It starts at eleven
Born in Orange, California, John landed his first part at the age of 11:
an Islander on Bali Ha’i in “South Pacific”, performed under the stars at
Pearson Park Amphitheater. His first principal role came the following
year, Prince Chulalongkorn in “The King and I” with Whittier/La Mirada
Light Opera.
He studied classical and musical theater technique with Darlene Romano
and acting with Leland Murray, took piano with Eleanor Twichell from ages
9 to 16, and worked through Fullerton Civic Light Opera, the Grove
Shakespeare Festival, Downey Civic Light Opera, Long Beach Community
Players, Newport Theatre Arts Center, the Beverly Hills Playhouse and
Yorba Linda Musical Theatre. Everything from “Song of Norway” and
“Finian’s Rainbow” to “Evita”, “A Chorus Line” and “Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”.
Turning professional, then turning away
John graduated early from high school and made his professional debut at
16 as the Bangleman in “Kismet” at Sebastian’s/West Dinner Playhouse in
San Clemente. At 19 he was contracted into the chorus of “Aida” with
Opera Pacific, which became his artistic home and led to their Apprentice
Artist program: the tenor in the “My Fair Lady” Cockney Quartet opposite
Patti Cohenour, Giuseppe in “La Traviata”, and the chorus of “Norma” with
Dame Joan Sutherland. He studied voice through those years with Kathryn
Skatula.
Then he stepped away. Theatre and French at Orange Coast College,
followed by years in tech and the non-profit sector: leading tours of
engineers around Excite.com’s Redwood City campus with a bullhorn,
Apple’s International Developer Department in Santa Clara, and training
work for Eastfield Ming Quong in Los Gatos and Campbell.
Back through the stage door
He started studying again at American Conservatory Theatre’s Studio
program in 2006, which is where he learned to harness his power as an
actor and found vocal and emotional reserves he had never reached. He
returned to performing in 2007 with the revue “The Music that Makes Me
Dance” at ACT’s Garret Theatre.
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College, the second time
John returned to college in 2012 and finished a Bachelor of Fine Arts in
Vocal Performance at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont,
California in 2015, summa cum laude. Two summers of the Musical Theatre
Conservatory brought master classes with Karen Morrow, Euan Morton, Susan
Egan, Wesla Whitfield and Jamie Torcellini, and work with Dr. Lee Strawn,
Daniel Lockert (still one of his coaches and pianists), Debra Lambert,
Marc Jacobs, Greg Fritsch, Kimberly Mohne-Hill, Dottie Lester-White and
Robyn Tribuzi.
At NDNU he moved into leading roles: Uncle Max in “The Sound of Music”,
Alfredo in “Die Fledermaus”, King Ouf in Chabrier’s “The Star” and Mr.
Laurence in “Little Women”. He also took part in two readings of Craig
Bohmler’s “All the More to Love”, playing a swath of characters, a shoe
fetishist with a thing for a certain sassy red pump and a down-on-her-luck
drag queen named Gloria N.X. Chelsea among the favourites.
The Bay Area years
From 2012 to 2016 John appeared in musicals all over the San Francisco
Bay Area: a very busy track in “Annie” at Tri-Valley Repertory Theatre,
Manfred in “Sunset Boulevard” at Contra Costa Musical Theatre, Sipos in
“She Loves Me” and Mister in “Sunday in the Park with George” at Foothill
Musical Theatre, a cross-dressing Herod in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at
Coastal Repertory Theatre, Mr. Erlanson in “A Little Night Music” and the
cigar-chomping Herman in “Sweet Charity” at Hillbarn Theatre. Three
seasons at Woodminster Amphitheatre in Oakland took him back to his
outdoor theatre roots.
He was Staff Music Director at the Hillbarn Theatre Conservatory from
2014 to 2016, conducting shows from Jason Robert Brown’s “13” to
“Oklahoma!” and “Willy Wonka Jr.”
Cabaret
John started performing cabaret in 2016. His two solo shows played to
full houses at Society Cabaret in San Francisco and San Jose, the
Sausalito Song Society and Don’t Tell Mama in New York. “He Said/She
Said” is an irreverent look at his life and loves through the eyes of
some favourite musical theatre heroes, and heroines. “Another Hundred
People” is about his love affair with New York, which began with a first
pilgrimage to Broadway to see the original “Annie” in 1978.
He has guested with G. Scott Lacy and Patrick Leveque, played the dual
role of Nicky Gazpacho and an on-the-lam Bad Santa in the film noir spoof
“Cabanoir”, and made his New York debut with The Cranky Cabaret, a
collection of actors singing songs of anger and assorted annoyance.
The Netherlands
John now lives just outside Amsterdam. He is married to Krijn, and they
have a rescue dog named Domino. He took Meisner technique classes with
Steven Ditmyer at Meisner International in Amsterdam from 2019 to 2022,
and much of that work transfers directly to singing, so it turns up in
lessons and coachings.
During the Covid years he performed online for Palo Alto Players,
Tenacious Theatrics and P3 Theatre Company, sang on Broadway By the Bay’s
“Home, Hope and Holidays” and recorded a duet with Krissy Dorn for JB
Presents’ “The Best of Broadway”. From January to April 2021 he played
Oliver in the short film “Crossroads Life”, which won the Jury Prize at
The Hague Global Cinema Festival, and he has since filmed the web series
“Bittersweet” and the horror film “Beast and Feast”, plus a long run of
online advertisements, so keep an eye out while you are playing Candy
Crush.
He premiered his newest cabaret show, “Not Just a Phase”, at the Kerk van
Beets in October 2021. In 2022 he co-founded the Jewel Box Musical
Theater with Krissy Dorn, Merel Zeeman and Frans Heemskerk.
Teaching
John opened his private voice studio in the Bay Area in 2015 and has
worked since with students from beginners to Broadway veterans, watching
them get cast regularly by some of the best theaters around. His training
lets him hear a singer and quickly name their strengths and their weak
spots, then work on technique, interpretation, choosing material that
fits their casting type, and building a strong audition book, always with
a focus on singing safely and sustainably. You only have one voice.
For John, performing and teaching are two sides of the same coin. Being a
teacher makes him a stronger performer, and being a strong performer
makes him a better teacher. He is a member of the American Guild of
Musical Artists.
Fun trivia fact: John spent his 18th birthday working as an extra in the cult classic "Back to School" starring Rodney Dangerfield. He appears in the pivotal Triple Lindy dive sequence.
