After singing, dancing and back-flipping his way through the Gilbert and Sullivan show ‘The Producers’, teen gymnast and actor Marcus Smith has shown no signs of slowing down.The 16-year-old went straight from one stage to another, playing Puck in ’A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ for the Bermuda Shakespeare Festival — then jetting to Calgary, Canada, for the International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition over the last week of October.One led nicely to another: “I used Max Bialystock’s monologue ‘Betrayed’ from ‘The Producers’ as my monologue,” Marcus recalled. “It was my third year going and I got the same result — Most Spirited Debater, and I made it to the dramatic interpretation final. I came 33rd out of 160 students.“Public speaking comes easy for me. I do a lot of debating here at Saltus,” he said, adding: “Actually, we have a debate competition coming up next weekend.”This on top of auditioning for the Saltus play ‘After Juliette’, and preparing for gymnastics at next June’s Island Games, made October “pretty heavy”.Marcus shrugs it off.“Whenever things got too much, going to ‘The Producers’ always made me feel better,” he said. “It was kind of like family. I wasn’t originally even supposed to be cast in it — I came in to replace someone else, and I ended up playing all kinds of roles.”This included Marcus’s signature backflip: although performance is his passion, the SGY1 student is also a seasoned athlete.For Marcus, taking on singing, dancing and acting on top of gymnastics means that “if I can perfect all four, I stand a much better chance as a performer. More than anything it’s about keeping prepared.”His summer job dancing for disembarking cruise ship visitors as part of the Island Beach Party shows Marcus’ four years’ experience with United Dance Productions.“UDP had a really big impact on my life. They taught me a lot of things — a lot of styles I wasn’t aware of, things I didn’t ever think I would be good at. It opened a lot of doors for me, like that job. The tourists definitely made that one worthwhile, because they get so much joy out of it. You just smile and give them a good time, and your job is done. For me, it’s great knowing you had an impact on someone’s life.”His ultimate dream is to take his one-man show to Broadway.“I take any opportunity that comes my way. And I know it can be done. There are two Bermudians making it on Broadway right now — Rebecca Faulkenberry and Darren Herbert. A lot of the job is being confident and believing in yourself, and drama has done that for me. All aspects of performing added to my confidence.”Marcus’s dance group Hay Smitty — the name comes from the surnames of its members — took third overall in the latest Bermuda’s Youth Got Talent, and the group hope to take a new act to the streets in the next May 24 parade.So how does he juggle a schedule that sounds like a recipe for a nervous breakdown?“I’m at that point in my life where I just don’t care,” laughed Marcus. “Bermuda’s just too small to care about what people think. Just do crazy things and dare to be different.”