Remember those menacing, scary Haunted House actors last fall? Michael Baker, who left The Gateway to head a family business in Florida a few years ago, was responsible for their gory menace.
“I helped direct Haunted House,” he admitted.
Back for good, he’s now settling into his revised role. “I was casting director and running the education program before,” he said. “Now, I’m associate artistic director and director of education for the Acting School.”
Rather than being spread out over departments as he was before, his new role will mostly focus on choices that benefit the students and the community.
“He took on a lot of things besides the acting school,” said Gateway executive artistic director Paul Allan. “Now, it’s time to grow the acting school.”
“The other part of his title is to assist me in the artistic direction of a musical—that is, what it looks [like] on stage as we get into rehearsals and production to make sure the show is top-notch.”
Before the Feb. 7 performance of “The Rat Pack is Back,” sponsors enjoyed a cocktail party and thank-you performances by Acting School students as well as announcements. David Ruttera, associate director of Broadway’s “The Great Gatsby” and “Moulin Rouge” (also a film and television director), introduced himself as a new Gateway board member. Ruttera has directed Gateway shows and will also aid in future productions.
Baker started out as an actor at The Gateway in 2005.
“Michael was here and began working a lot with my sister Robin, who was running the Acting School. He then took over teaching and we worked closely together. When he left, it was, ‘Oh my God, what do we do?’But we figured it out. Rachel Colson [Acting School manager/associate casting director] helped, and I did things on my own. We discovered some things out that Michael doesn’t have to do anymore.”
Baker and his wife Jessica will have a hand in promoting Gateway’s upcoming “The Full Monty.”
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