Serving our country in the army, Dr. Michael Arndt has come to view the world through different eyes. As a director and theater professor, he is able to offer his students an outlook on the world that is different from typical perspectives.
Her Campus CalLutheran: It is said “an actor’s job is to tell a story”. As an actor, do you attest to this?
Michael Arndt: Definetly. Whether you are a director or an actor. Theatre is about storytelling.
HC: What has been your most memorable role as an actor?
MA: That’s going back. In Grad. school I played Uncle Vanya in Uncle Vanya. I liked the simpllicity of the character and also his complexity. I also liked playing Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew.
HC: Why did you decide to teach theatre to others?
MA: I think teaching is communication. I first taught high school after college before I was drafted into the army. Then I went to grad school and became a professor of Theatre. I took a part time teaching position and liked it. I like working with artists to discover the art. I am now at the top of my game. I am always. There is no time to really relax.
HC: We heard you wrote the play Under Fire: Stories of Combat Veterns across Generations. Can you give us a describtion?
MA: It’s based on combat Veterans from WWII to Afghanistan. Both men and women with individual experiences. It is about the connection with each other and the people left behind.
HC: What inspired you to create Under Fire?
MA: Well. It is very personal to me. My experience has lived with me. I went back to Vietnam in 2010. I wanted to communicate and link this with veterans before and after me. For them, the hardest part is sharing them.Whether it was WWII or Iraq, the war may not be the same but the personal experience is.