We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Barrett a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
It all began in the sixth grade. I had an amazing teacher named Mrs Fiorindo that assigned us to give an oral book report on any historical figure that we chose. My choice was Martin Luther King, Jr. I was so inspired by his story that I wrote my first ever poem about him and read that to the class and in following the oral book report. The teacher was so impressed with the poem that told me, “Michael- whatever you do in life, promise me that you’ll never stop writing.” I never have and I never did. Through the years, honest audience responses have helped me continue to have the confidence to write new plays and films.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
As a career, I work as a behavior therapist for individuals primarily with autism. This extends from work at home through Zoom with young clients to also in a special needs classroom. I wasn’t sure that it would ever be possible to have a second passion for anything in this life- but I was surely thrilled to discover that it is. I enjoy doing my job everyday and I always hope that is proven in my work. For the last 6 years, I have been honored to be the president and head producer of the play production company, StageCrafters Productions. It has produced such hit plays as A Christmas Story, which I was honored to direct and Never Gone, which I wrote and directed and was thankfully also critically lauded and praised by general audience members. StageCrafters has also produced two plays by the brilliant playwright Phil Olson, A Twisted Christmas Carol and the very recent Love…Or Best Offer. Both of these productions gave StageCrafters the distinct honor of being published in the very prestigious play publishing company, Samuel French. My college degree from Cal State Fullerton is in Theatre Arts and I am thrilled to be able to take all of the knowledge from that degree and help entertain audiences on stage. For the last two years, StageCrafters has extended into FilmCrafters Productions. Its first film project, Red Sands, has the first episode available to stream on Prime Video. The episodes that follow it are currently being reviewed for streaming under multiple outlets. FilmCrafters’ next project is the film production of Love…Or Best Offer and features an expanded new screenplay by Phil Olson that builds on the foundation of the original play’s narrative. It is due to begin filming within the next few months. Next up for StageCrafters is the Neil Simon comedy, Plaza Suite, due to have performances at the Cultural Arts Center of the High Desert during the middle two weekends of June.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I would say that public speaking has always been a skill that I feel blessed by the Lord to have had. It has opened so many doors for me from personal friendships to career opportunities. I believe that my level of patience and understanding has thankfully been gained through the years and is most likely a result from working with individuals with special needs. This level of patience, I believe, extends out to when I’m working with a director as I’m serving as a producer on a project, to being a director myself and expressing that patience and understanding to my actors. An area of knowledge that I feel is important is that of my college degree and the different subjects of acting, writing and directing that I meticulously studied before my graduation in 2001. Any advice to folks that are early on in a journey toward having any sort of a life in the arts would be similar to the advice that my sixth grade teacher gave me: don’t ever stop. Don’t ever stop trying. To anyone who’s maybe always aspired to get into the field but hasn’t made any ground in doing so: get started. I’ve met so many people that have told me that they “want to write a script” for my company to produce. These scripts are only sometimes submitted for consideration and there could be so many more. As a writer, I feel it’s crucial to have a trusted confidant to show scripts to. I’ve always had a trusted artist that I’ve shown new scripts to and that trusted person has changed through the years, as life has a way of doing so. My current confidant knows who he is and I’m very grateful for the extensive feedback he always gives.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
There have been so many individuals that have helped me in overcoming challenges and building and developing the skills needed to run both a film and theatre company and work in the field of special needs. The first would definitely to be my loving fiancee and vice president of the company, Sheila Fares. I simply can’t produce a stage production without her and she has such creative insight that I’ve grown from knowledge with. Vic Mendoza has been instrumental with support as a director of photography for film projects and Josh Ampuero has been my rock as the trusted confidant for new scripts that I write. Of course, I have to mention the person that began me in this direction: my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Marcia Fiorindo.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=stagecrafters%20productions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.barrett.3551/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelbarrett2662
Image Credits
Daily Press, Vic Mendoza, Tony Mumolo
