Meet Michael Barnard of Phoenix Theatre

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Barnard.

Michael , can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started in the theatre when I was five years old and I played the title role in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I acted throughout my childhood, but I only performed at school. We didn’t have any community theatres or youth theatres around us back then. I was very lucky to go to a school with a flourishing drama department at the time, which is, sadly, something we don’t have as much of anymore. I wish it was. The arts bring out so much in a person at such a young age. It means a great deal to me now, that Phoenix Theatre does as much as we can to help youth through the arts.

In high school, I was part of the drama club, I ran track, and I was very involved in the student council. I became class president in my senior year and I sort of elevated the arts at our high school. Because I was involved in athletics as well as student politics, I tried to make the arts not seem so ‘geeky’.

I received an undergraduate degree in Arts and Theatre, and a Master’s degree in Directing. I started my own theatre company here in Phoenix back in 1975, and that flourished for a while. We weren’t the most business savvy, but people got to know who I was. During the course of my career, I was Phoenix Theatre’s first Production Manager as well as resident director and choreographer, back in the early 80s. I was the head of Theatre for the City of Phoenix and created the Third Street Theatre on Laurel and Third Street, and then I went on to be the associate producer for what was once called Musical Theatre of Arizona. I went into show bands and developed three different show bands that worked in Vegas, Tahoe, Reno, all the casino markets, and in the Hilton circuit. Then I went into regional theatre and worked across the country, directing and choreographing regional theatre. I worked on a couple of national tours, and then I was picked up by Disney. I worked for them for nine years. I also worked the Asian market for several years with Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan.

All during that time I was very involved in theatrical events for charity – giving back to the community has always been important to me. I helped start the Herberger Headliners, which was a big community-wide fundraiser for the arts, in particular the Herberger Theatre Center. That allowed me to get to know and meet so many people in the community outside of my field, which helped a great deal when I came back to Phoenix as the Artistic Director of Phoenix Theatre. After everywhere I’d been and everything I’d learned, I felt a need to reinvest in the community that I had grown up in. So, here I am.

Our mission statement is centered on hope and understanding. That is also an extraordinarily important thing to me because we live in a society where we estrange ourselves from others because they’re different. That doesn’t think the same way. They have a different background, different religion. They’re not who you are. There’s so much to gain from accepting everybody for who they are and what they are, because everybody has something special to give back if they’re given the opportunity. There’s no better place for that than the arts.

The 99th season is exciting. We’re opening with West Side Story, which is very relevant today. It’s an extraordinary piece of classical musical theatre. We’re doing Fun Home, a Tony Award winning Best Musical, and an incredibly relevant piece when it comes to growing and learning to accept yourself. We’re doing Elf: The Musical, which is a very happy, fun piece for the holidays but also has that theme of ‘not fitting in’ and finding the good in everything. Jersey Boys is the famous story of The Four Seasons, but also about the American Dream and what can happen for you if you put your mind to it. Sisters in Law are a new play about Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s friendship and respect for each other in the Supreme Court. Airness is a very fun, new play about a bunch of misfits in society. They don’t know where they fit in, but they’ve found themselves as a family in air guitar competitions. Cookin’s a Drag is a new musical that’s campy and fun, centered around aging, validation, self-worth, and the right to accept yourself for who you are. Once is a beautiful piece of theatre about a pair of young musicians and the struggle to find each other across cultures. It speaks for itself through music. So it’s going to be a really phenomenal 99th season.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My family was not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. We had to work really, really hard to make ends meet. Nothing came easy to us and I understand what that means. I suffered from self-esteem issues, which is why I also think the arts are so important, because I know what it’s like to have low self-esteem. The arts helped me believe in myself, though I did miss some opportunities along the way. There’s no regret, though. I am where I am because I was supposed to be. I believe that.

Please tell us about Phoenix Theatre.
I specialize in musical theatre, I always have. I’ve always been drawn to musicals. It’s what I’m known for. I love dance, I love singing, I love music, and I love dialogue. When you put all of those elements together in one and its done well; it’s an extraordinary experience.

What sets the Phoenix Theatre apart is perseverance and acceptance. We try to be culturally diverse in our programming, we accept everyone no matter who they are, and we try to provide a healthy and transparent workplace. I care about our staff tremendously and I know all of our management does. I hope that shows in the way that we treat people. We’re always being told by outside guest artists how well-run our company is and how kind our team is. That makes me very, very proud. We’re also making some great strides to getting known nationally, so I’m very proud of that as well.

Every theatre I know has great integrity for their work. I think we take it a step further in how we conduct our business, how accepting we are of each other, and how willing we are to help each other.

Pricing:

• Ticket prices start at $28 each

Contact Info:

• Address: 100 E. McDowell Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85004
• Website: www.phoenixtheatre.com
• Phone: 602-254-2151
• Email: info@phoenixtheatre.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixTheatre
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/phxtheatre
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/phoenixtheatreaz

Image Credit:
Phoenix Theatre

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