Michael Kushner, an Award Winning Multi-Hyphenate

Michael Kushner, an award winning multi-Hyphenate, as in Actor – Writer – Producer – Photographer – Podcaster got together with us for an interview. Michael shares with us how multi-hyphenating kept him afloat during the pandemic. How he was not only able to survive and pay the bills, but also forward his career in theatre through following his multiple interests and inspirations.

Michael Kushner’s podcast Dear Multi-Hyphenate, which is produced by the Broadway Podcast Network is available for download on all platforms.

The award-winning multi-Hyphenate is the executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series Indoor Boys, created by Wes Taylor and Alex Wyse.

Michael is also the DP and producer of The Pink Unicorn film, starring Tony-award winning actress Alice Ripley. As well as the creator of The Dressing Room Project and a founding member of Musical Theatre Factory.

Here is Michael Kushner in his own words:

I had Covid in March 2020. I started showing symptoms when Broadway was still open. So, I got it early on.

Nevertheless, the theme of this pandemic for me has been and is to remain optimistic. Try to pivot. Have you heard of this? The pandemic pivot? Basically, how do you take what you’ve been doing pre-pandemic and shift that to something sustainable and meaningful during and after the pandemic.

I am looking at the timing of when I got sick as something advantageous because I was able to be ill when things were shutting down.

Nothing was happening at the time. The entertainment industry hadn’t even moved to virtual life yet. So, when we did move, I had already started my healing process.

Then, I discovered I am a Covid long hauler. It’s been over a year since I had it. And I am still having body pain, exhaustion, and breathing issues.

I was sort of able to sit back and go, “Ok, how can I take what I do in-person and shift that to an online experience?”

Before the pandemic, I had started a podcast called Dear Multi-Hyphenate. It catered to professionals who have multiple capabilities.

I had started early 2020 but had no idea that this podcast was able to take on a more current world view than I imagined.

With the pandemic starting and people’s life, in the entertainment world especially, changing radically and dramatically, I was able to expose stories of the pandemic pivot as they were happening.

So many people don’t realize they have agency. That they are able to fight for themselves.

Things don’t just magically appear in front of your door. You have to work for them. Build a network, relationships.

With shows closing due to Covid, many people thought the industry had stopped.

But on the contrary. The industry was like a duck on water. It looked as if it was at a standstill. But you didn’t know how hard it was paddling underneath to stay afloat.

There were so many artists working hidden from view to further their careers. They worked hard to keep being able to pay their bills. And they fought for Black Lives Matter, stood up against Asian hate.

Many people began to see the agency within themselves. To be able to find their own, unique voice. Through TikTok, Instagram, theatre companies that went virtual, etc.

For me, multi-hyphenating really saved me. I was able to still continue to tell stories.

My photo studio was shut down. But I was able to do socially distant outdoor photo shoots for organizations, Pride, Black Lives Matter. I was able to start writing for backstage. Produced virtual galas for organizations. I raised money, did charitable work. I also worked on building connections, like emailing certain headliners. To establish and grow my web of connections.

What I learned through all this is: As long as you have a voice, a point of view, you can make anything happen.

My high school drama teacher was Elena Maria Garcia. She used to say to us, “No matter what happens, you can always make theatre out of a can and a stick.”

She is one of my biggest role models. A multi-Hyphenate on her own. She taught us how to write our own one person shows. Then our class had to produce them.

Having that exposure from an early stage, enabled me now to think for myself in a professional setting when everything was taken away from me. I was still able to maintain work relationships. I was still able to create and think on my feet in that ‘Can and Stick’ theatre.

My microphone and my computer were and are my ‘Can and Stick.’

I was able to strengthen my social media presence. Build projects, build an audience. Connect with an audience. Survive myself. And help others survive, too.

As we are slowly coming out of the pandemic, the question is how am I taking what I have learned and translating my insights back into a more in-person working life?

Last week, I met with Colleen Cook (executive director of Holmdel Theatre Company) and Liz Flemming (artistic director of Out of The Box Theatrics). The three of us filmed The Pink Unicorn which is written by Elise Forier Idie. It’s starring Tony award winner Alice Ripley and is directed by Amy E. Jones.

Out of The Box Theatrics produced The Pink Unicorn twice off-Broadway. Then, the play had another run at Holmdel Theatre Company in New Jersey.

So, I had seen the story off-Broadway and really wanted to turn it into a film.

Liz, Colleen, and I took the pandemic to plan out the filming and utilized Zoom to take on different tasks and make the camera shot list.

Basically, we completely produced a film through Zoom. Then met at our filming location and made some magic.

It’s a testament to artists who are dedicated to making things happen even when our resources are taken from us.

I think, during the pandemic, artists learned what is important to them. I think, from now on artists are going to be leading more with what they believe in as opposed to what they feel they have to do.

I feel this industry has been built on the principle that you have to do stuff you don’t want to do to be able to make a career.

But that’s not and shouldn’t be true. We can have agency. We can build safe work environments we are able to thrive in.

And that’s exactly what we did with The Pink Unicorn.

We were able to establish a work environment we believed in. And which would bring us out of this sad and awful time that was the pandemic.

It’s time for us, as we emerge out of all that has happened globally, to fully embrace this new spirit of theatre to be able to lead with our hearts. To lead with the things that make us joyful and keep us sane. Invest our time in things we want to do. And be able to think for ourselves.

The way I find joy and am able to tell my story is by not going to an equity principal audition. I did this for years and lost my confidence in the process. It is not my way to advance my career.

For other people, by all means, it might be the way to express themselves and be happy.

But for me, because it wasn’t happening, I had to take my energy elsewhere. Produce my own projects. Take charge of the things I put out into the world.

For example, through The Dressing Room Project, where I photograph Broadway actors in their dressing rooms backstage. Or through my podcast. Or other photography projects.

I also have my own show. Just recently 54 Below asked me to be one of the shows to open up 54 Below in June 2021. It was a very emotional moment for me to be asked to play a part in the re-opening.

I think the work I did over the pandemic stuck.

I always talked about throwing spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks. That’s what we need to do. Throw things against the wall and see what remains.

By just getting your stuff out there, you make a difference. You never know who you’ll impact and what you’re going to find.

Transitioning back to in-person shows is going to be hard. I wanted the world to come back. But I am hearing from a lot of friends that the news of Broadway reopening brought on a lot of anxiety as well.

For example, there was a New York Times article which stated that many artists have gained weight. What an awful thing to say. It should not be relevant at this moment in time. This is so not what the industry is about. And if it is, we have to break it down.

Artists are now collectively sort of starting at zero again. Nothing is as it used to be.

I worked with two awesome artists this year. Kimberly Faye Greenberg and Ashley Kate Adams. Together, we created a workshop for the multi-Hyphenated. We called our workshop Multi-Hype and we had five sessions. Each session sold out.

The goal was to help cultivate the multi-Hyphenate experience for artists who are starting to identify as such. To help them take an idea and expand it.

When the artists left our course, they were able to make their own decisions and start their new projects. We would give them a literal plan and tools. Graphics. Advice and strategies on how to have their own agency, connect with people, build a more solid network, and garner an income while doing so.

We’ve seen a lot of success with them. When Broadway comes back these artists will already have a strategy and an audience to build upon.

They will emerge stronger out of the pandemic and into the “new normal” than they ever were before.

Michael’s social media handles:

IG: @themichaelkushner @dearmultihyphenate @thedressingroomproject

TikTok: @themichaelkushner

Websites:

Michael Kushner Online

Michael Kushner Photography

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