Michael Arden

I mean, when I was a kid, I used to force all my friends to do plays and they didn't want to at all.

But I was like setting up the diorama sets in my garage and I was kind of circling every part of the theater.

And so thinking about it now, it makes sense that like

Me understanding what an actor does is a huge part of my work as a director.

I mean, I think the best directors are actors.

I look at Joe Mantello.

I mean, he's like not only the best actor in the world, but the best director in the world.

I saw Death of a Salesman last night.

I saw it last week.

Oh, my God.

Well, first of all, what a freaking amazing play.

But how he was able to let us hear it was really spectacular.

But that training felt like, oh, necessary for me being a director.

So it doesn't feel like I had a career change.

It felt like I took the courses, the required courses.

Yeah.

During your acting years, was there a particular role that changed your understanding of what theater could do through the performance of an actor?

I think doing Hunchback of Notre Dame was a big moment for me because it, in a way, drew upon so many different things I had learned.

It drew upon my work with Def West as an actor, my training at Juilliard physically and vocally, and my understanding of light and design in terms of how I was going to be moving through the scenic world of that show.

That was right around the time when I started directing and working on Spring Awakening.