Peeking Through the Blinds with Michelle Hutchison

Michelle Hutchison’s acting career has spanned place and form, from a traveling park production to the set of a beloved American movie. Her work is developed and dynamic, lending Michelle the added roles of writer, director, and producer behind the scenes, as well as trainer and mentor to actors just starting out. She’s read lines, fed lines, sat on audition panels, and for the last two years, brought to life Gayle, the neighborhood mom with all the answers, in our annual campaign for fiber internet provider Alliance Communications.

Based in Minneapolis, Michelle joined us on a video call to discuss the art of acting, what it takes to embody a character, and the unseen work that brings it all together. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

When did acting first interest you?
Michelle Hutchison: As a young person, I felt compelled to perform, even though I was shy. I loved comedy. Carol Burnett was my hero because she was a goofball. She could play a variety of characters, and I related to that. The first show I auditioned for was Once Upon a Mattress, a play Carol Burnett did on Broadway.

What were your first steps out of college?
MH: You’re auditioning for a lot of community theater, which is not well paid. I forgot the name of the play, but that doesn’t matter. I had to wear a curtain fashioned into a skirt and perform in parks in 100-degree heat.

What’s the strangest place you’ve performed?
MH: I was on the road with a company called Mystery Cafe, and I performed in a liquor distribution house with stacks and stacks of vodka and whiskey next to me, doing an in-house show for their employees.

How did you take your career from on-stage to on-screen?
MH: Many films were being shot in Minneapolis. That’s where I got my first opportunities. After that, I moved to Los Angeles and did a show with some friends. We got agents and started auditioning for commercials, film, and television. Eventually, I found my way back home and continued to work that way, as well as in theater.

In recent years, I’ve started to work as a writer, director, and producer. It’s added a lot to my coterie of ability—to not just show up on set, know my lines and what my costume is, but to understand the machinations behind the camera.

My first audition was with the Coen brothers for the movie Fargo. That was my first film role. I didn’t really know who they were, which was probably a good thing.

What has it been like to play Gayle and interpret the role she plays in her community?
MH: Early in my career, I was playing goofy, younger, trashy women. But I’ve always felt like the nosy neighbor. I love Gayle because she’s an innocent. There’s not much guile, but a good sensibility. She’s a person who has goodwill and is helpful and loving.

While those are all really great traits, it’s not enough. You have to have that sense of comedy and understanding that she has some weird boundaries. It’s embracing that we’re not all the same, that we’re all in different parts of our lives, and that we all have different perspectives. That’s what makes the community work. She’s one of those people who look out for everybody.

The other day, I was looking through the blinds and saw somebody taking pictures of my neighbor’s house, so I called him. He said, ‘Oh, that’s just a friend of mine.’ I took a beat and I thought, ‘It’s official. I’ve become Gayle.’

How do you know when a character is a good fit?
MH: I don’t always. But I think it’s a combination of good writing and a good understanding of who the person is, what makes them tick, and what their motivations are. As a performer, you have to understand where you fit within the body of the character, where you begin and where you end, and what the client thinks they’re looking for. Then, you roll the dice.

What makes a good script?
MH: Comedy writing needs certain rhythms, beats, and timing. But also a direction. If you get too narrow and make the character a caricature versus a human being, that diminishes their power and what you’re trying to sell. There has to be relatability and an entertainment value, and it has to happen quickly, especially in a commercial.

As a writer, you can always play with the fringe, but go with what you know. Trust that instinct and what you feel, think, and believe.

How does commercial work differ from film?
MH: From a casting point of view, commercials are sometimes just a look and a type. In film and television, you have a character with a beginning, a middle, and an end. But, as an actor, whoever you’re playing, whether it’s a person standing on the street in a commercial or a monologue that’s a minute long in a film, you have to have a fully fleshed understanding of who this person is.

Sometimes in commercials, people don’t think that way. They think it’s just a face. But that character has a full life, and when we see that thoughtfulness, we see that work happen on set.

It took me a while to get there, since I was working commercially. But my first audition was with the Coen brothers for the movie Fargo. That was my first film role. I didn’t really know who they were, which was probably a good thing.

What do you look for in a partnership?
MH: As an actor, being able to share your ideas and come to the set with thoughts of how you see the character and how you want to play it, instead of being a robot for the director, is important. Once we’re doing that, we have a marriage and not a dictatorship.

How has that relationship evolved for you?
MH: When I first started, I didn’t know much. I knew what I could do, but I didn’t know the boundaries of what I could do. I’ve gained confidence and clarity, and when things aren’t going in a direction, I can see that. But I’ve learned to be patient because I realize everybody’s still learning, and it’s a journey for all of us.

Now, I’m working with people on set who are younger than me, so I like to teach in tutelage about what’s a better way. Sometimes, people don’t want to hear that, but I like that there’s an evolution of who you are and where you are.

As a trainer, what have you learned about going back to the basics?
MH: I auditioned quite a bit, and one of the casting offices that I worked at asked if I wanted to assist in the office. My first job was on the film Miracle about the 1980 U.S. hockey team. I would watch auditions, and it was odd to see actors who were on the same level as me make mistakes over and over again. That’s when I knew I would teach.

It’s been over 20 years now, and what I’ve learned is that people come in with ideas of what acting is, and they feel that it’s putting on an artifice. But really, it’s about revealing yourself. It’s an art form and a business. If you don’t love the work and the process, you won’t stay in the business.

What’s something from your career that inspires you?
MH: I did a show in Los Angeles, and was given a coffee cup. On the coffee cup was a poem written by Agnes Moorehead. In the poem, she said, ‘There’s this strange feeling for artists that they are compelled to do the work, and despite it all, they still feel that they have a place to continue to ascend.’ You have never arrived, and that gives me hope and traction. For that reason, I’ve never pulled down the shades. I’ll keep at it until I’m out of here. Let’s put it that way.