Michael Garvey

Trap Door credits

Acting
  • Occidental Express (toured Hungary, Romania, Moldova)
  • How to Explain the History of Communism to Mental Patients (toured Hungary, Romania)
  • No Matter How Hard We Try
  • John Doe (also in Zakopane, Poland)
  • Regarding the Just (toured France)
  • the word progress on my mother’s lips does not ring true (Hungarian and Romanian tour only)
  • M. S. Garvey’s Letters to the President (toured Romania)
  • Garden of Delights
  • The Boys of the Peggy August Club
  • Troy Women
  • Blood on the Cat’s Neck
Directing
  • Letters to the President (Uni-Drama Festival in Targu Mures, Romania, and the Arad Fun Underground Festival)
Writing
  • M.S. Garvey’s, Letters to the President

    Michael Garvey (he/him/his) joined the ensemble in 1996. Born in Omaha, Nebraska. Raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wyoming in Broadcast Journalism and is a graduate of the Second City Conservatory, Chicago. Michael has worked in film and television in Chicago, Los Angeles and Barcelona, Spain. Appearing in productions such as Men in Black II, BASEketball, Star Trek: Enterprise, Sesame Street, ER and Woody Allen’s Rifkin’s Festival. And in the performative arts working with artists such as Catherine Sullivan, Mike Kelley and Raymond Pettibon. In 2009 he went to Broadway with the Steppenwolf Theater’s, Superior Donuts, by Tracy Letts. And Michael wrote and still writes and performs his own touring piece titled, Letters to the President, which has been performed throughout the states and certain cities in Europe. Michael is also an ensemble member of Trap Door International in Barcelona. Please visit the website of the Trap Door house band, The Garvey Train of which Michael is a part of, at: www.thegarveytrain.com

    Gallery

    …to skip this show would be to miss some truly lovely performances from a talented ensemble.  

    Smyra Yawn, Performink (about No Matter How Hard We Try)

    The performers here deliver. Every movement is powerful and attentive. Even in the halting, you see the potential twitching in their fibers. 

    Jan Van Ort, Newcity Stage (about How to Explain the History of Communism to Mental Patients) 

    …now they’ve taken insanity to earsplitting levels with “John Doe”

     Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune 

    Michael Garvey’s imposing presence and agile use of Aaron O’Neill’s set creates one of the evening’s most distinct and memorable characters. 

    Christopher Kidder-Mostrom, Theatre by Numbers (about How to Explain the History of Communism to Mental Patients)

    …an outstanding cast, who make the tiny Trap Door stage come alive with poetry and madness.   

    Nancy S. Bishop, Culture Vulture (about Occidental Express)

    Michael Garvey as the leader of the murderous ‘Just’ group is a man who bulks up like a monument. 

    Susan Hall, Berkshire Fine Arts (about Regarding the Just)

    Garvey’s show creates a welcoming place for the confused and downhearted citizen. 

    Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader (about M. S. Garvey’s Letters to the President)  

    …an effective ensemble showpiece for 11 young actors, and it’s beautifully played in this Chicago premiere by Trap Door Theatre. 

    Albert Williams, Chicago Reader (about The Boys of the Peggy August Club)

    Credits (continued…)

    Trap Door International Directing
    • Dear Trump, I Fear My Right Wing is Growing…Tactile Tweets to the Twit (Barcelona, Spain)
    Trap Door International Acting
    • Blood on the Cat’s Neck (Barcelona, Spain)
    • Dear Trump, I Fear My Right Wing is Growing: Tactile Tweets to the Twit (Barcelona, Spain)