Last week, we were so fortunate to have Michael Kriak come in and talk about his career journey into business/investments and producing. We talked about ConsenSys, basically a cryptocurrency company, his role as a CFO and entrepreneur, and his balance between full time job life and producing life. I admire his motivation to integrate his passion of theater into a job. He allowed me to see that him producing Dear Evan Hansen, and right now, Rent the Musical, could allow me to stay well rounded even as a working professional. Here is a video of Michael Kriak to get a sense of his positive, gritty attitude and vibe!:

I won’t be going more into his ConsenSys or Business experiences in this blog post though. That can easily be seen on his LinkedIn or articles with a quick Google search. Instead I’ll write more about his perspective, journey, and experience as a producer for Dear Evan Hansen and Rent the Musical!

I remember asking Michael Kriak what was his fondest memory working as a producer for Dear Evan Hansen. He answered saying that he loved seeing families come together and watch the musical, since Dear Evan Hansen talked about important issues of mental health and bullying that families go through together.  I really resonated with his answer because it shows how passion triumphs all fancy titles that we may initially be attracted to.

Although this blog post is on the shorter side, I really enjoyed my experience with Michael’s Question and Answer session. I hope future Arts in New York City Classes have him as a guest, because I feel like I’ve learned a lot through his personality, experience, and attitude. I hope to see both musicals, Dear Evan Hansen and Rent, in the next few months!