This is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing series of interviews with actors around the country who are successfully pursuing a professional career. The acting biz is a tough nut to crack, and success can be measured in so many ways beyond magazine-cover-story-celebrity success. Hell, if you get up just one more day and go to one more callback or one more interview, you’re a success in my eyes! Throughout the coming year I’ll be profiling men and women who are getting work on a regular basis in regional theatre, in independent film, in commercials, you name it. This isn’t a how-to-become-an-actor advice column, but after reading these varied stories, you’re sure to find useful tips in the recounting of their journeys.
Name: Michael Sherwin
Current City: Chicago, IL
How did you get started in acting?
I performed in pageants in Catholic School, and was involved with Radio and Mock Trial in High School. I auditioned for my first play in High School because I had a crush on a theatre girl. I got the part, Avery Arable in “Charlotte’s Web”, and I dated the girl. In college I started as a Political Science major with hopes to be a lawyer, but ended up auditioning for shows my first weekend in college and was cast. The theatre people were wonderfully welcoming, and I really loved the collaborative nature of the projects, so I switched my major, graduating with a BFA in Performance and a BS in Technical Theatre [from Eastern New Mexico University].
What was your goal, as an actor?
For me, my goal has always been to be happy. My mother died my senior year of high school, and what really shaped my young adult years was that life is fleeting, so enjoy it while you can. I just loved being in shows, I loved story telling, so I just kept doing that. After graduating Eastern, I asked my Dean how to go about being a professional actor, and he said to go to grad school. I ended up going to Phoenix to live with a friend who offered a room and free rent for a bit (thank you Darren W. Knight, Esq.) and auditioning, and started doing shows there. Phoenix was a small market and I worked constantly, but never was able to make it my living (the exception being a year of Children’s Theatre and scene shop work). It wasn’t until I was 30 that I decided I should move to be in a market where at least it was possible to make a living. Hence, Chicago.
Did you want to stick with theatre or move on to film and television?
My background is theatre, and I love it first and foremost. I’ve done very little of other genres, so I admit to being biased with lack of experience. But the connection and magic with each and every audience is to me, very special and the most sacred thing I know.
To get more specific, I enjoy acting Shakespeare the most. The challenge and idea that these words have been around for centuries, and finding a new and innovative take on them is very rewarding. Each character is a gem, and each line is poetry.
Have you pursued any training beyond your bachelors degrees?
I have attended The Green Room, Chicago’s On-Camera Class. Some stage combat workshops and a few workshops on Folio technique.
Tell us about your experiences in the two cities that you’ve performed in.
Phoenix put me on stage all the time. It was easy to break in being a small community who is passionate about what they do in light of the antipathy of the metropolitan area. Chicago is an actor’s town, they take risks, and the talent is exceptional.
Are you a member of a performers’ union?
I am an Equity Membership Candidate, but have never been offered my Union Card. The point at which I would have achieved it in Phoenix, I moved to Chicago. I wouldn’t take my card at this point in my career. I love being in my city, and getting my card would severely limit the opportunities I have here.
Do you have an agent?
I have multiple agents. In Chicago, you can be non-exclusive with any number of agents and currently there are 5 who occasionally send me out. My most lucrative commercial work comes from print advertising jobs. All I did was send a cover letter and headshot to all union-affiliated agencies when I arrived in Chicago. A few called me in and a few signed me non-exclusively. The exclusive clients get the better auditions, so I would go exclusive if it was offered. It’s a classic Catch 22 though: One needs to audition in order to book jobs, the more one books jobs, the better chance of being exclusive. But if you don’t send non-exclusive folks out, how can they book and become exclusive?
When you first began to actively pursue acting, do you feel like you had been properly trained in both the performance and business aspects of being an actor? What did you need to learn-as-you-go to become a more employable actor?
When I was young, I thought to be successful took 60% Talent, 30% Who You Know and 10% Luck. Now I think it’s 33% Luck, 65% Who You Know and 2% Talent.
My BFA taught me very little, if nothing, about the business side of acting; and some traits ingrained in me were actually bad habits in the professional world. I knew nothing of agents, unions, genres, and had no contacts whatsoever, no network to call upon. I moved to Phoenix with the idea I should be grateful for every part I had and never complain. Which is great when one is in college, but you can’t make a living doing that.
Do you have a “day job?”
I am a legal secretary by day, and when I perform, my rehearsals do not conflict with my day job. On top of that, I have 5 weeks PTO which I must take every year. My bosses are very gracious and allow me to change my schedule to suit my needs, be it auditioning, rehearsing, performing, or gigging.
I’ve been at the point for the last few years that I make more weekly than I would as an Equity Actor in Chicago (unless perhaps I was part of a touring Broadway show). Do I wish I didn’t have to have the day job? Absolutely. However, I also get to pick and choose my projects, and I don’t have to audition for “Annie” in Boise in order to make the rent.
Do you continue to take classes? What is your opinion of the “continuing education” of actors through workshops, showcases, and individual classes?
Classes offer contacts, and increase the Who You Know, so they are beneficial for that, as well as developing skills. However, this often leads to a “Pay for Play” arrangement with theatres and companies which offer classes. Second City has several levels of classes which are expensive (at least to me). They don’t hold open auditions, they audition from their class pool; so these future actors have already paid them many thousands of dollars for their training, in hopes of being hired by the company they paid all this money. The same goes for Steppenwolf, and many other companies. It pisses me off that this happens, but there’s nothing to be done about it. Companies will certainly cast people who have paid them over people who have not regardless of talent. The idealist in me wants a show to have the best people to tell the story, not just who has contributed most financially.
Is there anything else you would like to say about your career that you’ve felt has been beneficial?
It’s ALL been beneficial. Part of the joy of theatre and this kind of collaborative process is becoming an expert on so many things. Each experience adds to the tool box and is beneficial. I don’t have a particular mentor, and no one has discovered me or given me my big break. Children’s Theatre was a great lesson in stamina; learning to perform multiple shows in a day and hundreds of shows a year. Being a technician taught me to respect everyone involved in the process and taught me everything it takes to put on a show. Shakespeare taught me to study, phrase language, and think on my feet. Improv taught me to listen and respond with my gut. Stage combat, dance, voice…they are all experiences that are a part of me and I draw on each and every show.
I thank Michael for his time and for being my first “victim” in this series of posts. It should be noted that Michael became a newly married man at the beginning of this year, and he is deliriously happy.
This is a partial list of Michael’s work on the stage:
| Production |
Character |
Theatre |
| The Duchess of Malfi |
Chorus/Pescara |
Strawdog Theatre |
| Elling |
Frank Asli |
Redtwist Theatre |
| The History of Henry IV |
King Henry IV |
Oak Park Festival Theatre |
| David Bowie Christmas 1977 |
David Bowie |
New Millennium Theatre |
| Last Daughter of Oedipus |
Creon |
Babes With Blades |
| The Living Canvas: Nocturne |
The Man |
The Living Canvas |
| Killer Joe |
Killer Joe Cooper |
Nearly Naked Theatre |
| Chiaroscuro |
Caravaggio |
Bailiwick Repertory |
| Six Degrees of Separation |
Woody & Hustler |
Phoenix Theatre |
| Julius Caesar |
Brutus |
Shakespeare Theatre |
| Taming of the Shrew |
Tranio |
Southwest Shakespeare |
