It's no joke. How a teacher from Sudbury turned to comedy routines to educate

SUDBURY — Dan Peppercorn once read that laughter is the shortest distance between people.

Call him a believer.

The 49-year-old Sudbury resident is a former all-state high school athlete and Harvard University graduate who has carved out an impressive career as a teacher. He's also rapidly building a viable side gig as a stand-up comedian.

And he sees several parallels among all three of those parts of his life.

"The adrenaline rush I get from performing stand-up before a live audience is the closest I can get to experiencing those highs from playing varsity sports — or even the biggest games from my youth," said Peppercorn, a 1992 Lincoln-Sudbury graduate who starred in basketball and tennis there.

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He's advanced far enough in the comedy industry to land a gig at the Mohegan Sun's Comix Roadhouse, he's gotten a "Hey, Pep!" from Peabody native (and "Last Comic Standing" finalist) Gary Gulman and he has engaged in a phone conversation with Steven Wright.

And on Thursday, Peppercorn gets a home crowd. He has put together a stand-up event at Paani Indian Cuisine at the Meadow Walk, which will be hosted by Dan Crohn of "Last Comic Standing" and will feature John Perrotta, James Hamilton, Adam Groppman, Holly Johnston and Rick Fink Jr., along with Peppercorn.

Holding students' attention is great practice for stand-up

As a teacher at the middle school level — he's been social studies curriculum coordinator in Westwood for the past 13 years, and is in his 22nd year teaching there — Peppercorn found that when he "acted out" while relaying stories to students, expressing different emotions and attitudes, his audience was more focused — and also more likely to laugh.

"I've always been fascinated by human behavior," Peppercorn said during a recent interview at his home overlooking Willis Pond. "On Parents' Night, I noticed that parents often sit in my class exactly where their child sits — that's something I can use.

"Comedians will make observations about groups, individuals and society at large."

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Both of Peppercorn's parents are doctors — his mother, Margie, was Sudbury's town pediatrician, and his father, Mark was once named "Best Gastroenterologist" in a Boston Magazine "Best of Boston" issue. Furthermore, his older brother, Jeff, is an oncologist and his sister-in-law is a physician/medical director at a pharmaceutical company.

"I'm the black sheep," Peppercorn quipped.

He was hooked on comedy at a young age

While athletics, particularly basketball, were Peppercorn's main interest as a youth, he recalls being introduced to comedy at a young age. His parents took him to live shows, including those with performances from George Carlin, Dana Carvey, Billy Crystal and others, and young Dan listened to comedians' records at home.

"I noticed that laughter — whether in stand-up sets, on sports teams, in plays and in classrooms — it makes people feel joy and connects them to others," he said.

In addition to being a standout athlete, Peppercorn was an excellent student. The combination of his athletic prowess and a 3.8 high school GPA got him into Harvard, where he graduated in 1996 with high honors (and writing a senior thesis about jazz music in the 1920s). Six years later, he earned a master's degree in education, also from Harvard.

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Tom Lopez, the legendary former L-S football coach who also happened to be a neighbor of the Peppercorns, said Dan's intelligence and drive put him in a position to succeed at whatever he wanted to achieve.

"The one attribute that stands out with him is his intelligence," said Lopez, who coached Peppercorn on the Curtis Middle School basketball team. "He knew what he could do and what he couldn't or shouldn't do. And he knew what others should be doing. He wasn't the biggest guy, or the strongest or quickest.

"What he did have, though, you can't teach."

Peppercorn has taught and coached middle schoolers and high schoolers in New York City, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. But starting in January he will be instructing aspiring teachers — a graduate-level class at Boston College.

Creative teaching keeps students engaged in class

He's proud of his creative teaching methods. He has an alter ego, "King Pepper," who was a “character” who helped students learn about the American Revolution by being part of a "kingdom" and experiencing what colonists faced. And he used to do an activity called "Celebrity Duels," where two students would learn about the same historical figure and portray that person while doing a presentation to the class.

The class would vote on who was the real one.

"Students learn more when activities and assignments are meaningful and manageable," Peppercorn said.

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And while he holds an advanced degree, has written a book ("Creative Adventures in Social Studies," which can be found on Amazon) and is a pretty fair artist (painting), Peppercorn aspires to learn more.

One day, he cold-called Wright, the Burlington native renowned for his deadpan delivery, to pick his brain about stand-up routines.

"He picked right up," Peppercorn recalled, although when Wright saw the caller's 978 area code, "He asked who I was, and when I told him he said, 'I thought you were my mother.'"

The two ended up chatting for a few minutes.

Hoping for a phone call from one particular celebrity

Peppercorn has had other fleeting flashes with fame. He's done improv in Cambridge, and he's been asked to take a part in a Broadway play. He's even had his likeness incorporated into a character on the hit television show "30 Rock" — he was friendly at Harvard with one of the show's writers and producers, Robert Carlock.

So far, Peppercorn has been content to pursue his teaching career with comedy on the side. But as he excitedly prepares for his next professional move, instructing teacher candidates at Boston College starting in January, he allows for one dream.

"Fallon," he said of Jimmy Fallon, "The Tonight Show" host. "I'd like to make one appearance on his show.

"That would be really cool."

For tickets to Peppercorn's performance Thursday at Paani Indian Cuisine, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paani-buffet-and-stand-up-comedy-show-tickets-698039313377?aff=oddtdtcreator. The event features an all-you-can-eat buffet and stand-up comedy show.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Westwood teacher pursues stand-up comedy side-hustle