Everyone calls him John Daniel and he's lived on the Monterey Peninsula since 1995. He sings, he acts, and he makes all ages smile and laugh - - as Sparky in the three-time revived FOREVER PLAID, as the very floppy Scarecrow in THE WIZARD OF OZ, and in various theatre, opera, and choral productions.

John was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1972. John states that he was first aware of theatre "in the womb." He explains, " My mother was playing a nun while she was pregnant with me." His parents had met on Cape Cod. They had each come at the invitation of the Methodist minister, Dick Waters, who had written and directed religious theatrical works.

As John was growing up his parents ran a local dinner theatre company in a historical building in downtown Lynchburg called the Joseph Nichols Tavern. Monticello is near Lynchburg and Thomas Jefferson had frequented the tavern in the 1700s. The theatre company aptly called itself The Nichols Tavern Players. John's whole family would act in the productions - - his mother, father, older brother and himself. John joined the Players at about four years of age. Some of the plays presented were the religious works of Dick Waters. One of the most popular plays was called A CHICKENHAWK FOR CHRISTMAS. It was set in the South during the Civil War and told the story of a white youth who befriends a black Union soldier. Sometimes John was at odds with his father whose many responsibilities at the dinner theatre included proprietor, producer, director, and actor. His father loves to tell the story of the time when John, playing the son of Ralph Waldo Emmerson, insisted on wearing his late 70's/early '80s elastic Spider Man belt with a metal Spider Man buckle instead of the rope belt that was part of the costume. Just before his cue the actress playing his mother managed to convince him to switch belts. That was the same show that he had to carry a live chicken on stage - - "quite frightening!"

John also did theatre at his high school, primarily musical theatre. His earlier parts were in PETER PAN and SOUTH PACIFIC. In his senior year he played Larry, the assistant choreographer, in A CHORUS LINE. He also did youth theatre projects with the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center. These were mostly youth-oriented musicals such as DRACULA SPECTACULA. In his junior year and senior years he performed in the show choir at his high school. It was in this group that John gained his first vocal and dance training.

After high school John attended Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in French. He joined the choir at the college and took voice lessons for four years. His vocal coach was Helga Bullock (Sandra Bullock's mother). She had been a German opera singer and helped John develop a good, solid sound on stage. During the summers John returned to Lynchburg and did music therapy with mentally handicapped adults at the Central Virginia Traning Center. He continued doing acting productions at the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center. In the summer after his graduation the Fine Arts Center produced GODSPELL. The director was an American folklore specialist. She rewrote the dialogue and set it in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, circa 1920. The set included a log cabin and a mountain with a running stream. John describes his role, "I played the John The Baptist character who announced the coming of Christ. Like an Appalachian story-teller, I used wooden dolls and things that were common to that era." John considers it one of his all-time favorite productions.

Shortly thereafter John joined the Army. He thought it was a good way to continue his language education -- at the Defense Language Institute (Really. It had nothing to do with the pictures he had seen of Monterey.). While at the DLI he did two plays at the Wharf Theatre - GODSPELL (this time in the role of Jesus) and H.M.S. PINAFORE. As he was finishing up his military tour, he auditioned for summer shows at the Western Stage. He did PIPPIN and PAJAMA GAME in the summer, EVITA in the fall and ended the year with AN EVENING WITH NOEL COWARD. During the run of COWARD, Susie Burns suggested he audition for the role of Count Ludovig in the Sondheim musical PASSION for Pacific Repertory Theatre, to be directed by Sid Cato. He got the part. This became the first in a long string of productions for PRT. The next summer he was in OLIVER at the Outdoor Forest Theater. Then came one of his favorite roles, as Sparky in FOREVER PLAID. He continued with PRT the following summer, joining the board pieces in THE HUMAN CHESS GAME and then playing the Scarecrow at the Outdoor Forest Theater in THE WIZARD OF OZ. John describes his

The Scarecrow in THE WIZARD OF OZ

feelings, "It was a big move in trust on the part of Stephen Moorer to take this kid he didn't know too well and give him such a great role. I had a blast doing it. I'm not a trained dancer, but with the help of Gloria Elber I was able to capture the floppy, almost boneless quality of the Scarecrow. I think maybe growing up and watching that film every year, I just kind of memorized him." In the spring of '98 John appeared in SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM at the Hoffman Playhouse. This remains one of his favorite productions on the Peninsula. John also has done some plays for the MPC Theatre Company -- GOIN' HOLLYWOOD and ONCE UPON A MATTRESS. And he regularly sings with the Monterey Peninsula Choral Society in their Spring Concert. This fall he will play the role of Rolf in the PRT production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

There are still some roles he'd like to play - - Huck Finn in BIG RIVER, the Russian in CHESS, the M.C. in CABARET, and Nicely Nicely in GUYS AND DOLLS. Not surprisingly he would also like to see these plays performed on the Peninsula.

John talks about what he likes in a director and describes some of his favorites on the Peninsula. One is Ann Marie Hunter (PIPPIN), "What I remember most is her pushing us physically, to be nimble, athletic; we used our bodies as plays, as scenes in the show." Another director, MaryAnn Schaupp (the latest revival of FOREVER PLAID), " could, with a simple question, lead me to a totally new motivation or thought for a particular line or movement on stage." He describes both women as "gentle, concerned, communicative, while still retaining their authority as directors." Jon Selover directed him in EVITA, " He's so creative. He has a unique vision for each production he directs." About Sid Cato he says, " I've never worked with a more organized director. He challanges his actors to work like professionals.”

John also talks about the audience. He earnestly believes that schools should teach children, starting at a young age, to appreciate theatre and to be a polite but responsive audience, eliminating the distractions like the rustling of papers, incessant coughing, and crying children. "We should remind the audience that they are not watching a movie, a two-dimensional image. They are watching live actors on stage. They don't have to sit there blankly like they're watching tv; their reaction is encouraged. The audience should understand that they can laugh, they can cry, etc.."

John loves acting and he loves singing. But he also loves the idea of teaching French. He's currently pursuing a Masters Degree in French at San Jose State University. He would like to teach at a local public or private high school or community college. He explains how he sees himself as a teacher, "I would be Monsieur Daniel, that dramatic, quirky French teacher that everybody loves but thinks is off his rocker."