What if training to be on Broadway didn’t cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars? What if it didn’t come with some of the toxic environments students often experience when studying for their BFA? What if students can train intensively in a safer and more equitable space? That’s where Michael Minarik of IAMT comes in.
What’s in this episode?
Treating yourself after auditions or small wins
Rejection is not about your soul
Finding joy from within
Not being debt after college
Why the current model for the BFA Showcase is archaic
The ability to choose in the industry
Audition accessibility
Becoming someone’s favorite
Michael Minarik is the director, acting head and cofounder of the institute for American Musical theatre located in Washington Heights, NYC – where alum is performing on Broadway, National Tours, regional theaters, film tv, cruise ships and other various performance venues.
Michael has been a performer on Broadway in Les Miserables (Grantaire u/s Javert and Thenardier) Rock of Ages (u/s Lonny, Stacee Jaxx, Dennis Dupree, Hertz Kleinman) and Matilda (Escape Artist u/s Trunchbull). He was also in the Broadway first national tours of Urinetown (Bobby Strong) and Little Women (John Booke) as well as numerous regional theatre productions including Jekyll and Hyde (Jekyll) The Happy Time (with John Kander as a consultant) Jacques, The Rink with Leslie Uggams, Phantom (Phantom), Beauty and the Beast (Gaston), Titanic (Barrett), Wedding Singer (Glen Gulia) and many more.
He is also a 12x singer for the New York Yankees singing God Bless America as well as the National Anthem. Michael is also an accomplished theatrical producer, with a Tony nomination for producing Rock of Ages on Broadway, the national tour, and the Toronto production. Michael was also the lead producer on the award winning musical Fat Camp as well as producing the off Broadway show, The Scene starring Tony Shalhoub and Patricia Heaton at second stage. Michael is also a successful real estate agent in Manhattan for over 20 years. Michael was a business major at James Madison University.