TTB: Would you share with us some of your theatrical experience?
Michael Horn: The role that most prepared me for this show was definitely that of Alan Turing, in Hugh Whitemore’s Breaking the Code, a production that ran a few years ago at the Catherine Hickman. It’s a biopic about Turing, who built a machine capable of cracking the Enigma code, during World War II. He was unapologetically gay in a time when it was not just frowned upon, but actually a crime. Like Lerro, Turing felt strongly that he had a firm grasp on his destiny and made every choice according to his own strict moral standards, but ultimately, he fell victim to people and circumstances he could never hope to control. The play had some very long monologues, I think one was over 4 pages long, that probably gave Bill some confidence that I could memorize and perform an 80-minute one man show. Both roles also involve a personality with a deep split between a very objective, cold, factual man living in the same mind as an extremely passionate, emotionally driven man, which is something I personally relate to very well.
I came into acting through my wife, Katie Calahan, who was classically trained at Boston University. She convinced me to do some community theatre work years ago, and I found to my surprise that I really enjoy being on stage, despite being a very introverted person most of the time. My first role was Evilix, the frightfully dysmelodic, in a production at St. Pete City Theatre, a mad-scientist supervillain from space in a musical fundraiser they ran a while back called Star Chix, it was a very different role, I guarantee nobody will recognize me from it, but it got me comfortable with being on the stage in front of a big audience of strangers. I was terrified at the audition, but I’m so glad I did it, and I’ve kept in contact with many of the other actors and crew I met in that show.
I also do a lot of tech work in Tampa Bay, mainly fabrication of props, especially with electronics involved, but I’ve also done scenic painting, set building, light, and sound. When you spend most of the day alone, working on something as nebulous and intangible as software and integration, it’s really nice to get your hands into physical creative work that empowers other actors to do their best work. I really have to thank Katie for that too, as it was her encouragement that got me out of the house talking to other theatre people and working on tech for her children’s productions has not just built up my confidence and experience in this world, but taught me how much I love the community of people that throw themselves into performing arts!
TTB: MAYDAY deals with a sudden and tragic moment in the history of St Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area. Many residents of the area were affected by and still remember those events. Would you speak to yours and Bill DeYoung’s, the playwright and director of MAYDAY, approach in creating a piece that touches on a real and profound moment in this region’s history?
Michael Horn: Bill did an incredible amount of research, not just interviewing dozens of people who knew John Lerro or the Tampa Bay Pilots Association, but even to the point of looking at maps of the port, ship floor plans, it’s amazing how much stuff he learned that didn’t make it into the play, but did inform the play, between the lines. I can’t speak too much for Bill, but he and I both are St. Petersburg natives, so we had personal experiences that connected us to the collision, and we personally know people who were involved in the repercussions of that tragedy.
One of the most surprising things to me, when we did our first premiere of the show last year, was the engagement of the audience after the show. Many people would stay behind long enough for me to come out of the dressing room, so they could ask me questions or tell me anecdotes about their experiences or people they knew who were involved. One audience member said when she saw me on the news, she knew that the late John Lerro was using me as a vessel, talking through me to reach out and clear his name. Sometimes I do feel, spiritually or culturally, that Bill and I are providing John a platform to reach the people he so deeply wants to understand him, to believe- as he does- that every choice he made was the right one, the best one, the only one that he really could have made.
TTB: MAYDAY is a one-person performance. Would you speak to us about any challenges or benefits you discovered in creating and performing a one-person performance?
Michael Horn: When you are on the stage alone, there’s no one else to help you if you stumble over a line. And there are no cues from other actors to attach the next line to, every line has to be a cue for the next line. In other shows I’ve done, I could use a script rehearsal program to feed me lines from other actors and I’d fill in the blanks, but that program is worthless in a one man show. I use a lot of flash cards, along with the usual mnemonic devices I think all actors normally use. It’s handy, though, that I can walk pretty much anywhere on the stage, and not get in anyone else’s way, that if I do lose a line it’s not going to throw anyone else off. And I think being out there by yourself, with no net, makes it a more exciting show for the audience, too. Are they going to see me freeze like a deer in the headlights, go pale and replay lines in my head 3 times before I get back on track?
TTB: Bill DeYoung is an essential journalistic and literary voice in our community. A native son with several intriguing written works. How did your creative working relationship develop working on MAYDAY together?
Michael Horn: Oh, it’s been great. I’ve really enjoyed working with Bill. Whenever we have some down time and get to chatting, I get to hear all kinds of interesting anecdotes about people he’s interviewed, places and people he’s worked with… Stuff you might not read in a published article. Sometimes it’s like being backstage, but in a much bigger sense. Backstage for a huge concert that spans multiple states and multiple careers. Tampa Bay has an amazing collective of artists and performers, I really feel lucky to have grown up here, but Bill has also worked in other parts of the country, met famous musicians and learned all kinds of fascinating things in the process of researching for articles and books he’s written. It’s been an experience I certainly never expected to have but wouldn’t trade for anything.
TTB: Studio at Grand Central and the Off-Central Players is our region’s newest professional theatre company. Would you speak to us about Studio Grand Central’s importance to St Petersburg and why audiences should experience this new theatre company?
Michael Horn: I am absolutely thrilled that we have Studio Grand Central so close to where I live. We’ve got a couple well-established professional theaters in St. Pete, and some venues that have short-run productions on tap that are really cool, but Studio Grand Central is so new and fresh, intimate and just chock full of potential. I think the new kids in class always work the hardest to make a big impression and find a name for themselves, and the Off Central Players are no exception. The artistic director, Ward Smith, has extensive theater experience and cares extremely deeply about the quality of the work that comes out of his company. I’m so excited to have been involved with them, not just for this performance, but also for other performances, I designed lights and sound on a couple of their mainstage productions, and technical direction, set work and prop making for their children’s program, the Big Break Youth Stage, where I can really go nuts with magic and color and sound effects. This is a theater that’s not afraid to try something new and unproven, someone new and unproven, and so far, to my delight, it has paid off every time. Like I said, the talent pool in this area is incredible, and I love the theatres that really make an effort to find and welcome those people that want to get themselves out there, to prove that they have something beautiful to offer our community.
If you haven’t been out to Studio Grand Central, even if you don’t come to see my show, you really should check the place out. It’s a small space, there are no bad seats in the house, and like I said, they are out there to prove that you don’t want to miss a single show they produce.
MAYDAY plays at the Studio Grand Central, home of the Off-Central Players through February 27, 2022