Tom and His Cats / Tom Shaker

Tom and His Cats / Tom Shaker. NYC, Chicago, Rome, Hollywood, Berlin, Kiev, Beirut, Detroit and Paris gigs in the past. Who knows what tomorrow brings. Be sure to check back frequently for updates and new information on Tom and His Cats ! Also, the real reel is at www.TomShaker.com 

Member / SAG, AEA, AFTRA, SIAE, UFT, USO

GOALS

• Create and direct a resident professional theater company
• Build an international multi-media communications network
• Present international creative projects to the global village
• Enhance literacy and self-esteem through "EDUTAINMENT" curricula
• Teach drama, literature, technology, production and video/film/web  
• Supervise mentoring, internship and employment for students
• Produce theatrical, film, television, radio and internet works
• Write and publish books, articles, scripts, songs and scores
• Perform and record selected works

2015

In Vino Veritas Wine Show Development

2014

Author, Complete Screenplay, Queen of the Boiler Room

            Collaborated with Nick Pileggi (Casino / Goodfellas)

2013

Director, Author and Host / Rome 360º The Churches

An episodic series looking at the 360 churches located in the Roma Centro

Director, Author and Host / Vino Veritas

            Wine from Around the World. Who makes it? Who presents it? Who enjoys it?

Artistic Director, 3 Amici Studios, Rome, Hollywood and Boca Raton Florida

International Full Service Production Studio working in 40 Languages

All mediums, pre to post

2012

Author and Director / Rome, the First 3000 Years    www.Rome3000.Blogspot.com

Creator and Host / Italy with Tom Shaker                 www.ItalyWithTomShaker.com

Guide Wars / Tour Battles                 International Edu-Tainment Game Show

Fugedaboutdit (Forget About It) / TV-Internet Comedy Show “Set” in NYC, “Shot” in Paris

The King and The Pope / Feature Film about the Papal Visit of John Paul II to Norway

2011

www.InternationalImaginationInstitute.com USA 501(c) 3 Non Profit

Imagination Institute in Italy www.iiitaly.com   Image, Instruction, Itineraries

            Italian NGO

Web TV Italy www.WebTvItaly.com Everything Italian online and Free for All

• Founding Artistic Director / international non-profit corporation (Partita Iva #08033741003)
• CEO of Studio Colosseo Pre to Post Production Facility, a division of iiitaly.com
• Author and recording artist for audio and video guides
• Author and performer, Rome, the 1^st 3000 years, one-man musical salute to the Eternal City
• Lecture-guide and guide trainer
• Producer and Lead Singer Tom and His “Cats”  Jazz, Blues and Standards Band
• Creator and Author Rome-Mania   Series of articles and soon to be published book
• Coordinator, International Jazz Workshop with Barry Harris
• Keynote Speaker, E-Factor Leadership Seminar, Paris

2006    HBO ROME - Episode 11 “Spoils” / Character-Court Lictor

2004   Passion of the Christ - Mel Gibson / Character-Eyepatch

2000-Present www.TomShaker.com

• Board Member, USO Rome
• President, AICR, American International Club of Rome, 2003-4
• Short stories and articles: clients include Continental Airlines, Al Italia, Shearman Law Firm
• Author of original lyrics for songs, “Family”, “Falling Down” and “Italiano-Americano”
• Member of SIAE (Union for Authors and Composers in Italy)
• Voice Artist, dubbing, original productions. Disney, RAI, Mediaset, King World, HBO…
• Writer, voice artist and producer for “Amazing History”, 65 episodes, RAI 3 International
• Jazz and Blues Singer/Composer.  Clients include Ambassadors Mel Sembler and Tony Hall, St. Regis Grand Hotel, Rose Garden Palace Hotel, Grand Palace Hotel, Palazzo Borghese, Quirinale Palace, American Women’s Association, Rome, Commune di Frascati
• Marketing Director of Vatican Tours and Beyond - Tour and Transfer Company
• English conversation tutor to Senator Montecone of the Italian Parliament and Professor Luciano Caglioti, Roma Uno University

1978-2006, The Storybuilders

• CEO and founder of this international production company that has Film, Television, Industrial, Theatre and Trade Show credits. Past clients include GM, Ford, Chrysler,         AT & T, American Express, Michigan Bell, AAA, Dominos Pizza, Coca Cola…
• Signatory and member of Screens Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Announcers (AFTRA) and Actors Equity Association (AEA)
• Member, The Adcraft Club of Detroit

1979-1990, McDonalds Corporation

• Developed Local Store Marketing campaigns for SEMMOA (South-Eastern Michigan McDonalds Owner-Operator Association).  
• Created POP (Point of Purchase) outreach programs to public schools. Directed the Ronald McDonald Field Program under the supervision of the RAM (Regional Ad Manager)
• Collaborated with client advertising agencies (Ex. Ross Roy, J. Walter Thompson, Campbell Ewald, Satchi and Satchi).
• Served as a consultant at Hamburger University in Oakbrook, Il.
• Board member of the Ronald McDonald Houses in Ann Arbor and Detroit. Consultant to Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities (RMCC)
• Performed as Ronald McDonald. Trained other actors internationally.  Wrote original scripts for schools shows, ad spots and marketing campaigns

2005    University of Malta

• Artistic Director, PAVE Program       Performing and Visual Arts Education
• Wrote and produced original musical version of Dickens’ Christmas Carol
• Designed summer musical theatre repertory season for international student candidates Premiere Season June, 2006
• London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art - Negotiated Examination Center Status with LAMDA  www.lamda.org.uk
• Foundation for International Education - Negotiated Host Campus Status with FIE www.fie.org.uk
• Developed interdisciplinary department for film, theatre, dance, art, graphic and web design
• Incorporated professional arts training into instruction techniques for professional educators
• Founded www.linkacademy.it  . European Academy of Dramatic Arts

Director, LINK TV 

• Designed, built and operated full-service digital HD production studios on campus
• Wrote and implemented production curricula focused on language acquisition
• Created promotional and educational pieces for broadcast and marketing venues
• Supervised student-produced film and video works
• Built daily live broadcast division on web, satellite and analogue antenna

Director, International Division

• Developed campaign for international student recruitment
• Coordinated Visiting Student Support Services Office
• Proofed and edited all English language web pages, publications and documents

Professor of Advanced English

• Designed, implemented and currently teaching an annual two-semester program where students write, produce and market original documentary works
• March, 2004 - created and taught a one-week intensive course following the tenets and goals of the World Food Program (WFP). Guest lecturer, Tony Hall, US Ambassador to FAO.
• October, 2003 – created and taught a two-week intensive immersion course where students scripted and presented a television news program complete with ad spots, field reports and in-depth reporting.  Now an annual program.
• September, 2003 and 2004– designed and implemented a two-week intensive immersion course for the Italian Military (Army-SME).  Student groups researched, created and presented marketing campaigns for original military products.

Education

2000               Rome      Italian Language, Berlitz

1994           University of Massachusetts, Amherst

·      Doctoral Candidate (EdD) in Organizational Development. Fellowship funded by Bill and Camille Cosby

·      Thesis:

“Storybuilding / Curriculum Alternative for Multi-Racial Student Populations”

1976-78     University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

·      Master of Arts, Directing

·      President, Michigan Union

·      Thesis, “Brecht and the Concept of Alienation During the Weimar Republic”

·      Counsellor, Office of Admissions

1970-1974    Kent State University, Ohio

·      Bachelor of Fine Arts, Theatre

·      Minor in Secondary Education, Teaching Certification, K-12

·      Editor, The Chestnut Burr (University Yearbook)

·      Founder, All Campus Programming Board

·      Founder, May 4 Candlelight Vigil

·      Member, Omicron Delta Kappa and Blue Key, Men’s Honorary Associations

·      Member, National Residence Hall Honoraries

·      Recipient, Senior Service Award

Teaching Certifications

·      New York State, Education, K-12, Literature, Arts and Technology

·      New York City, K-12, Arts, English, Creative Writing

·      Ohio, K-12, Liberal Arts

·      Michigan, K-12, Literature Science and the Arts

·       

APPOINTMENTS - USA

1999 High School for Global Studies, NYC District 15, Brooklyn Humanities and Video
1999 Roosevelt Island Youth Program, Drama and Video Director 1997 Queens College, Queens NY / Lecture-Director Duke Ellington course and production
1996 MS158Q, Marie Curie Middle School, NYC District 26, Bayside / Drama and Video
1997 Beacon Program, MS 158 and JHS 216 / Drama and Video After School Programs
1975 Portage County Bd. of Education, Ohio / Educational Consultant and Teacher Trainer
1976 Univ. Of Michigan, Ann Arbor / Admissions Counsellor / Selective and Competitive
1974 Kent State University, Ohio / Admissions Counsellor / Undergraduate Department

1999-Brooklyn School for Global Studies / Director of Technology, Video and the Arts.

·      Designed Theatre, Television and Video Programs

·      Aided in construction of Student Web Site

·      Implemented usage of 120 Mac Computers driven by server throughout the school

·      Supervised student-produced Theatre, Video, Print and Web Portfolios

·      Designed and implemented curriculum for creative writing, art infusion in humanities and technology usage to aid instruction

1996-1999 Marie Curie Middle School, MS 158, Bayside, Queens

·      Appointed Instructor of Drama and Video

·      New York City Certification 665B, Performing Arts, Drama. New York State High School Certification, Speech

·      Built a complete theatre and video program from neglected, archaic and broken parts

·      Staged student written works and supervised the presentation of student video projects

·      Transformed closets into editing rooms, coatrooms into costume closets and storage rooms into television studios

·      Served as consultant to NTTI (National Teacher Training Institute), MSI (Middle School Initiative) and UFT (United Federation of Teachers)

·      The Beacon Program, MS 158 and JHS 216, Bayside, Queens Created an after school drama and video program with neighborhood students from two schools.

·      Staged "Inherit the Wind", "A Christmas Carol" and various student written works

·      Consulted with Beacon sights on how to implement performing arts programs.

Professor of English - Rome

• Senators from the Italian Parliament
• Public Schools of Rome
• Virgilio Superiore
• Visconti Media
• Pantheon Elementare

Berlitz

·      Intensive Business English

·      Berlitz Kids, Program Development

·      Private conversation

PRODUCTION - ROME

Voice dubbing artist, Italian to English Films (various features, cartoons and documentaries)

The Passion of the Christ       Mel Gibson                 Speaking role of “Eyepatch”

Rome  HBO                            Court Lictor                Episode “Spoils”

RAI 1                                      Dominica In                Big Band Vocalist

Guide text, scripts and itineraries for sites throughout Italy

THEATRE / Rome /Ford English Theatre

"The Bear" by Anton Chekhov - Male Lead
"Picture This" by Lamdon Coleman- Male Lead
”Ibsen meets Strindberg”-Strindberg

PRODUCTION – USA

1998 BIRDSVILLE / A High Flyin' Rock and Role Musical Wrote, produced and directed an adaptation of Aristophanes Birds Showcased at the Kaufman Theatre, 42nd Street.

THE HUMBLE THEATRE COMPANY Founding Artistic Director / Multi-cultural performing arts troupe emphasizing non-traditional casting and ethnic inclusion in theatrical production.

1999 SOPHISTICATED STUDENTS Hired by the Queens College Department of Theatre, Dance and Drama to produce the first annual Queens Initiative project (Quip); a program where students throughout the Borough of Queens are invited to prepare a performance piece based on the works of a selected artist. 1999 honored the centennial of Duke Ellington.

COMMISSIONS

AT HOME IN ROME           A novel about life in the Eternal City

ROME, THE FIRST 3000 YEARS   One-man musical review of the Eternal City

JAZZ, THE FIRST 100 YEARS       A look at the evolution of this American Art Form

KISSA GRANDPA                An Italian-American-Italian Migration Documentary

REX    Theme song lyrics for European TV series

YO, WALT! Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center, Camden, NJ.

Original musical presenting the life and works of Whitman through poetry and modern Rap

START WITH THE HEART Robert Crown Institute for Health, Hinsdale, IL
            An original musical teaching the anatomy and functions of the heart

A TIGER TALE         Film Short honoring the Detroit Tigers baseball team

Bio 2016