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Veteran Volunteer Makes Serving Others a Full-Time Job By Joe Norton
We called him in to volunteer the next day, and he’s never left. Greg – who also volunteers for Manhattan Theatre Club and The Actors’ Fund – enjoys his role leading volunteer teams of envelope stuffers, T-shirt folders and candy wrappers for BCEFA. A long-time Actors’ Equity member, he donates a tremendous amount of time as the official Volunteer Coordinator for the Steven J. Falat Holiday Basket Project at Equity, where he leads teams that both assemble and distribute gift baskets to people with AIDS in hospitals, clinics and hospices throughout the city. “It’s paying back,” says Greg. “I had a successful career in show business, and I want to keep working.” But that’s not the only reason Greg gives his time. “My wife, Karen, and I lost our first friend to AIDS early in the epidemic – ’82 or ’83. He was an actor on the West Coast. We didn’t tell him we went out there just to see him; we made up some excuse about some show we were working on,” he says, describing the plague’s fearful first years. “The hospital gave us protective clothing and facemasks to wear in his room. Things were different back then, now it’s better. But that’s what started me thinking about how fragile life really is.” Greg’s played many roles in his career, from stage manager to scenic designer, to producer of industrial shows. He spent several years mounting shows in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Spain and other Latin American countries. Does he speak Spanish? “Now I do,” he jokes. He also boasts that one of his best jobs was as personal assistant to the legendary composer Alan Jay Lerner. What’s Greg’s favorite Broadway show of all time? “South Pacific, if I had to choose. I loved Mary Martin. And My Fair Lady, of course, though I have no real favorite,” he says, adding, “I’m an extensive theatergoer. I see almost everything. I’ve always said that if I couldn’t afford to go to the theater, then I’d move out of New York City.” Though he gives his time to countless BC/EFA events, this volunteer is most partial to our annual Broadway Bears Auction because, he says, “I’ve got so much to do backstage!” His advice to new volunteers? “Be diligent. Honestly want to give your time. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
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When Greg Kayne retired from show business eleven years ago, he came to Broadway Cares to purchase some merchandise and asked if he could help out.