Michael Blackburn

About 10 years ago, the Forest Theater Guild put on an impressive production of Les Miserables at Golden State Theatre with a cast of top local high-school thespians. Its star, playing the iconic Jean Valjean, was one Michael Blackburn, then 19, of Monterey High. And he absolutely shined.

Ten years later, he’s only added to his portfolio, having learned from mentors like Reg Huston, Larry Welch, Don Dally, Susan Cable and others. He’s acted in 30-40 local productions, including MPC Theater’s triumphant 2013 production of Les Mis. He toured Europe as part of a gospel choir backing Polish band Daddy’s Cash. In May he was the featured cello soloist on Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto with the MPC Orchestra.

Blackburn has a steady job teaching band, orchestra, choir and theater at Monterey Bay Charter School (my stepdaughter has been in his productions), and in the summer helps run Ragamuffin theater camp in Pacific Grove. He has built and painted sets, choreographed hip-hop dance routines, arranged songs for the stage, made costumes, directed. He says if he has to, he can compose music.

Here, he describes his life as a performer and teacher.

Weekly: What instruments do you play?

Blackburn: Flute, cello, viola, saxophone, clarinet, piano. Not at performance level, but I know how to play bass, violin, oboe, trumpet. Percussion is the one area I’ve never been interested in.

What do you like about working with kids?

Their fearlessness. When you ask a kid to do something, they might not know if they can do it, but they’ll try. That’s something I’ve strongly tried to live by my entire life. You perform not for others to applaud, but there’s something inside of you you want to show other people.

Like what?

A vulnerability. You lose yourself when you’re on stage doing theater, you’re living that character for an hour and a half. You’re not concerned about your own life. It’s liberating and taxing at the same time. It’s therapeutic.

You seem to have a lot of fun working with kids. How do you not get frustrated?

I wouldn’t say I don’t. Everyone gets frustrated. It’s how you deal with it.

You’ve done shows where you both acted and played. How?

I’ve done that a few times: in Forest Theater Guild’s production of Evita, and Hairspray at PacRep. The keyboard player on several occasions was running late so I had to do my [acting] scenes, then run to the pit and play.

You are one of the few African-Americans on the local theater scene. Is your experience different because of that?

Definitely. [Some people] think my voice is naturally better because of the color of my skin. There are certain roles that should be played by African-Americans – those are easier to get. On the other side, it can be difficult to find roles as well. In a lot of shows, the races of the people are more or less written in. It takes a director who thinks outside of the box, willing to cast people outside of the norms.

Can someone on the Peninsula make a living just doing performance craft?

I don’t think so. There are very few Equity companies here [paying] the standard rate. It’s paycheck to paycheck and you have no guarantee when the next will be.

How would you describe the local theater scene?

This is a great community for local theater. There are lots of companies for beginning actors to professionals. The diversity of plays is nice. They’re starting to branch out into more contemporary theater, with the popularity of musicals like Hamilton. Everyone knows each other because everyone’s done shows together – two degrees of separation.

Are there auditions where a bunch of actors are nervously competing for roles?

There are auditions, but the cattiness I don’t see. No one’s pushing anyone down the stairs. Everyone’s pretty supportive.

Do you see local shows?

I like performing, not watching. Just watching, I feel like I want to be up there but I’m stuck in my seat.

What would be your dream role?

I’ve already knocked two of them off my list: Collins in RENT and Jean Valjean in Les Mis. Probably [George] Washington or [Aaron] Burr in Hamilton.