Riding a Weird Bicycle (Michael Cyril Creighton on the MilkMilkLemonade Remount)
"Adventurous theater in Astoria"

-- The New York Times

Riding a Weird Bicycle (Michael Cyril Creighton on the MilkMilkLemonade Remount)

Michael Cyril Creighton has had a pretty good year.

Not only was he nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role at the 2010 NY IT Awards for his portrayal of “Nanna” in the 2009 production of MilkMilkLemonade, his web series Jack In A Box, for which he is the creator/writer/star, just won Best Web Series at the 2010 NY Television Festival.

Michael Cyril Creighton

Oh, and before you head out to Astoria to catch him in APAC’s remount of MilkMilkLemonade (Yes, tickets are here.)

You may want to set your DVR for November 11th at 8:30PM to see Michael in two scenes with Tina Fey on NBC’s “30 Rock.”

Luckily, I was able to steal some time with him to chat MilkMilkLemonade before he gets too famous.

CONGRATULATIONS! JACK IN A BOX WAS JUST VOTED BEST WEB SERIES AT THE 2010 NY TELEVISION FESTIVAL. HOW DOES IT FEEL HAVING YOUR WORK RECOGNIZED?

Thanks. I’m excited about it. It was a great festival. I met a lot of people. Had a lot of meetings during the festival. It validated a year and a half of hard work. It’s nice to have that title, Best Web Series. I’m not sure what it means but it’s opened up some other opportunities and some more viewers. That’s nice.

HOW DOES IT FEEL STEPPING BACK INTO MILKMILKLEMONADE WITH THE REST OF THE CAST?

It’s great. It’s nice to have all of us back together again. It would be a totally different experience if it wasn’t all five of us. It’s kinda like riding a weird bicycle. It’s changing a little bit. Taking off some training wheels i guess. It’s a really exciting experience. It’s not something that happens often, that you get to do it again. With fresh eyes after a year break. It’s cool. I get a real oxygen tank now and that’s exciting. And different challenges with that. It’s nice to rethink and build on what was there in the first place and have a little more time to explore it.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR YOU COMING INTO MILKMILKLEMONADE THIS TIME AROUND?

Keeping it all new. Keeping it fresh and not relying on the success that it had last time. It would be easy to be like, “My work is done.” But it’s not. It’s a challenge remembering that the work is not done. But I think the extra work that we’re putting into it will make a nice difference.

READER QUESTION: ARE YOU GOING TO DO ANYTHING NEW IN YOUR ACTING PROCESS TO KEEP THE ILLUSION OF THE FIRST TIME?

Most of my scenes are with Andy [Phelan], who I’ve known for 15 years. I’m just trying to be there with him. I feel like we will constantly surprise each other. And let those surprises happen. Then keep them when they work. Things happened in the run today that have never happened before and that was a nice discovery. I can’t speak for Andy but I feel like we won’t let ourselves get too comfortable with each other. But there’s also such a nice comfort level because we know each other so well, that it’s an easy relationship to play. Even though I’m playing his grandmother and he’s playing my grandson.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE MILKMILKLEMONADE SCRIPT?

When I read it, one of things that made me want to do it was the stage direction, “she is twinsies.” Josh is just a really great writer. He’s so bizarre. And perhaps in the wrong hands this play could come off as trite and fluffy. And it’s not. It’s extremely dark and really, really funny. I like that it’s a constantly surprising script. I feel like I’m enjoying a scene and then I start realizing what the scene is about, like other people’s scenes, and then it kinda hits you. It’s like these little sneak up surprises of moments of extreme profoundness and disturbing darkness.

WHAT HAS IMPRESSED YOU THE MOST ABOUT WORKING ON APAC’S PRODUCTION OF MILKMILKLEMONADE?

The set is so much bigger. You all seem really supportive and are putting a lot into it. We did it the first time with a set made out of cardboard. I think the new set is really impressive. It’ll be nice to do it on that large space. It’s going to be crazy doing it in a bigger space like this. It’ll be fun.

THIS SEASON AT APAC WE’RE EXPLORING THE IDEA OF HOME FROM AN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE. THE SPRING MUSICAL, THE HUMAN COMEDY LOOKS AT CHARACTERS WHO YEARN TO RETURN HOME. IN MILKMILKLEMONADE THE CHARACTERS WANT TO GET AWAY FROM HOME. WHAT WAS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HOME?

Home is like a very large word. I feel like my family at home is home and my home here is home. But artistically I certainly found a lot of terrible foster homes on my way to finding true artistic families. But I feel as I got older I realized who I wanted to work with and how I wanted to work and created little communities. I love working with The Debate Society. And there’s people like Josh [Conkel]. He creates a wonderful little artistic colony. I’d like to be one of his surrogates.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AFTER THIS PRODUCTION OF MILKMILKLEMONADE?

I’m going to write season three of Jack In A Box. I’m going to write a lot and try to make some other things happen and perform when I can. I also shot two scenes for 30 Rock which I hope will air.

Those scenes will air and you still have a chance to see Michael and the rest of the cast in Joshua Conkel’s MilkMilkLemonade. Final performances this weekend through Nov. 13th, 2010. Get your tickets here.

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