LIVE Magazine Issue #260 June 23

BY LEVVY CARRIKER
LIVEMAGAZINE
Levvy: You were born in Bronx, New York. What was your childhood
like?
Michael: It's funny to me. When I was a child and lived in The
Bronx, all I wanted to do was get out. I dreamed of living in the City,
in Manhattan. Manhattan was like Oz to me. It was glamorous and
fun and exciting. But now, these many years later, I look back on
my time in The Bronx with a tremendous amount of nostalgia and
joy, and I realize what an amazing place it was in which to grow up. I
lived in an Italian neighborhood, which eventually became a Puerto
Rican neighborhood, and it was the people that made it so rich
and wonderful. I had one of those quintessentially New York childhoods,
where I left the house in the mornings, and hang out with
my friends, and then I'd hear my mother calling from the 6th floor
apartment window around 6 to come home for dinner. There were always
parties, I remember that. And I also remember the food. Arthur
Avenue, the Italian section of The Bronx, was filled with restaurants
and cheese shops and stores that sold all kinds of meat, and pastries.
I have distinct memories of my mother's family coming over all
the time, and us having huge Italian feasts.
LC: I saw that you were a model in New York's FONT Agency. Tell
us how that got started.
MV: From the very first moment, I always wanted to be an actor. It's
the first thing I remember. My mother enrolled me in singing and
dancing and acting lessons, and I studied the piano and guitar, and
music theory. I got an agent and a manager. I'd go out on auditions
all the time. I was constantly singing, and I got a bunch of jobs in
musical theatre. I also did a lot of print modeling. The Sears catalogue.
If you find any of those from the '70s, I'm certain you'd find
me.
LC: Then you studied improv at Second City Hollywood. So now
you are on the west coast causing a storm. What might be one of
the most valuable lessons you learned while at Second City?
MV: Second City was one of the greatest experiences of my life! I
truly learned how to be free. I went because it petrified me, the idea
of improv, so I figured I'd better conquer that fear. All of my idols
came out of Second City... Gilda Radner, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea
Martin, Martin Short, etc. I wanted to be just like them. It was years
of fun, and terror, but when I graduated, I had such a sense of accomplishment
and felt fearless, as if there was nothing I couldn't do.
LC: Michael your path to your current successes is obvious. You
love production! For the last 4 years you produced and directed
Child of the 70's, an extremely popular web series. How did this
series get it's start?
MV: I had the idea ruminating in my head for many years, and one
day, I finally sat down and started writing. It happened very quickly.
It sort-of wrote itself. Then, once I had it, I didn't want to just shove
it in a drawer. I wanted to do something with it. So I raised some
money, found a crew, asked some of my actor friends to be in it, and
it just sort-of happened. Like it was meant to be. I was tremendously
influenced by the TV series, "Rhoda." I still think she's one of the
greatest and most interesting characters in television. I loved her
journey of self-discovery, from a total lack of self-esteem to being a
confidant, strong, independent woman. I kind of had that same journey,
only as a gay man, and I wanted to tell that journey.
LC: After the first season you must have had the idea that you
would have more successful years at this brand. What would be
one of the most memorable times or scenes from this first season?
MV: Working with Donna Pescow, of course! She was the star of
"Angie," on TV, and also "Saturday Night Fever." When I was looking
for an actress to play my mother, I knew I wanted a "Donna
Pescow type." Then, her agent called and said, "Well, I actually have
Donna Pescow!" There's an Italian family in the series, heavily influenced
by my own family, of course, and I love doing those scenes,
because I get to work out all my family issues with a bunch of actors
in a safe space!
LC: In one of my favorite scenes was were you had the argument
that was comical and produced in a way that kept the viewer laughing
but also recognizing the value of the difference of opinions in a
family setting, but then you and your mom go outside on the deck
and the show turns almost into like a film style shoot, acting and
lighting and timing. Pulling off this variety of film making shows
your depth in production. What do you love most about production?
MV: Thank you for that. That episode is one of my absolute favorites.
Gina Hecht, from "Mork and Mindy," was in that episode, and
she is a brilliant actor. It forced me to be a better actor, just to keep
up with her. And that argument was taken almost word-for-word
from an actual argument that I had with my own mother in real-life.
Production-wise, I feel we get better and better each season. I think
we really hit our stride in the third season, with our new director,
Tom Pardoe, and we also found a new production crew. We really
were able to step up the technical aspects. I absolutely love film
production. I grew up in the theatre, and my personality is big, but
film forces you to be small and real and honest, it's true when they
say it's all in your eyes. It's been a tremendous learning experience
for me.
LC: The casting is superb Micheal. You have had 'emmy award
style' performances with actors like Ann Walker, Kat Kramer, Bruce
Vilanch, Susan Olsen, Leo Forte, Sheena Metal, Randy Jones, Judy
Tenuta, Irene Soderberg, Ted Lange and the list goes on. What a
wonderful cast of actors Michael, so congratulations on the cast
alone. Is there one single thing you can say you learned as a whole
working with this fine group of actors?
MV: Thank you! I think it was Woody Allen who said something
like, filmmaking is all about the casting. If you cast the right people,
that's 90% of the battle. I've been very lucky in that respect. I have
an incredible group of actors in my show. There's also Chuck Saculla,
and Carole Ita White from "Laverne and Shirley," and Frankie
Valenti, and Terry Ray from "Gaydar," and Jeremiah Caleb and indie
film star Mel England... the list goes on and on. And, we have some
super fun surprises for our 5th and final season.
LC: I have interviewed many of your cast like Ann Walker, Kat
Kramer, Judy Tenuta, and Bruce Vilanch so it will be fun to watch
this final season come into reality. How does someone get in touch
with you Michael if they wanted to donate to your campaign?
MV: You can find me on Facebook, of course, and we're on twitter,
@childofthe70s2, and you can also contact me through our website,
www.theofficialchildofthe70s.com We're always looking for private
investors, and also companies that would like to sponsor the show.
LC: Lastly, what advice do you offer for you actors or directors?
MV: Don't ever stop. Don't ever give up. Don't listen to anyone!
Pursue your dream, no matter what. Everybody will tell you how
hard it's going to be, and how unlikely success is. Don't listen. Stay
focused.