As long as he can remember, Michael has pursued his calling as an actor and found the ultimate joy in making others' laugh. From a very early age, he discovered he could get positive attention, rather than negative scolding, through his performance antics and sense of humor. Then, in 1996, something occurred that changed his perspective on life even further. He had a near death experience through coming down with Meningitis, which caused him to fall into a coma. When he awoke, he suffered damage to his short term memory. During that time of the illness, he was cast in a play called "Table Manners" and had a great deal of line memorization. Through the process of learning the lines and performing in the play, he re-developed the confidence in himself and came to a deeper realization that he was meant to pursue the art of theatre and film as an actor and director.
He believes that his work as an actor and as a director (which he views as an extension of his acting craft) is to portray the experiences in life that give audiences' the ability to reflect and explore aspects of their own identities and existences.
Michael looks back with fondness at a wide plethora of acting and directing opportunities he has had in his life. First, he is most proud of his time as an instructor and director traveling with the Missoula Children's Theatre Group, calling it "the best gig he ever had". He recalls how rewarding it was working with a different set of children each week, coaching them with their acting abilities and in a limited amount of time helping them to fulfill the goal of performing in a real play, and he hopes that this experience caused them to have life-long memories, as it did for him. Next, he looks back with utmost affection for several plays and films he participated in, such as his role as Major Arnold in the play,"Taking Sides", his role as Tom in the play, "Light Sensitive", and his role as Billy in the film, "Besetment". He will always feel grateful for the experience working on "Besetment", seeing Billy as his favorite film role to date, being able to see a part of Oregon he had never yet viewed, finally feeling truly respected as an actor and artist, and making good memories that created life-long friendships.
He believes himself to be still in "film school" as a film director and views every opportunity on set as a learning process. He extends a warm shout-out and personal thank you to his good friend, Ray Nomoto Robison for his mentorship. Because of this, he is truly excited about the process of starting up Cafe-Girl Productions, Inc and is thoroughly enjoying the process, saying that it is not something he would ever imagined he would do and he is infinitely proud of Lia for founding it and for all her hard work. The strengths he brings to Cafe-Girl are his years of experience working as a professional actor and as an artistic director for a local community theatre. He says this knowledge gained gives him the ability to coach the rest of the organization without over-stepping his bounds or causing them to feel less than capable in their artistic endeavors.
Michael looks forward to the continuing unfolding of all that Cafe-Girl will bring forth in the world, through the focus on community, creating meaningful productions that increase the value of individual and society, and helping each other and others to thrive as artists. He especially looks forward to not only all of the future productions and services of Cafe-Girl but one day producing an original work that he wrote with his first mentor, Nancy Jones, his high school speech and debate coach, bringing it forth into the world in her beloved memory.
For more information on Michael, check out his facebook page at:
Michael Meyer
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