johnnyj1028

ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE: Assistant to the President Frances Grill and Personal Assistant for Model & Film actress Isabella Rossellini: Click/Flick Management, Inc. 1985 - 1987, New York, NY Handled daily activities for the President of Click and for Ms Rossellini as she worked with Lancôme and various movies that include: Blue Velvet, Tough Guys Don't Dance, Zelly and Me and Little Red Riding Hood. Handled all arrangements for movie, print and interview bookings for additional celebrities including Marisa Berenson, Belinda Carlisle, Phoebe Cates, Elle Macpherson, Kelly Lynch and Uma Thurman. Personal Assistant for Academy Award actress, Faye Dunaway: The Wilbur Theatre, 1996-1997 ~ Also National Tour, 1997. Mr. McDonald handled numerous arrangements for the National Tour of Master Class starring Academy Award Winning Actresses ~ Faye Dunaway and for the Boston and Broadway premiere of Wait Until Dark starring Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino. Responsible for all print and interview requests for the tour as well as daily professional and personal issues relating to Ms. Dunaway and Ms. Tomei. Work included Boston and U.S. cities on the national tour of Master Class and the Boston and New York premier of Wait Until Dark. Personal Assistant for Academy Award actress, Marisa Tomei: The Wilbur Theatre, 1998. Also Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway ~ remained as Ms. Tomei’s assistant when Broadway show closed. Also, worked with Ms. Tomei at ART Harvard on We Wont Pay We Wont Pay and most recently with her on Howard Zinns document (produced by Greenlight) A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People's History of the United States. Performers at the live performances included: Howard Zinn ~ Martin Espada ~ Christina Kirk ~ Danny Glover ~ Darryl McDaniel’s (DMC) ~ David Strathairn ~ Harris Yullin ~ Jasmine Guy ~ John Legend ~ Josh Brolin ~ Kathleen Chalfant ~ Kerry Washington ~ Marisa Tomei ~ Michael Ealy ~ Michael O'Malley ~ Q'orianka Kilcher ~ Reg E. Cathey ~ Staceyann Chin ~ Viggo Mortensen. 1997 The Gin Game starring Julie Harris & Charles Durning ~ Assistant to and Dresser for Mr. Durning 1999 Assistant to Legendary Film and TV Icon Lauren Bacall in Waiting in the Wings also starring Rosemary Harris, Barnard Hughes, Dana Ivey & Elizabeth Wilson 2000 Assistant to Elaine May & Alan Arkin as well as Parker Posey, Matthew Broderick, Joyce Van Patten & Jerry Adler on "Taller Than A Dwarf" 2008 Produced “An Evening with Jane Olivor” Berklee College of Music Talent Scout/Booker of Talent, Adult and Children's Divisions: Click/Flick Management Inc., New York, NY ~ 1986 – 1988 Model Group, Boston, MA ~ 1988- 1989 Model Club, Inc., Boston, MA ~ 1992- 1995 Successful scout, booker of talent and negotiator of contracts for numerous local and national accounts. MTV ~ Research Department ~ New York, NY ~ 1985 Founder and President of Quincy Community Theater and The Quincy Cultural Alliance, Inc. Quincy, MA ~ Executive Producer and Director of theatrical and fundraising events since 1981. Work includes yearly musical productions and summer celebrity concert and children's theater series. Productions include: An Evening with Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday as well as Irish sensations Robbie O'Connell and The Clancy Brothers. Responsible for all aspects of producing, including event planning, grant and press kit writing for the organization since its inception. Quincy Cultural Alliance is dedicated to building the first multi-cultural community arts center in Quincy. This diversified art center collaborative is comprised of but not limited to: Quincy's Choral Society, Symphony Orchestra, Art Association and Community Theater. JM Productions History ~ In 1981 John F. McDonald, Jr. began a summer troupe producing one show a year. He called this organization The Quincy Community Theatre. Three years earlier Mr. McDonald created JM Productions as an entertainment producer. His company worked with local schools & church organizations assembling creative teams to produce full-scale musicals for fundraising efforts. JM Productions hired choreographers, lighting designers, directors, music directors & actors to help create “quality entertainment at reasonable prices” for these groups. This became the “mantra” for JM Productions. Previously, proposition 2 ½ had cut all funding for community theatre in Quincy, leaving the city without a theatrical artistic outlet. The city was lucky to have The Quincy Symphony Orchestra, Choral Society & Art Association. Mr. McDonald felt it was time for Quincy to once again have a place for local residents to see and participate in community theatre. The small group started with a modest grant from The Quincy Arts Council and money raised at various fundraising efforts. Even after a few successful shows, the company still had to rent various halls and school auditoriums for lack of their own performance space. In 1989 JM Productions & The Quincy Community Theatre approached The Woodward School Foundation in Quincy to collaborate under their non-profit 501c3 status. This collaboration lasted for 10 successful years. The companies collaborated on three major musicals a year. Students at the school participated behind the scenes as well as on the stage. Community members played major roles in the operation of the company as well as on the stage. During the ten years, QCT evolved from a struggling summer group to an established and respected company, producing ten years of “Quality Entertainment at Reasonable Prices” to the delight of thousands on the South Shore. After a brief hiatus the group moved its entire operations to The Common Market Restaurant in Quincy, MA. The idea to elevate the groups’ status from community based to semi professional dinner theatre came from patrons who regularly suggested that it would be great to have “One Stop Shopping” when it came to their entertainment and dining needs. The Common Market Restaurant took a chance on the concept and JM Productions had three successful years producing 6 shows a year in the restaurant function facility. The venue only held 75 patrons so after three successful years the company approached Raffael’s Restaurant in North Quincy, MA to rent their 130-seat venue. For seven additional years JM Productions presented monthly musical events. The reviews were tremendous and over 5000 people asked to be entered into JM’s database. When Raffael’s lost their lease and traveled to The Clarion Hotel, JM Productions made the decision to follow Raffael's. After a brief relationship at “The Den” on Sea Street (small cabaret room) the theatrical company continued in earnest its quest to open a stand alone facility not affiliated with any restaurant or other business. Our customers spoke loud and clear so we listened ~ patrons want a weekend nightspot that offers entertainment and light refreshments. The search is still on for a downtown location for our productions. Mr. McDonald has also produced events in conjunction with the City of Quincy at the Quincy Promenade and has served as an officer on the annual Blues Festival Committee. Through his production company, JM Productions, Mr. McDonald was responsible for organizing a series of weekday concerts for the Promenade that included jazz, Dixieland, big band, Broadway and new age performances. Mr. McDonald is the creator of The Quincy Cultural Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to building the City’s first multi million dollar cultural community arts center. Mr. McDonald has held many faculty and administration positions in elementary, middle and high schools. Mr. McDonald has held various positions in the theatre district of Boston, MA including but not limited to usher, stage door person, phone operator, dresser, productions assistant and assistant house manager at The Wilbur, Schubert, Wang, Colonial and Opera House theatres in Boston, MA.