BY LEVVY CARRIKER <strong>LIVE</strong>MAGAZINE 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.
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