The Life of Lou Trapani
Growing up only a train ride away from “the city of dreams” in Brooklyn, during the age of live drama being broadcast on television, Lou Trapani knew he was always meant to work in the arts.
Trapani was never one to shy away from his love for the arts, and was actively pursuing this interest throughout both his high school and college careers. He attended Hofstra University and graduated with a degree in dramatic literature, which he was quickly able to put to use in New York City.
Prior to college life, Trapani found himself working for his first of many nonprofit organizations, the Roundabout Theater Company. Between the late 60s and early 80s, Trapani made a living for himself writing, acting, directing, and producing a plethora of different shows, including both classical theater and original works.
Although he was doing what he loved, he recalls this time as “being in my happiest place, but also my lowest.” Trapani was not making nearly enough money to sustain a living, and decided he needed a change.
After 15 years living and working in the city, Trapani returned to school at Baruch College, CUNY to pursue a master’s degree in public administration.
From here, Trapani decided to take his life in a direction away from theater and into politics. While attending Baruch College, he claims to have met “a ton of guys who worked for Gov. Cuomo,” before he was the governor. These people then put him into contact with David Dinkins, who was running for mayor at the time, and Trapani became part of his campaigning team.
Trapani remained in the world of politics for the next five years before he returned to his life in the arts. However, this time, he did not return to the city. Instead, he ended up two hours outside of it in a town called Rhinebeck.
In Rhinebeck, Trapani found himself joining the Rhinebeck Theater Society. At this point in time, it was just an organization, but after a few years of being a member, Trapani was helping with the startup of The CENTER for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, where he was quickly deemed the president and executive director.
Trapani has continued to work at The CENTER for over 20 years and claims that he has remained with them for so long because, “the concept of ‘shotgunning’ productions by offering something different every weekend of the year to appeal to all tastes,” has made his time there worth his while.
However, just being part of this organization was not enough for him. Trapani also became a professor at the Lifetime Learning Institute (LLI), which is a nonprofit organization paired with Bard College. The institute provides “non-credit and non-competitive” classes for anyone who would like to participate.
For the past 15 years, Trapani has contributed his vast knowledge of the arts to this institute by teaching both dramatic literature and the history of theater, two of which have become some of the most popular courses to take.
As Trapani has become involved with the people and the town of Rhinebeck, he says the most rewarding part of everything he does is “to see and meet truly stellar performances and people both on and off the stage.”
Lou Trapani’s time in Rhinebeck is nowhere near coming to an end, and he is excited to see what the future holds for both himself and for The CENTER.
