Let There Be Lights

Since then, the 29-year-old Minneapolis resident has beefed up his resume with many opportunities. He has performed at The Guthrie, Classical Actors Ensemble, Minneapolis Musical Theater, Theatre Pro Rata, Theatre in the Round, Glowing Ember Theatre, A.Y.N.E. Productions Co. (Minneapolis); Artistry Theater, Sidekick Theatre, Chameleon Theatre (Bloomington); Lyric Arts Main Street Stage (Anoka); Lakeshore Players Theatre (White Bear Lake); Actors Theater of Minnesota (St. Paul); Paul Bunyan Playhouse (Bemidji); and The Phipps Center for the Arts (Hudson, Wis.).

At The Zephyr, he has played the role of Antonio, the pirate who risked his life to demonstrate his love for Sebastian, in “Twelfth Night” (2018); Harry Bailey, George’s brother, the war hero, in “It’s a Wonderful Life” (2019); and Borachio, the deceiving villain, in “Much Ado About Nothing” (2020).

“My favorite role was Antonio,” Mike said. “The Zephyr allowed us to dive deeper into a version of that character, demonstrating a romantic love for Sebastian as opposed to a traditional portrayal of brotherly or paternal love.”

Off the stage, Mike has also made a name for himself as a director. He is currently co-directing “Newsie!” with Calyssa Hall. His actors, in first through 11th grade, are enrolled in a drama club offered by Faith Christian Home Educators, a cooperative resource for parents who homeschool.

These students have been learning to act, sing, and dance during one-hour classes each week since September. Mike came onboard in October to help direct the 26 students through the ambitious musical, which includes roughly 20 songs during its 2.5-hour run.

“Newsies,” the story of cheeky kids who hawk newspapers in turn-of-the-century New York City, will be presented at The Zephyr May 7, 8, and 9 to a limited audience of parents, siblings, and relatives.

Mike, who supplements his theatre income with work as a personal shopper for Instacart, said he was particularly grateful to have contract work with The Zephyr during the pandemic. In addition to “Newsies,” he directed in-school productions of “Seussical Jr.” (during summer camp, 2020) and “James and the Giant Peach” (at Anderson Elementary, 2020).

“For many of the kids, this is their first time on stage,” he said. “Watching their confidence grow has been a fulfilling experience.”

“It’s rewarding to create a safe space where kids can make choices, try, fail, learn, and grow,” Mike said. Many theatre skills — working well with others, gaining poise in front of audiences, handling criticism and feedback, owning responsibility for roles — “are incredibly valuable life skills to take away from these experiences,” he said.

Mike is doing more work with The Zephyr. He is one of four directors and teaching artists ushering students through the Stillwater Community Education production “In the Spotlight: Hollywood Drive-in Musical.” This multi-school song fest will be presented mid-May on the outdoor stage at the theatre.

Additionally, Mike is teaching an online Shakespeare Monologue Workshop this spring. In June and July, he will return to Classical Actors Ensemble to play the roles of Lysander and Flute in an outdoor production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Looks like this theatre pro’s resume keeps growing.