(continued)
He soon began spending most, if not all, of his free time learning, living and breathing the art of makeup. Through
his endless search for products to buy, an elderly gentleman and cosmetic
company owner named Bob Kelly befriended him. Michael had the opportunity to visit Mr. Kelly on
several occasions at his downtown Manhattan shop. He was given a lesson on "hair laying" by Mr. Kelly and was also fortunate to be
able to observe a makeup application from the Broadway show "Cats". This relationship soon led Michael to the legendary Dick Smith. Mr. Smith was
also intrigued with the knowledge of the nine-year-old child and the two became good friends. Michael has had the honor of Mr. Smith's mentorship for
the past four years and is currently enrolled in Dick Smith's Advanced Professional Makeup Course, which has helped him develop his skills in all
areas of prosthetic makeup.
Michael had also become interested in acting, which led him off the stage to behind the scenes. He had a part in a community theater production and
one of his fellow actors required a black eye for a scene. Michael offered his services and soon was being asked to do a makeup for upcoming
productions.
Michael designed and applied makeups for Community Theater productions
of "The Nerd" (1999), "The Miracle Worker" (2000), "A
Christmas Carol" (2000), "Cabaret" (2001), "Into the Woods" (2001), "Jack the Ripper" (2001), "Three Tall Women" (2001),
"Macbeth" (2002), "It Runs in the Family" (2002), "Jekyll and Hyde" (2002),
" The Tempest" (2003), "The Wizard of Oz" (2003), and
"Extremities" (2003). Many of these shows have included
elaborate on-stage foam latex transformations. Mike has also designed special effects for a community haunted house and is expanding that role
this year.
Michael has also had the opportunity to meet Rick Baker at his shop and spend time with Kazuhiro Tsuji as well as another good friend and mentor,
Jill Rockow. He has been privileged to sculpt with Jordu Schell and Dick Smith in an all day class and visit many makeup shops throughout California.
He has also been attending the Makeup Artist Trade Show in Pasadena, California for the past two years and plans a trip again this year. In the
future Mike would like to move to California and work as a professional makeup artist. He would especially like to thank Dick Smith and Jill Rockow
for their encouragement, inspiration, support, and most of all their friendship. Michael would not be the makeup artist or person that he is now
if it wasn’t for either of these incredible people.
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