Years at BCD: 1970, 1971, 1972 for Grades 7th, 8th & 9thAfter BCD, I went to Northfield Mount Herman then to Simon’s Rock College.My fondest memories of BCD are, in scrambled order:  Madame Grad giving treats during French finals when she espied a correct answer and slashing a Magic Marker across the back of the hand for an incorrect one.  Mrs. Jones, in trying to stop a case of classroom giggles, warning us: “If you’re reading moods, you’d better read mine.”

  1. All the pretty girls
  2. Mr. Perry’s reading curriculum
  3. Michael McNaught

I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 30 years where I am a founding partner of Premeditated Productions, a theatrical production company specializing in casino and corporate entertainment. We create live entertainment for showrooms, theaters and concert venues across the USA and abroad. It sounds like spotlights and the glam life but really I lug a lot of luggage for a living.

In between working for my company’s productions, my “day job” is entertainer/emcee for Las Vegas casinos that contract me to create, costume and perform as any number of characters.  I have 50 wigs and 100 tuxedoes – or maybe it’s the other way around. I’ve been requested to transform into every celebrity from Richard Simmons to Michael Jackson to Dean Martin. I’ve been asked to perform as German, French, Mexican, Australian, Chinese, Japanese, Jamaican and other characters. At BCD, I loved learning Latin with Mr. Potter and being immersed into Madame Grad’s French. It gave me a great advantage for learning languages which has been invaluable not only in my work, but also at home. Spanish is everywhere in Los Angeles y tengo muchos amigos Latinos.

After the 9th Grade production of Winnie the Pooh at BCD a friend told me I was the worst actor in the cast, so it’s been a real uphill battle to become the hack I am today. I’ve had great stage fright for as long as I can remember and always wonder at the predicament I’m in before going onstage. That hasn’t changed much.  Whether wearing Christopher Robin’s shorts 40 years ago or being costumed as Rip Taylor in some showroom on the Las Vegas strip today, it gets a little chilly when the orchestra plays my entrance.

I’ve been writing a concept for children’s TV using my characters that I created for Las Vegas. An audience of children isn’t much different from the casino crowd in regard to attention span.  You have to keep surprising them. I’ve been a spider, a skunk, a dog and a duck. I’ve been brave enough to wear Cupid’s diaper. In 8th grade, Mr. Bemis taught me to laugh in the face of humiliation and sneer my lip at shame. Both teachers and actors perform in front of an audience and I love to teach kids through entertainment.

BCD was the best scholastic experience of my life.  All of the classes were accelerated and always seemed advanced to me. Mr. McNaught taught us to try our hardest regardless of the final outcome or grade. I learned not to hold back any effort or conviction when it comes to trying to create the impossible and see it realized. I wish you could see my Dancing Octopus act. And I have this amazing knife throwing illusion locked up in storage…

My advice to students at BCD:

  1. Finish school
  2. Follow your dream
  3. Be ready to adapt without compromise
  4. In that order