people I have ever met, to say nothing of his talent. He was, and still is, an inspiration to me every day, though we haven’t worked together in quite some time. Working for Lonny not only provided me access to some of the most exciting and lifechanging projects of my career (Broadway, London’s West End, and beyond), it also opened my eyes to a side of the business that I hadn’t seen before. A life in the arts is HARD, and Lonny had been doing it for thirty-five years. When he was not working on a project (which he always was), he was working on finding the next project, and the next, and the next. I saw how driven he was to keep his career in forward motion. This was formative, and terrifying. On the macro, it made me question if I had the stuff to make this happen for myself. On the micro, I needed to work my absolute hardest to help him on his pursuit. We had a wonderful and supportive working relationship, but in my head, I was working with the expectation that every single day, I was going to be fired. This made me work harder, faster, and obsessively, making myself indispensable in the room. I wouldn’t say this is the healthiest mindset to have, but it certainly informed my work ethic.

Lonny and I parted ways professionally at the onset of the pandemic. There was no theatre work for either of us, and it seemed an appropriate time for me to reevaluate and focus on my next chapter. The following summer, my husband and I moved out of our studio apartment in Hell’s Kitchen for the vineyards of Northern California.

My first professional job on the West Coast came the week after I moved, on the Tony-Award winning production of A Christmas Carol, which was doing a seasonal run in San Francisco. I was the Associate Director of the production, alongside my dear friend from London, Jamie Manton. (Funny enough, we met working together on the directing team of Lonny’s West End revival of Carousel and became fast friends.) I was madly in love with this production, having seen it in London and on Broadway, and to work on this show with someone so special to me was an actual dream come true. And then, the imposter syndrome set in. I had been out of work for nearly two years. The climate in the country had shifted drastically – and rightfully – and I began to hear the voices, now bolder and more aggressive, telling me that I was out of my league. Things that I typically loved to do like work with actors on scene work or piece together complicated set transitions would give me a deep sense of dread. I would cry every morning before leaving for rehearsal. I am sure that two years in solitude exacerbated the feelings that were always there, but it became unmanageable.

Jamie and I would have beers after rehearsals, and we’d share these feelings. It gave me comfort to know that I was not alone, that someone at the top of his own directing game was also feeling this way. It made me think of Lonny, and how he, without ever articulating it, probably felt this way. When you have a life in the arts, you tie a lot of your self-worth to your work. There is something deeply vulnerable about showing a piece of yourself, your soul, in your art. It opens you to perpetual antagonism not only from those negative voices in your head, but from every person who sees your work.

During one of our technical rehearsals prior opening, we were working on a particularly emotionally charged scene in the show. For those of you familiar with A Christmas Carol, it is Tiny Tim’s death. Our two actors playing Tim were spectacular young kids with disabilities. (Gosh, just thinking about them now makes me smile from ear to ear.) The scene was intense; a lot of yelling, crying, loud sounds, flashing lights. It was sensory overload, and it was just too much for them to handle. We stopped the rehearsal, cleared the stage, and sat with them for a while, taking deep, calming breaths. Soon, the tears of fear and discomfort turned to tears of laughter. After about twenty minutes, we released the Tims for the night, broke for dinner, and came up with a plan to take the kids out of that scene and still maintain the integrity of the show. (Never underestimate the power of a prop.)

It was heartbreaking to see someone in so much pain, but I have never felt prouder of myself or our team for handling the situation proactively with sensitivity. And it was in that moment that there was no impostor syndrome, no self-doubt or worry or fear of being fired, only human compassion. It is our job as theatre artists to create safe spaces, and this experience reminded me that one of my “superpowers” is empathy. Of all the beautiful moments I had working on this show, this rehearsal is the memory that I hold closest to my heart. It shifted my mindset from “I don’t belong here” to “I am of value here.” I now take this reminder into every show I work on. I make it my personal responsibility to ensure that every person I work with feels valued, respected, and safe. And if they are not, I work with the same intense focus of my “I’m-getting-fired-today” days to recalibrate the room to make sure they do. It has become my touchstone, the one constant that I know is within my control. I love to make people feel good about themselves. Sure, it’s a bummer to get a bad review, or when someone hiding behind a computer screen has something less-than-favorable to say about me. But at the end of the day, if I made the people in my circle feel seen and appreciated, then I did my job.

I say all of this to remind myself that confidence comes in many forms. There are and will always be days where the nasty voices in my head try to bring me down. But now, instead of letting them control the situation, I can calmly respond, “I see you, I hear you, thank you for your input, I have to go now.” It’s a pretty remarkable feeling, and I encourage you to try it sometime.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Danny is a theatre director, educator, and producer. He is the Artistic Director of THTR Productions, a new theatre and production company in Sonoma County. Danny served as the Associate Director on the Tony Award-winning production of “A Christmas Carol” in San Francisco. He directed the world premiere of “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance, and Evolution” starring Glenn Close, Christian Slater, and Wayne Brady, with original jazz music by Grammy Award-winner Ted Nash. He Assistant Directed the Broadway and West End revivals of “Sunset Boulevard” also starring Close, “Man of La Mancha” starring Kelsey Grammer, and “Carousel” starring Alfie Boe, all at the English National Opera, as well as “Scotland, PA” at the Roundabout Theatre Company and “Sinatra: Voice for a Century” at the New York Philharmonic. Danny has worked at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, New York University, Arizona Broadway Theatre, the CRY HAVOC Company, United Solo, FringeNYC, and NAMT. MFA: Actors Studio Drama School (PACE University); BA: NYU. @dannygorm @thtr_productions

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

This is so simple, but so often overlooked: be on time; be prepared; be kind. This applies to my life in the theatre, but it really is the foundation of how I choose to live my everyday life. And really, all three of these boil down to one key idea: respect.

Respect people’s time: we are all busy, so make the most of it. Don’t call someone to a meeting or rehearsal if they don’t need to be there. Don’t be late, even for a happy hour cocktail with your friend, they have cleared that time to be with you.

Respect the work by planning and always bringing your “better.” I say better because “best” is kind of unattainable and subjective. If you have a presentation at your job, take the time to thoughtfully and concisely plan. If you are an actor in rehearsals, know your lines and blocking. If you are a director, know the show better than anyone else in the room. People will lose confidence in you if they see you winging it.

Respect people by being kind. Kindness costs nothing and means everything. We are all human going through this life, and a little kindness and compassion, even to the stranger on the street, can make the difference between them having a good day or a bad day.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

I mentioned before that an artist attributes a lot of their self-worth to their work, and that is an ongoing challenge. The current struggle, in addition to this, is the work-life balance. When my husband and I moved to California in 2021, we started a theatre and production company in Sonoma County. Our company, THTR Productions, explores the untapped intersection between nightlife and live theatre with immersive theatrical productions, specialized personal events, master classes, concerts and more. We run this company in addition to our other freelance jobs. It is wildly rewarding, and also, A LOT. We are fortunate to be booked and blessed, but this has come at the personal sacrifice of our personal lives. Having worked in the theatre professionally for fifteen years, these sacrifices have kind of become second nature. Always painful, but an unfortunate reality. But the older I get, the more I value my time spent with those I love, because I know we won’t be around forever.

I love what I do, and I will never take for granted how fortunate I am to be gainfully employed in the arts. (My dad called it “running away with the circus,” and to some extent, he’s right.) What I am trying to do now is separate some of that constant grind to appreciate the little things, like cooking dinner and eating it outside on the patio without talking about what we need to do for the next event. Or bringing my dog to the park and fetching more balls than she does. Or taking a trip back to New York to visit my family. It is an ongoing journey that ebbs and flows. Nothing in life is guaranteed, and so I am working on how to stay present in my career and present with those in my life. Key word: working.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thtrproductions.com / www.dannygorman.com
• Instagram: @dannygorm / @thtr_productions

Image Credits

Headshot: Eddie Maldonado
Titanic: Nate Bertone
The Addams Family: Nate Bertone
Gypsy: Nate Bertone
A Christmas Carol: Joan Marcus
On the Town: Matthew Herman
Gentleman’s Guide: Timeless Presents
Disaster: Timeless Presents