BCT alum Dan Shaked
What was your first show at BCT?
Dan: My first show back when I was in 5th grade, which was The King and I. I got to play Louie, Anna’s son. It was my favorite because I went into it blindly; never doing anything professionaly, never singing or acting reall, and right off the bat, was given a substantial role. It was definitely an adreneline rush. Also, the entire production was outstandingly professional (especially the costumes).
What was your favorite role at BCT?
Dan: Definitely the Coroner in The Wizard of Oz. His coronation speech never leaves my mind! So catchy! And I loved playing a dark pseudo-goth Munchkin in the midst of all the happy ones.
What other roles did you play at BCT?
Dan: Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, Head Dwarf in Snow White, and Aladdin in Aladdin, and several roles at The Boston Harbor Hotel Tea Time.
Was there a person – staff member or fellow performer – who you remember in particular?
Dan: No doubt: Pat Gleason. She was the motivating factor behind the seed that got me to even think about pursuing a career in the arts. She would start class and end class with chillingly inspiring messages, and I’ll never forget the intensity and passion she had when she would give notes to us, especially in dress rehearsals. She wanted us to be great and you could feel it in her voice, even if the note was hard to hear.
What is your favorite BCT memory?
Dan: The tea times at the Boston Harbor Hotel, which I did for years was an experience I don’t think many other theater companies have. I got the chance to perform several times a day, like a professional company, in the round! I remember our characters using the entire restaurant as their playing space, running around tables, through peoples legs, over bar counters and behind blinds, all this over looking the Boston Harbor and little girls dressed in fascinatingly tailored ball gowns. Plus who could forget the amazing pastires the families would be eating while we would perform around them?!
What are you up to now?
Dan: I live in NYC and currently am finishing up filming the comedic feature How To Follow Strangers, directed by Upright Citizens Brigade writer Chioke Nassor, with actors from UCB Comedy, The Pit and 30 Rock. I also landed my first TV role this last year as a guest star on the ABC show Body Of Proof opposite Dana Delany. Last year, I had the privilege of having my professional Boston debut with the Underground Railway Theater Company’s production of The Fever Chart. Returning to Boston as an adult professionally was an incredible cyclical experience, and was a testament to BCT’s amazing training. And of course the auditioning never stops!!!
What message would you like to share with BCTers?
Dan: That the training and experience you recieve at BCT is mirrored once you start working professionally. The only difference is that you have to motivate yourself to get plays and to do the character and acting work on your own. So definitely savior every moment of classes and reherasals and watch others a lot in rehearsals, beause that is the best way to undersand how to improve your own work. And learn to sitcom.