Interview With Actor Michael Giese

This is a conversation with stage and film actor Michael Giese. Michael and I met while I was a student at New York City’s The Barrow Group Theater Company and Acting School last year, where I began taking acting lessons. 

He was my first instructor...he’s my go-to instructor. Knowledgeable, patient, and filled to the brim with a love of all things film/tv...visual storytelling, at the end of each class, I couldn’t wait for the next. As I continued taking acting classes, we kept in touch, and then earlier this year, right before the pandemic hit, I got my coach to see him act. 

I went to The Barrow Group Theater to watch a stage production of Playwright Scott Organ’s critically acclaimed “17 Minutes”. 

A story about a teenager who brings an automatic weapon into his high school and kills his classmates,  and the plight of one of the school's security guards who hides during the school shooting...

For 17 Minutes...

It's a devastating play to behold. Executed brilliantly by director and The Barrow Group founder Seth Barrish, along with an extraordinary cast. It does not leave your mind for days. Michael Giese played the father of the shooter in one of the play's most memorable scenes. So unforgettable that when Ira Glass, host of the esteemed radio show and podcast ”This American Life”, went to see the play two weeks later… it was Mike’s scene and dialogue he referenced in multiple tweets on Twitter while praising the play. Recovering from its impact. Sitting in the theater, I wasn’t looking at my teacher anymore; I was looking at the father of a boy who had just gone on a shooting rampage. The transformation was incredible. A New Yorker for the last 20 years, Michael moved here from Iowa in 2001. He’s a veteran actor in commercials, television, film, and stage. Armed with a passion for visual storytelling that rivals mine, I knew we would have a blast doing a podcast together; I just didn't know how well it would gel. The two hours shot by like it was 30 minutes. In summation, he's a great actor, grounded and accessible; he's the kind of teacher that makes you feel comfortable when standing in front of a room of strangers acting for the first time. You can't get better. That's not lip service...ask his other students. If you, like I,  wake up one day and decide you’d rather finally try acting...instead of dying wishing you had… Sign up for acting classes at The Barrow Group. They’re offering classes online now. They're virtual, so it doesn’t matter where you live. (Links to The Barrow Group class schedule are below.) Then hunt down Michael Giese as your instructor. Allow him to lead you into the world of acting and The Barrow Group community. I knew after two classes, I was home. I hope you enjoy the pod. We did. Stay safe. Stay strong. ✊ THE BARROW GROUP THEATER AND ACTING SCHOOL:   ”17 MINUTES” by playwright SCOTT ORGAN:   MICHAEL GIESE PROFILE AT THE BARROW GROUP: