Daniel DiPinto is accomplishing what most theatre artists only dream of: performing a favorite role on an international level in a show he's loved since childhood.
A graduate of the BFA musical theatre program in 2022, DiPinto was the male swing and the understudy for the role of Tony in the recently completed international tour of West Side Story.
Rarely do actors know when they have an audition in the bag. However, after making it through the dance call for West Side Story and singing “Maria,” Daniel was confident he had earned the role. A few days after auditions, he heard from his agent that he had, in fact, been chosen to replace Tony's understudy. From there, he was scheduled to be in Frankfurt, Germany the following Monday! And, once there, he had only three days to learn the role of Tony, but also, the male swing for the Jets and the Sharks.
After those three days, and a quick trip home to New York, he was ready to perform and go on grand adventures. His proudest was performing the role of Tony in Paris, not only to a packed house, but also to his mother and father made the international trek to see him.
As DiPinto shared, the life of a swing/understudy is not always a glamorous one. Thirty days or more can pass between stage appearances, a difficult undertaking for someone who loves theatre. But even through those lulls in performance, he made great memories with people he met on tour, taking in amazing sights and picking up some new, interesting hobbies like rock climbing.
Now back in New York, he shared heartfelt stories from his tour and favorite memories from his time at Texas Tech University, with one of his fondest being the final rehearsal of Guys and Dolls, when they finished the choreography for “Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat”: “It was going to be electric!”
Sadly, the musical was never realized because of the global Covid pandemic.
Daniel praises Texas Tech's School of Theatre and Dance and its professors—whom he loved and from whom he learned much—for all his success and the drive to thrive, even during the most the challenging times. He believes we overwhelm ourselves with expectations of excellence and perfection, too often forgetting that failure may often teach us more than success.
Daniel's message to current students is simple: “Have grace, especially when judging yourself and your abilities, and strain to be realistic. Most of all, give yourself permission to fail.”