Mike Anthony, Actor in TAM’s Santaland Diaries
What’s your deal? Who are you and what’s your story?
I’m a thirty… something year old man who sells overpriced candy for a show on Broadway.
What is your favorite memory of working at TAM?
I’ve had some of the best times of my life at TAM. Pulling out an individual memory is tough; but there was one summer night we were doing Arsenic and Old Lace, and I was playing Mortimer. The house was absolutely packed, so much so that we’d had to bring in folding chairs. There were people hanging over the balcony. And it was an audience that had come to enjoy themselves. The show was ten minutes longer that night, because we’d had to pause so much for laughter. In one moment, I was about to deliver a line that always got a tremendous response. And, on this night, we had the type of relationship with the audience where we were absolutely on the same page. Just before I said the line, I remember thinking, “this is what it’s about- this moment I’m having right now, just before I do the thing I can feel the audience is waiting for. It couldn’t get any better than this- remember this feeling.” And I said the line, and it played out exactly the way I felt it would. There was a communion there, with that particular cast, and that particular audience, on that particular night. It’s moments like that that keep us muddling through the sometimes difficult life of making art, hoping for the next one.
Mike Anthony in TAM’s Taming of the Shrew, 2013
Besides Hamilton Bar Manager, what else keeps you busy?
I’m making a film that tries to answer a super simple question; is there life after death? After my dad passed, I had an experience that I couldn’t explain. So I decided to see if there was any way science might be able to shed some light on it. As it turns out, quite a bit of study has been done by respected academic institutions, such as Princeton and the University of Virginia, into the “paranormal,” and some really smart people think we will one day be dropping the “para.”
Stay tuned!
Who is your role model, and why?
My mom and dad are my role models. I never had to look any further than my parents to see
how you’re supposed to lead a life. Which is with kindness, joy, and a whole lot of humor.
Mike Anthony & Hannah Daly in TAM’s Our Town, 2013
First impression of The Santaland Diaries?
To be honest, the first time I read it, it wasn’t entirely my cup of tea. The humor was a bit on the cynical side, to my taste. Of course, I cry at coffee commercials. So.
What is your super power?
Selecting the perfect avocado.
Describe yourself in three alliterative words.
Short, simple and spatiotemporal