We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zachary Michel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Zachary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve had is He’s A Big Boy Now. It’s my debut short film and is the culmination of diving back into film the past two years. It took just jumping in headfirst. It meant a lot because it was an opportunity to share a story that’s really personal, relating to neurodivergence and losing a job, which are themes that have run throughout my life. It’s also the beginning of a new career that I’m delving into. I’ve been acting and performing onstage off and on since college, but this was the first time I decided to really commit to this path. Finishing the film and seeing the work the cast, crew, and I did pay off has been so rewarding and it’s a great first step. It was this huge risk and now it’s this new beginning for me. I’m really looking forward to what it’s going to allow in becoming part of and helping to build up the Baltimore filmmaking community.

Zachary, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I founded Baltimore’s theater and arts festival – the Charm City Fringe Fest – and directed it for 10 years with my best friend. Fringe is something you kind of have to experience firsthand, but the gist is we produce indie theater. Like indie music, you get all kinds of art that can fit neatly into a genre or be its own thing. We’ve produced shows with clowns staving off nuclear annihilation as well as possibly the first show taking place in a bathtub.

I really like the surreal and absurd. I think what sets me apart is how I want to tell stories in a way that’s personal to the audience and also going to make people cover their mouths, laugh, and wonder what they just saw. I want to tell stories that need to be told, like neurodivergence and loss, but find the humor that exists there. Maybe even shine a critical light, get a little satire going and challenge people to see things in a different light.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When we started Fringe, I was still writing, acting, and performing music, but over the years that took a back seat to the business. When I was laid off in 2022, it was the second time in about two years. God, it was awful. I had recently spent thousands on career coaching and I was going all-in on my current career path. It was blown to smithereens. I hunted for a while, but it was that period where every tech company was laying off huge chunks of their staff. Nothing was happening.

A conversation with a friend helped me see that I had this opportunity to redefine myself. I had still been acting and shooting content for both my business and my job, but not giving much time to my own projects. So I began working on my art, rehoming those skills, reconnecting and making new connections. The culmination of that initial work is the dark comedy He’s A Big Boy Now.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Talk to people! Find people who are where you’d like to be and who you would WANT to spend time with even if you weren’t doing business. In my case, that started with the Burkholder Agency. Scott was recommended to me for my festival business when we were still developing the business plan. I wish I knew who did it, because I should thank them. He’s still someone I turn to for insight and guidance. Anyhow, yea, talk to people, listen, and take notes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://charmcityfringe.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mostlyzach/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zach.attache
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/zachary-michel-87005428/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mostlyzach

Image Credits
Daniel St. Ours Brian Hmelnicky