SEASON TWO Episode One with Tapping Troy McLaughlin who says "As a performer you must be willing and nice to everybody, because you never know who they might be!"

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Schmigadoon Season One AND the new season of Virgin River, honey Troy McLaughlin is on a roll!

Troy McLaughlin and I go way back and I knew I wanted him on as a guest on ACT this season and was so happy that he found the time to give to both you and me. We met at Varina High School, in Richmond, Virginia but I was (…ha hem) just a little older than he! I first met him when he was a fabulous trumpet player in the marching band and as I was the drum major. And THEN…Troy broke loose and broke loose he DID! While at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA he decided a communications major wasn’t what he wanted to do – he wanted to be a performer, focusing primarily on tap and theatre dance. So, he transferred to the now-closed University of the Arts in Philadelphia (which makes him very sad) and some 40 years later, Troy has worked with some of the best in the business. From Disney’s THE LION KING (SWING), and SPIDERMAN (Las Vegas), to a 2 year stint in Germany in STARLIGHT EXPRESS (SWING) and you haven’t heard anything until you hear him sing FREIGHT in German! While in New York City he danced with Manhattan Tap, The Radio City Rockettes Show (understudying the late Gregory Hine’s brother Maurice and the great Harold Nicholas YUP of the famous Nicholas Brothers. He met Gregory a couple of times and you’ll hear those stories in the podcast. In Vegas, he worked on the rigging for SPIDERMAN with Julie Taymor and The Siegfried and Roy Show as a CatMan (you don’t want to miss the photo on the FB page!) Troy teaches, and choreographs, he does hip-hop, body percussion, and creative movement. he works in television, theatre, film, and his own dance company Troy’s BobShop. You can find more about it at www.bobshop.ca His main love (besides his family wife and two daughters who are all in the business) is teaching students and teachers of all ages and levels to help them gain the confidence they need to close in on their potential.

If you happen to be in Vancouver Canada this week for the Fringe Festival in the beautiful Granville Island Theatre District, Troy’s Dance Works will be on the stage with the Chuck Taylor Ballet at the Waterfront Theatre in Vancouver to celebrate storytelling through dance. Troy’s piece is about self-acceptance and individuality in a conformist world…all told through multiple styles of dance. For more information, please check out the Waterfront Theatre website at https://granvilleisland.com/venue/waterfront-theatre

Schmigadoon is going live on stage at the Kennedy Center in January so we’ll see if Troy gets asked to join the cast (fingers crossed) … he is the love interest of someone on the new season of Virgin River also coming to Netflix in January. Stay tuned...

To learn more about ACT contact Dawn Westbrook by heading over to her website at www.dawnwestbrook.com