I've been dabbling in making videos on YouTube... for family and for fun.

The first one I did was a collaboration with my niece Ellie for my mom and dad's 60th Anniversary last year. I had the ideas in my head but my niece had the know-how and between the two of us we made a really nice gift for them.

I decided, after that, to attempt to use tracks from my albums as background for a few more. I'm particularly pleased with a couple of them. I've done a couple with video footage and others are montages. See for yourself if you have some time to peruse!

Heres' the link to my channel:

​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvdujPy6Qf1InkeDXjAguVA?view_as=subscriber

Bill will be treading the boards again this month, this time in one of his  bucket-list roles, Marryin' Sam in LI'L ABNER with the Auburn Players opening May 9th and playing through the 12th. 

After that, he'll be gearing up to direct FIDDLER ON THE ROOF in the Auburn Player's new season, slated to open mid-September.!

This Halloween it will be 3 years since moving to Central New York. A lot has happened between the time I uprooted myself and now... but all of it is good. Those of us who fear change ought not because it ultimately works out for the best - but when we're in the throes of it, it isn't always a rose-colored world.

Scrooge was a big success... so much so that I'll be directing it again this Christmas and we'll be presenting it for 2 consecutive weekends!  I am now also a member of the board of The Auburn Players - a second home and family for me. I'm very pleased to be associated with these folks!

I've been hired to teach Musical Theater at SUNY Cortland this Fall! I approached them toward the end of Spring and went out to meet with Deena Conley and Kevin Halpin and they gave me a tour of the department and then I returned to do a master class session with one of their students. Apparently it was enough to persuade them to add me to the faculty.  I'm happy to say I begin teaching there part-time at the end of August! And for the first time in my professional career, I will actually be eligible for health insurance - which is something I've not been able to afford since I was in my 20's. I'm looking forward to a happy association with SUNY Cortland as well as becoming a visiting artist at Wells College in Aurora, New York. Siouxsie Easter and I have met several times and we've come up with a way for me to become involved in the work she does with her students as a visiting artist. (If you've never visited the campus, it's gorgeous with a student body of only 500!)

So between traveling to Nazareth College in Rochester and the other two schools, I will be a busy boy this academic year!

This summer I self-published the first of my novels through BookBaby.com. It's entitled  "Two Rights" and I use the pen-name Billy Allen. I write gay fiction, primarily - coming of age and romance. Writing has been a passion of mine since I was a teenager and there are some fifteen books, currently, in line for publishing. The plan is to release two more before Christmas. Doing all the prep work has been a learning curve - editing, designing the cover, marketing - but it's been rewarding and the reviews, so far, have been raves! BookBaby is the sister company to CDBaby which also handles my CD library. They make their author's work available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and all the major e-book outlets.

Having the time, finally, to enjoy the thousands of records I've collected over the years; making a ritual of writing/editing every day; going to auctions and flea markets; working on the yard (ugh) or making improvements around the house...  all of these things are the rewards I'm afforded for having trusted that the next phase of my life would be best lived outside of the busy demands of NYC. Although I'll always love it - I am now very much at home just a few hours north. 

More to come...

It's hard to believe that on Halloween day, 2014, my sister Kathy and I were watching the movers load up a tractor trailer in front of my home in Brooklyn, carrying box upon box and room after room of furniture into that monstrosity - bound for Weedsport, NY.  Every now and again there would be the sound of something breaking... my grandfather clock falling face first onto the foyer floor... a mirror being knocked off the wall and breaking into a million pieces.  But after 12 hours loading in, Kathy and I drove partway to our destination before crashing in a roadside motel for 4 hours and then back on the road again, hoping to beat the moving van.  Mom and Dad were waiting at a nearby motel (having flown in the night before) and all three of them got to tour the house and see it empty for the first (and last) time. Fourteen hours later, 35,000 lbs of my belongs were scattered over three floors of my new house and thus began my new life - 2 years ago today!

It feels like home, now... especially since I've found a new community of amazing fellow actors in the Auburn, NY area.  On a whim I auditioned for MOON OVER BUFFALO which my friend, Bob Frame, was directing through the Auburn Players.  And, on a whim, he cast me as George.  Rehearsals kicked my butt, but I had a blast and met some really great folks with a lot of talent.  Deciding I wanted to become a more active member, I submitted a letter to the board (along with my resume) and offered to direct a show at some point in the future.

Then... I was lucky enough to be selected to play the role of Phil in the Where It Went scene in ALMOST, MAINE and, again under Bob's direction, earned my stripes once more and we received excellent ratings in the evaluations given by TANYS which may lead to future competitions.

When the Auburn Players board gave me the go ahead on my proposal to direct SCROOGE - The Musical for the holidays, I was thrilled!  It's one of my all-time favorite scores and the most cherished of stories by my hero, Charles Dickens. We began rehearsals a couple of weeks ago and, with a cast of 40 actors, we'll be opening on December 9th at The Auburn Public Theater.

​It's great to be among creative people and to feel at home in an environment not unlike what first got me interested in doing this for a lifetime.  The folks in this neck of the woods are good people and their love for the theatre is evident in how respected and well-attended shows and concerts are.  This has been a great re-birth for me and a chance to not have to wear every single hat when putting a show up on its feet!

The transition has been an interesting and incredibly rewarding one.  Each challenge has been met with a happy result and I'm finding my new life to be exactly what I had hoped it would be.

Before I even submitted an CV and resume, I  was hired by Nazareth College in Rochester, NY to teach in their new BFA Musical Theater program.  I designed a Vocal Technique class for the curriculum, which I am currently teaching, and I'm also responsible for nearly 20 private vocal students in the two days I spend on campus.

I directed the first production of the season at Nazareth, Titanic - Maury Yeston's epic musical tale.  We had a very short rehearsal period and we had sold-out performances. It was also a nice opportunity to meet and bond with the students with whom I am now working.

I was also recently recruited by Cayuga Community College to design and teach a Voice For The Actor course which I'll institute in the Spring semester of 2016.  In it, students will learn the mechanics of the voice as well as articulation and vocal health & maintenance.  We'll be working with sonnets and monologues in order to put into practice good vocal skills for the theater and public speaking.

My schedule has afforded me the opportunity to really concentrate on my writing and I am currently juggling a number of novels - over a dozen - in various states of completion.  Also in the hopper are a number of plays and several musicals.  I will be self-publishing two of my books in the Spring of 2016 with others to follow.  After 40 years of writing for myself, I've decided it's time to dig into the vaults and offer them up for eyes other than my own.  

With a group of incredibly decent and loving folks that have come into my life since moving to this community, I feel at home in my new digs and loved by my new family of friends.  

Change never has to be something one fears.  In embracing the whole process, I've learned how to now say "yes" when opportunities present themselves.

​And the benefits are tangible.

Onward...

Conceived and Directed by Bill Daugherty, "On The Record - A Tribute to the Great Vocal Groups of the 20th Century" completed a 9 week run on December 15th, 2013 at The Triad Theater in NYC.  This multi-media musical chronology presented the sights and sounds of nearly 100 years of recorded music re-created by four talented singers:  Deborah Tranelli, Paul Kropfl, Amanda Savan and Bill Daugherty.  Musical director and arranger Doyle Newmyer painstakingly transcribed 28 songs in the original keys - groups like The Mills Brothers, The Andrews Sisters, The Four Freshman, The Shirelles, The Beatles, The Bee Gees and Manhattan Transfer.  It garnered rave reviews and will be brought back at a future date - time and venue TBA.  In the meantime, the original cast TWO CD set is available online - fully orchestrated and featuring Doyle Newmyer - piano, John Loehrke - bass, Chip Fabrizi - drums and Zak Gross - guitar - with special guest artists Warren Vache' - trumpet and John Allred - trombone.  Check out the recordings page on this site!