Meet Michael Grepp

We recently connected with Michael Grepp and have shared our conversation below.

Michael , thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

Well let’s start by saying that creativity doesn’t die!

It exists in all of us in different ways. For some it is artistic, for others it is in how they solve a problem, express themself, communicate. The challenge is as we enter adulthood we feel pressure to conform, to see things like everyone else does, and just roll with it. This is what stifles creativity. Years ago I worked in an office where success in my career meant conforming to the company and my coworkers. I couldn’t really be myself, and despite spending my evenings after work in acting school working on scenes and exercises, I think it hurt my acting. We all have proverbial roles that we need to play in our life. The way to stay in touch with our creative self is to never lose sight of who we really are. Do not become your job!

In order to stay creative and continue growing, we need to challenge ourselves. I am always pushing myself creatively, and exploring deeper ways to express myself and create. Whether it is meeting up with my writing partner Michael Goroff to go over a pitch, scripts, or new ideas. Even just sitting down with my guitar, piano, or one of my synthesizers. The simple act of listening to music, going on a hike, it can be inspiring. Analyzing one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons to see the joke structure and figure out how they got there. There is so much to draw from creatively in the world around us.

I’m constantly challenging myself to see more, to express more, and dig deeper and further. You could argue that’s how anyone keeps their creativity alive. You need to use it! You can’t be complacent in your life. And if you have that conforming office job that forces you to play a role, find a way to make a game of it. But don’t lose sight of your own voice. Don’t make your job or career your entire identity, we are all so much more than that.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

From a broad point of view I’m a professional creative and story teller. I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to tell other’s stories through my acting, bring my own stories and characters to life as a writer, and take people on an emotional journey with my scoring and composition.

For the last ten years I have worked very closely with a dear friend of mine, Michael Goroff, building Loserville Animation Studios. We make cartoons that feature our unique style of humor, and our persistence over the last 10 years has finally started to pay off. Earlier this year we began pitching Adult Swim, we recently had a short selected in Skybound’s Spike and Mike fest that should be taking place this fall, and we keep growing our network. It’s one of those situations where if we got a pilot picked up next year, it would seem like we are overnight successes. But the reality is we have been toiling away for ten years to get to a place where people are finally seeing and appreciating our work.

The same could be said for my acting, I recently auditioned for Saturday Night Live. It’s something you grow up watching, maybe dreaming of, but never really thinking it could happen or be possible. But my years of writing, doing standup comedy, of developing characters with Michael Goroff, gave me the confidence and experience to realize, hey I can actually do this. All it comes down to is if my style of comedy and joke writing is a fit for the producers of SNL. I made very strong choices in both the impressions I submitted and the characters I developed, so it’s definitely a love it or hate it approach. Were I to actually land the gig, people would be like where did this guy come from?! I wouldn’t blame them for having that reaction. I’ve been building towards this, it wasn’t some random occurrence or coincidence. You may be noticing a theme here.

And that theme, the message I keep going back to, is you need to stay focused and dedicated to the thing you want to do with your life. Working in entertainment is such a long term journey, a marathon of sorts. Over the last 4 years I’ve had the opportunity to begin sharing my journey, knowledge, and help train and develop actor’s with The Talent Spot here in Los Angeles. Giving back to new and aspiring actor’s, coming from the perspective of “hey I wish I knew this when I was your age” is really rewarding. I think it’s important for people to hear the perspective of someone who is actively out there in the trenches, making it work. I have helped train and develop actors with no professional experience that have gone on to book work, sign with agents, and take huge leaps that took me much longer than them. It’s very rewarding to help people learn from my mistakes and accelerate their journey in the entertainment industry.

I’m about to turn 39, and I’ve started to realize life is really about the journey. Learning how to strengthen how I communicate, my ability to express myself creatively and entertain people in the process. And it has has been so rewarding! Teaching people what I have learned, and giving them the tools in how to approach their work, It’s something I really enjoy. I also need to give a shout out to Annabell Escutia, and the rest of our team at The Talent Spot because they help make all of this possible.

The Talent Spot is absolutely what I’m the most proud of, because it’s an opportunity to take everything I have already covered here, and use my experience and knowledge to teach and give back.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think I can narrow it down to two qualities because they open the door to so much more.

Be resilient and open minded.

Resilience, because that is the key to success in anything. Overcoming obstacles, handling failure, and always moving forward or knowing when to pivot sideways. I originally moved out to LA with a primary interest in continuing my music career. However I found more success in acting and the standup comedy community. This led to me working in cartoons, growing as an entertainer, and putting my music career on hold. This didn’t stop my interest in music though, I didn’t stop playing, I didn’t stop testing myself, and I began scoring cartoons with Loserville Animation Studios. Then in 2019 I scored my first indie film. I took my skills in new directions to open up new opportunities. It was my background in professional music, engineering, and sound that got me hired to run the shows and handle audio at The Hollywood Improv comedy club when I worked there.

That’s what I mean when I talk about being resilient and open minded. Yes, I wasn’t following my dreams playing rock shows in LA with a band, but I was gradually able to find a way to introduce music back into my life, and use my skills in professional audio to advance my career. I’ve since produced audio books, done sound on various films, worked on voice over reels, scored films and cartoons, and have advanced substantially in my professional career. Being open minded to different opportunities where I could use similar skill sets, while adapting to the role in front of me and being resilient in the face of adversity, it’s what has kept me moving forward in this industry.

If you are open to learning new skills or different directions to take old ones, you can truly go so much further than you can imagine. It just requires us to be open minded to new opportunities that can eventually take us to where we really want to be. I originally went to college to study architecture and graduated with a degree in Philosophy and Political science. I still think about the creative principles I learned in my architecture classes, I still use the analytical skills I refined in my Philosophy and Political science courses.

There are skills I have learned working in restaurants, offices, and on set that have helped me advance my career or shown me new directions I can take things in. That’s why I so strongly believe our journey in of itself is so important, while staying resilient and open minded through the whole process.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

To trust my creative instincts in the face of rejection. I think this is one of the hardest challenges actors face, but anyone in a creative field can feel it too. In order for our work to stand out, or tell a unique story, it requires us to dig deep and approach work in an unconventional way. This naturally can bring out internal or external resistance. We need to push past it and trust that the more we speak from a place of truth, the more people are interested in hearing it.

Creatives need to stick to what they believe in! I have not heard back yet about my Saturday Night Live audition, and that’s okay. And if I don’t get a callback or make the cut, I can’t dwell on it. Now I can go back and think alright this part could have been better written, or I held this moment for too long or rushed this part. I especially go back and think about how some of my impressions aren’t totally clear in regards to what I am saying. But all I can focus on is what I can do better next time. What I can strengthen to really get my point across.

That’s how we need to think about life, everything is an opportunity to learn and move forward. If we focus on what we can do better next time around, it’s hard to look back on life with regret. Only opportunities to learn and be better next time.

It’s this same approach Michael Goroff’s and I take in our pitch meetings or developing material. After our first meeting we got great feedback, and made adjustments to our material as requested. It can seem discouraging to get so far and have nothing to show, but just getting that far in the first place is half the battle. And learning what worked, what doesn’t, and how to be better the next time around, is the most important part of this experience.

This is an industry where people might give up once they reach a certain threshold, because they feel like they have done it all, and don’t have anything left to show. But typically, that’s when you really hit a new level, because you’ve learned the hardest lessons. You’ve taken those tough bumps in the road, and you’ve dealt with rejection. You have laid down that foundation and know what it takes to get into those rooms, to open those doors. I know for some, that journey can be exhausting. But in the entertainment industry, when you finally start getting people’s attention, that’s when you know you are on the right path.

I think you can say the same for many careers. The struggle is the journey getting to where you want to be, but once you finally get there, if you get lost, it’s always easier to find a way back.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

First four images of me are credited to Michael Grepp
The group Zoom photo is credited to The Talent Spot LLC
The final two animated photos are credited to Loserville Animation Studios

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