“No matter where you come from, or how or where you grew up – if you have the will and power inside of you, you can do anything you want to do.”
Micheal Hassel grew up in Paducah, Kentucky. He now lives in Australia. A striking difference of over ten thousand miles from his original home, all because of a dream to perform.
“I used to take footlights classes at Market House Theatre when I was a little kid, but it fell off due to me beginning baseball,” said Hassel. “Baseball began to take up my Saturdays most of the year, however, in the eighth grade I felt the spark I had to follow.”
The show he is now currently working with overseas had an introduction to Micheal when he was just in the eighth grade.
The show? Hairspray.
“It (Hairspray) made me realize – okay, this is actually really fun. It was at a point in my life where I felt like I really needed something to do,” said Hassel. “I was running track at the time, so I was still involved in sports – but it was just fine. Everything was just fine in sports; I wasn’t in love with it. I knew I didn’t want to run track for the rest of my life.”
Micheal was unaware of what he needed to do. All he knew was he needed to find that spark, but where?
Music. We will start there.
“Music has always been a very big thing in my life. Patrick Saddler, who used to be the band director at Tilghman, was my music teacher in elementary school,” said Hassel.
Saddler had a drum group named ‘Knock on Wood’ that Hassel’s brother was a member of, where young Micheal used to accompany him to observe his rehearsals.
“One day before practice I remember I had learned all of the beats by just sitting there watching and Saddler let me join the group. Even though it had an age requirement, he let me join,” said Hassel. “So that was my first introduction to music. That, and being in choir all throughout my elementary years.”
Also, while he was growing up, Micheal used to sit with his pianist when he went to New Hope Ministries.
“Donovan Wood was the pianist and I would just sit and watch him play – every single Sunday. I kind of have fewer memories of that due to being so young at the time, but I have seen so many videos of me sitting with him,” said Hassel. “I sort of think that the whole music thing was naturally infusing itself in my brain at this time. I then became the head of music when we moved to Rocky Mountain Missionary Baptist Church. My music base was rooted in playing for church.”
In middle school Hassel got into band, participating every year after that in their district band.
“In the eighth grade I actually marched with the Paducah Tilghman band for parades and things like that because they needed another tenor sax player. I kept marching all throughout high school as well and eventually became a drum and acting major,” said Hassel.
Acting itself wasn’t anything Micheal planned to do in his future because he knew he wanted to be a band teacher. Well, that was the case until he did Hairspray with Market House Theatre.
Okay, what was your career turning point? When did you decide this is what you wanted to do?
“I went to GSA (Governor’s School for the Arts) in 2014. I just remember the year before Elizabeth Katz went. She was a musical theater girl when I was in high school, so I was like, honestly, she’s good at performing – and I want to be good at performing,” said Micheal. “So if she went there, I gotta go there too.”
So, Micheal auditioned and he got in.
“So, I went to GSA at Siena College in 2014,” said Hassel.
During his time at GSA, Micheal remembers having to sit down with each of his teachers. During this time, teachers would advise students on what future colleges they would be a match for.
“When they got to me, they had already known about my want to be a band teacher,” said Hassel. “But they looked at me and were like ‘you know you can actually do this, like perform?’”
Hassel never even let the thought cross his mind before his teachers brought it up in discussion.
“I think I was just following the logic I was getting from my stepdad,” said Hassel. “You know, a stable job – and teaching is a stable job. So that’s just what I landed on wanting to do. But it was for the first time having other people tell me that I could perform for a living. You know, these are my professors – they’ve spent time working with me for that entire time. So, when I got back to school in the fall I really started to lean into theater as a whole.”
During this time, Tilghman was producing the show Cinderella, where Hassel landed the role of Lionel.
“That’s when everything changed. Once I had someone tell me that I could be doing this – for a living? My plan of being a band teacher completely fell out of the window.”
By this point, Micheal was a junior in high school.
“You know, I had really been working on stuff – like dancing. Most people – they start dancing when they’re like younger than eight. So, I was definitely a very late bloomer in that field.”
Time didn’t stop Hassel’s success, obviously perfecting his newly found skill of dancing pretty well.
Theater helps people in different ways – finding community, comfort, escapism, or just in the appreciation of the arts itself.
Hassel found an outlet within theater when he needed it the most.
In 2009, when Hassel was only in the fifth grade, his mother passed away from a brain tumor.
“That rocked me,” said Hassel. “Nobody wants to lose a parent, but especially at that young of an age.”
Micheal was very close with his mom and her passing changed a lot about the way he was existing in the world.
“I just kind of felt like, almost like, broken for years. Nothing was really bringing me a great sense of joy, or nothing was filling that void,” said Hassel “I kind of got into track – that was very nice to sort of get my mind off of things, but something was missing.”
That’s when everything changed and Hassel was casted in Hairspray with Market House.
“I felt like I was coming into myself. I felt secure, like I was good at what I was doing. You know, even still running track, I felt like I was just always pretending. Well, I was in the closet,” said Hassel, with a heartful laugh. “So, I was definitely always pretending to be someone that I wasn’t just in order to not get picked on.”
But when Micheal was in rehearsals he could be any part of himself. He could bring the real Micheal to the table and be welcomed into a space where he not only was accepted, but could really thrive.
“That feeling is what I started chasing the most,” said Hassel. “It’s where I also felt connected with her, my mother, the most.”
Funny enough, he has videos of himself as a young boy, while his mother is still alive, performing. During this time, Micheal actually states he hated it.
“Like literally no smiling, no nothing,” said Hassel. “But now when I’m on stage, like, everything just makes sense. Everything feels right. And I know that’s exactly where I am supposed to be and I’m gonna love performing, always.”
Micheal always gets a crack out of people when they say they don’t know how he does it, how he performs.
“I always tell them I don’t see how you DON’T do it,” said Hassel. “The people that I have met, the connections that I have made, the experiences that I’ve had. If I would have gone to school to be a band teacher, like I once almost settled for, none of this would’ve happened. Some of the best friends in the world that I have met, literally are from Australia and America, and I only know them because of doing theater.”
It goes without saying, I definitely think it’s important to have an artistic outlet for children,” said Hassel. “You know, I feel like schools have almost every single sports team you could ever want to join. But at least when I was in school, there was not a ton of money, time, or devotion going into these artistic-based programs, aside from the teachers teaching it and the students wanting to be involved.”
Without his time at Market House, Micheal would have known nothing going into college. He, as well as the other actors, really didn’t have a place that was doing, or had done, any musical theater in Paducah.
“I mean again, I think that it is important to have programs like this for children because not everyone wants to play sports. And not everyone wants to play an instrument. And being in theater is more than just being on stage,” said Hassel.
“You have your crew, people building the set, actors – musicians. Then you have people who are ushers,” said Micheal. “A lot of people want to do the in-the-box office sales. There are so many positions that come from one single show, I don’t think people realize that.”
Most importantly, theater continues to be a safe space for anyone and everyone.
“It’s a safe space that anyone can be in, even if you don’t want to perform,” said Hassel, “If you just want to continue to play that saxophone in a safe place, we need somebody in the pit to do that. Why not you? Theater people are the most accepting.”
Micheal also believes theater teaches the importance of collaboration.
“When I was running track, it was just, you know, individual races and maybe a relay while I was doing relays,” said Hassel, “But I’ve learned the most about communication and how to communicate with people from doing shows because it absolutely takes every single person involved in the production to pull off a show. It’s not just the actors doing the work.”
When people come to see shows, Micheal adds that most viewers do not think of the crew that’s been there since 5 a.m. setting up, touching up, and making sure everything is just perfect for that day’s performance.
“People do not think of the directors’ work, the dressers’ work, the builders – there’s just so much work and constant collaboration that goes into one single performance that is often overlooked and teaches some of the biggest lessons,” said Hassel. “You know, you go see a show, you’re only passing through for one night. But the cast and crew basically live out of the theater during the show’s running time.”
When Micheal auditioned for Hairspray in his adult years, it all took place on Zoom since it was all done during COVID-19 times.
“I had a callback in May over Zoom after I had sent in my audition tape a few months prior, which was a little different considering usually when I have callbacks I will most of the time know the next day if they need to see me again,” said Hassel. “I thought I had auditioned poorly that day and I remember being very upset about it. I also remember singing at the Carson Center announcement party when they were announcing Hairspray – so, potentially knowing I could be in a show that was coming back home, I think maybe it put some pressure on me that I probably didn’t need.”
Right before he left the evening of the announcement party, he found out that the casting directors of Hairspray wanted to see him dance.
“So I went to Colorado and failed my dance audition. But then they had a giant call back on Zoom of like 100 people. They taught us the dance, we’d turn our cameras off and learn it, show them in small groups, etc.”
One giant callback landed Micheal in final callbacks – and then silence.
“Maybe two and a half weeks we heard back. I was in rehearsal and I remember missing a call from my agent – you know how your iPhone can dictate a voicemail? I saw it said Hairspray,” said Hassel.
Frantically calling back, Hassle received the news of a lifetime – he had made the cut.
Micheal had found exactly what his heart wanted. The spark.
During tour, Hassle began getting more responsibility added to his workload, which he didn’t mind, but it did add some more pressure.
“I moved to covering four ensemble parts, covering Seaweed and covering the Dynamites,” said Hassel. “And then? A dance captain.”
During his consistent talent growth, Hassle heard about the Hairspray tour going to Australia.
“Of course, everyone wanted to go do the show in Australia – it’s Australia,” said Hassel. “We closed the American tour on July 3 and me and four other company members flew over to Australia to start rehearsals once again in a different production.”
This didn’t automatically mean Hassel was in the Australian production – therefore, when he found out he landed the job, it was every emotion at once.
“I cried. I sobbed. I absolutely just started sobbing,” said Hassel.
Tours aren’t all glitz and glamor. Micheal had second-guessed himself a few times.
“Tour had gotten really hard for me with all the road traveling so much. We weren’t sitting down for weeks, kind of like equity tours do, because it was a non-union tour,” said Hassel. “I just remember maybe questioning if I wanted to be there anymore – but then I got the call about Hairspray in Australia. I was so relieved because I felt a spark again.” Going from not knowing if he could do tours anymore, to realizing ‘I’m right where I need to be’, Hassle began his incredible Hairspray journey in Australia.
“Life is incredible. I never thought that I would work out of the country. I knew that I wanted to, but never thought it would actually happen,” said Hassel. “I’m a swing, assistant, and dance captain.”
Being captain is being able to run rehearsals if needed and making sure all choreography is clean. Each number must be consistent and Micheal makes sure of it.
VUE asked Micheal where he sees himself in the next ten years.
“Broadway,” he replied with a wide smile. “Hell yeah. Broadway.”
Hassle hopes to start choreographing as well. It scares him a bit but he knows that’s what he wants to do.
“Legacy,” Micheal thinks for a moment.
“I’d like to leave behind the legacy that it does not matter where you come from or how you grew up. If you have the power inside of you, you can do anything you want to do,” said Hassel. “I, who am from a small town like Paducah, was only doing community theater – now I’m here. I’m working with some people who went to the best musical theater schools in the world, who have been dancing since they were three years old.”
Determination. Hard work. Power within. These are the things that continued to push Micheal into the impressive and constantly growing career he is now in.
“I always thank Ball State University because they taught me the best lesson, being a good person. They taught us that we are good people, first and foremost,” said Hassel. “Because when you get into these audition rooms, everyone can sing, everyone can dance, but people want to work with good people. And they, at Ball State, push that so much. That has been one of the things I’m grateful for. I’m a very, very proud Cardinal. Chirp, chirp.”
However, Micheal never forgets where it all started.
“I thank the Paducah Public Schools, all the music teachers – even the ones I didn’t have,” said Hassel. “Patrick Saddler, Mr. Buchanan, Kim Davidson, Lindsey Williams, Chris Loe, and Mr. Gregory. Lastly, and damn near most importantly, Matt Hinz – who still to this day has seen almost any and every show I’ve done outside of school. That kind of support and love – you don’t just find anywhere, and I’m very grateful that I am lucky enough to receive it.”
Micheal continues to blossom overseas currently on the Australian tour of Hairspray – continuing to work towards his goals of moving to New York, making his name on the Broadway stage, and becoming a choreographer. One thing is for sure, while he continues this journey, Paducah and Western Kentucky remain proud of Micheal Corey Hassel.
