CHARACTER INFORMATION


BASICS
NAME: Michael Gabriel Connor Benton
AGE/BIRTHDATE/ZODIAC: 30/20 May 1980/Taurus
OCCUPATION: High school music teacher & part time bar tender (to help pay the bills).
MARITAL STATUS: Divorced, single.
FAMILY:
ExWife: Sinead Benton
Daughter: Emmaline (Emma) Marie Benton
SEXUALITY: Heterosexual
PB: Kris Allen

BACKGROUND
Michael Gabriel Connor Benton was born in Dublin Ireland to an Irish family. He remembers some parts of Ireland, especially his grandmother singing to him in Gaelic to get him to sleep at night. During his time in Ireland, his family spoke in Gaelic and taught him how to speak it. He also learned many Irish tales and music from the country. His love for music started when he was younger. At age four he was singing for their church choir and had a very proud mother. At the age of five, his family moved to Great Neck, New York. His father had taken a job in a factory and his mother had started teaching music. This was a big change for little Michael. The culture shock was the first change. They kept him out of school for a bit, and gave him a tutor so that he could catch up. He was an extremely intelligent child and learned a second language by the age of ten. He attended grade school and met his first best friend there. To his delight, he also came from an Irish family, and had quite a few things in common. They both loved to perform on the stage.

He attended theater and music camps when he was younger. Many of his friends were made through those camps. His fondest memories were from camp, and has many photo albums created from his adventures there. He learned some of his performing techniques from his shows that he put on for theater and musical camps. He met one of his girlfriends, and still keeps in contact with her to this day. He was pen pals with many of his friends from camp also. He had his first summer romance when he was in junior high music camp. The woman was tall, dark and gorgeous. She was everything he had been hoping for in a first girlfriend. Like all summer flings, this one was short lived and they broke up when camp was over. He went on to date many more women after her.

Instead of sports, Michael opted for music and art courses when he was in junior high and high school. He was often ridiculed for his choices, but even from a young age he knew that he was not the sporty type of girl. It did not bother him and as determined as he was, he earned high marks in all of his music courses. He soon became well known in highschool for his voice. He soon reunited with one of his best friends. During the summer of his freshman year, the two friends had an epiphany, realizing that they were more than friends. They began dating for awhile until he noticed something was off. The two parted amicably, but he remains kind of bitter about the break up. Mike was in several musicals, his roles included leads in South Pacific and in Phantom of the Opera. That was when he entertained the thought of going to Juliard or some type of music or theater school. He thought that perhaps he could pursue opera, but then opted to teach music instead.

Mike went on to college and to date several girls at once. He was kind of known as a player because he had his Irish accent. He went through several girlfriends but none captured his heart like Sinead did. Sinead was an Irish exchange student and she had bell like laughter and ocean blue eyes. They dated for a while until, he decided that they should be serious. At the end of their college graduation, he asked Sinead to marry him. She said yes. They were married for two years, he had a daughter named Emmaline. But, Sinead’s heart was in Ireland not in the United States. She broke his heart when she went away for the summer and fell in love with another man. She never returned to him and left him with his daughter to raise on his own. Bitter and heartbroken, he picked up the pieces and moved from New York to Maine. It was there that he heard of a teaching position at the high schools there. This would become one of his first teaching jobs right out of college.

STUFF TO KNOW
• Devout Christian.
• Has a black lab named Robo.
• Loves classic rock and metal.
• Loves all musicals and his favorites include Hello Dolly, Phantom of the Opera, Guys and Dolls, Showboat, Oklahoma, South Pacific. His more recent favorites include Rent, and Wicked.
• Leads and directs the high school choir as well as teaches music.
• Originally from Dublin Ireland, his family moved to New York when she was very young.
• Is fluent in Gaelic, and French.
• Is a wine connoisseur and loves all kinds. His favorite is cabernet.
• He loves anything romantic and has been known to read romance novels in her spare time when he is not teaching. He is very, very closed mouthed about this.
• His daughter Emmaline is the apple of his eye. She is very spoiled and anything she asks for she gets. She is 13 and goes to a school for gifted children. He only gets her on weekends.

SCHOOLING TIMELINE:
♦ Saddle Rock School; Great Neck NY.
♦ North Middle School; Great Neck NY.
♦ North High School; Great Neck NY.
♦ NYU: Gallatin; New York NY.


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