A Day in the Park

John Fericano was the twelfth and last child born in a large Italian-American family to Josephine Fericano (Anello), a homemaker, piano and organ player, and part-time USO singer and entertainer, and Frank P. Fericano, a fisherman, ventriloquist, and World War II veteran. From an early age, his parents found that he was a very talented boy when it came to imagination and art. Growing up with his older siblings, he was immersed in the sixties culture. He was also influenced by their hobbies and activities, which included art, music, and acting. At an early age, he and his siblings put on stage plays at home for the neighborhood. At the time, Jesus Christ Superstar was a big hit in theaters, and it fit right in with the Fericano family with their acting and musical abilities, and also the fact that their mother was a devote Catholic. Their mother would play the original soundtrack record, while the children would lip-sync the words, remembering all their lines. It was quite a hit in their neighborhood! As Fericano grew up, he kept himself occupied by reading comic books, drawing, and recording small skits on audio tapes with his family and friends. He even aspired to become a comic book artist. He found that he could be in his own world reading comic books, taking him to other places and universes.

In high school, Fericano won a few awards in his Video Productions class, including Best Director and Picture for "Star Trek Puppets" (1982), Best Director for "Interview with Mary Poppins" (1982), and an honorable mention for a short skit unofficially titled "Bad Boys" (1982) about a group of menacing and marauding motorcycle bikers who preferred to pick on the nerds in their school and ride on their tricycles. After graduating high school, and a failed attempt to enter the comic book business, Fericano enlisted in the US Army in 1986 for a two year stint. After completing his tour of duty in Europe, he decided to travel the world.

Fericano started working for the airline industry in early 1990, which afforded him the opportunity to travel. In 2005, on a trip to Shanghai, China, he met his future wife, Yi Ru. They were married in 2006 and presently have two children. In 2006, he founded Feriru Productions, a precursor to Wacky Reels Productions. As an actor and director, Fericano has produced a few short comedies based on the 1920s silent film era, marking tribute to Charlie Chaplin. His first short comedy, Lunch Time (2012), garnered a small loyal following on YouTube. His second comedy, A Brick a Day Keeps The Boss at Bay, was shown for a limited time on YouTube in October 2012, and was eventually published on Amazon's Instant Video on Demand channel in 2015.

In 2012, Fericano started work on a new silent comedy in the style of Charlie Chaplin and the Keystone Cop movies of the early 1900s titled Picnic in the Park. It was stalled for several years due to casting, script, and scheduling conflicts. Finally, Fericano received the green light to start production in the fall of 2015. With a few changes in the script and overall plot, the short comedy was shot within one month on location at a city park, which included nine other non-union actors. Also, the title of the movie was changed several times during the course of production and finally it was unanimously changed to A Day in the Park. The movie is tentatively slated for a release date in the Winter of 2015. Fericano lives happily with his wife, Yi, and their children, Sophia and Sean, in the greater Chicago area.