Biography

As the lead in the Alaska Methodist University production of Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town,’ I was in rehearsal when our director called me out repeatedly, saying I was failing to relate to my stage father in an authentic way. Much to my surprise, I finally broke down and shouted,

“How can I relate to a stage father if I don’t know what it’s like to relate to a real father?”

My director sent the rest of the cast away and listened carefully to the story that suddenly poured out of me: a story of childhood pain and struggle. After years of emotional abuse in a single-parent home, I had learned to put others’ needs before my own – and to achieve success no matter what.

I was a student leader, community volunteer, and a delegate to an international conference at age 14, and I was crowned Miss Anchorage and first runner-up to Miss Alaska at age 17 in spite of the chaos that raged behind closed doors. I told my director that I was afraid if you stripped my mask away, there would be nothing underneath. A black hole.

https://michalegabriel.com/