Volunteer Profile: Matthew Kilgore

Kilgore's Broadway debut was "in drag at The Easter Bonnet Competition." A shot of Matt and Doris Eaton Travis made the AP wire, appeared in his hometown newspaper and ended up "on my grandmother's refrigerator. When people ask, she tells them I'm her grandson and usually follows up with, 'He's got nice legs!'" This is Matt at Bares 2007.

 “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day that says, 'I will try again tomorrow.”’

This quote, which appears on the blog page of actor Matthew Kilgore’s website, speaks beautifully of the work done week in and week out by a committed cadre of volunteers who return to the theatres each day during collections to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

But, as one of our most faithful and venturesome volunteers from the entertainment community, Matt has indeed been roaring – and rearing – for  the last six years, whether performing in one of BC’s flagship events on Broadway, or producing fundraisers while touring on the road.  

Bobby McGuire, head of promotions at BC/EFA jumped at the chance to weigh in on Matt’s many sterling qualities: “Matt Kilgore is one of the very best volunteers we have here at BC/EFA and always at the top of my request list when putting together a promotional event that involves hospitality. He is smart, reliable, committed, energetic, fun to be around, terrific with the public, and very knowledgeable about BC/EFA.”   

Recently, we caught up with Matt via e-mail while on tour with La Cage Aux Folles at the Ogunquit in Maine.

So, Matt, let’s start at the beginning: The Early Years.

I spent the first 11 years of my life in a small town at the southern tip of Indiana called Mt. Vernon. In the 6th grade, my family moved to the ‘big’ city of Evansville, where I was born – since Mt. Vernon doesn’t have a hospital. It’s that small. (But) for being from such a small town my family somehow found a way to let me pursue my artistic desires. As a child, I watched Hee Haw and The Lawrence Welk Show with my Grandma. I loved the cloggers on Hew Haw and that was my first introduction to dance. Thank goodness I had a supportive mother who sprang into action when I told her at age 4 I wanted to be a dancer. I was enrolled in the local dance studio the following week.

Aside from The Stoney Mountain Cloggers, are there any other idols in your life?

Gene Kelly is a big one for me. I love that he dances like a man! Bob Fosse is my idol choreographer. And all the typical ones: Liza, Judy, Bernadette, Patti … I could on for days.

What has your training been like?

I received a great groundwork of arts education from Terry Becker, Sue Schriber and Ricki Newman in Evansville. I owe them everything for the opportunities they gave me before I even left my hometown. After high school, I spent two years at Milliken University as a music major. Then I transferred to Butler University in Indianapolis for the next two years as a Ballet Performance major. An ankle injury during my senior year pretty much sidelined my college and professional ballet career. I took that as sign that musical theatre was the way to go.

When did you begin your professional career?

After my ankle injury healed, I made the decision to not return to Butler to finish my degree. My mother said that if I got a job I didn’t have to go back. I got a job dancing on a cruise ship for Royal Caribbean and that was that. I spent six months on a ship, saving every penny I could so I could move to NYC the minute that contract was up.

How did you get involved with Broadway Cares?

I first got involved with BC through sewing some rotation costumes for my friends for Broadway Bares 2001. The following year I volunteered for load-in to get a comp ticket for the show. That year, I wound up downstairs putting hot-fix rhinestones on everything in sight. When they found out I could sew, it just grew from there. My favorite experiences of collecting have been on tour across America, seeing the public fill the BC/EFA buckets nightly to raise money for this incredible organization.

You’ve also been a stand-out on the stage, performing in Bares, Gypsy, Bonnets. Does any one event emerge as a favorite for you?

My first Easter Bonnet was my favorite. I got to perform with Doris Eaton Travis (an original Ziegfeld girl from the 1917 Follies!) at The New Amsterdam. This was the year of the Easter Bonnet Beauties, so my first time performing on a Broadway stage was in drag. It just so happens that a photograph of Doris with me in the background (in high heels) was sent around the world as an AP photo. The shot ran in my hometown newspaper and my 88 year-old grandmother has it on her refrigerator. When people ask about the picture, she tells them I’m her grandson and usually follows that up with, “He’s got nice legs!”

Your dedication to fundraising is really admirable, Matt. At a benefit you spearheaded this summer, $2,900 was raised for BC/EFA. Tell me a little more about the event and about what inspires you.
The event was held on July 30 at Club InsideOut in Ogunquit, Maine and the cast of Ogunquit Playhouse's La Cage aux Folles performed.  I essentially produced the evening and we raised almost $3000.00.

A lot of people probably don’t know that I am a recipient of a great deal of assistance from The Actors Fund. A few years ago, I got a kidney stone while performing in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Fireside Theatre in Wisconsin. I was working on building up my weeks for health insurance, and this was during the time when the Equity qualifications kept changing from 10 to 12 to 20 weeks. I kept coming up a week or two short for the new requirements. So, I was uninsured when this kidney stone landed me in the hospital for four days and I was slapped with a bill for $30,000 at age 23.

I thought I was going to have to declare bankruptcy when someone in my cast told me to call The Actors Fund. Reluctantly, I did, and thank God for Carol Mannes. She assisted me through the entire process of dealing with the red-tape at the hospital. She told me who to talk to, what to ask for, which papers I needed, etc. etc. When the hospital wrote off $25,000 of my bill, I was overjoyed, but she didn’t stop there. She put me in touch with organizations who wrote me checks to pay off this debt. I wound up having to pay very little of that final five thousand out of pocket. The Actors Fund saved me. And they never made me feel embarrassed about asking for help. The experience and the overwhelming support from The Actors Fund drives me to give back all I can to them, and to BC/EFA.

Matt is currently working as the Assistant Dance Captain/Swing of the Toronto production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas.