B. Michael Rains Artistic Member

B. Michael Rains first entered the theatre scene at Tyler Junior College (TJC) way back in the early 90’s. Not knowing what to expect, he walked into and stumbled through an audition for King Lear, which turned out to be his first theatrical performance that took place outside of his living room. Realizing that an actual audience was a bit more exciting than performing for the bathroom mirror, he began auditioning for any and every show that came around. His roles among others at TJC include Duane Wilson in Harvey, Olson in The Long Voyage Home, Prez in The Pajama Game, Skip Snip in The Little Shop of Horrors, and Lucky in Waiting for Godot.

He was then recruited to Angelo State University (ASU), which led to many more opportunities to perform. These roles among others include Tom Tulliver in the American Premiere of The Mill on the Floss, John Haddock in Lips Together, Teeth Apart, Leon Tolchinsky in Fools, Kenickie in Grease, Astrov in Uncle Vanya, Peter Hoskins in Prelude to a Kiss, George in The Actor’s Nightmare, and Jessie in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Undoubtedly, his most fortunate opportunity while at ASU was to study under the incredibly talented actor Karl Malden in a two-week intensive workshop. It was, and always will be, one of his most influential experiences to this day. Shortly after, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree and it was time to move on.

He then began a new journey to Austin where he was most recently seen in Lowell Bartholomee’s Frontera Fest piece Standing Room Only, which won Best of the Fest only shortly after he brought the role of John to life in bash, and clumsily performed The Yes Man in The Gypsy Chain, both which were produced by the dirigo group. Now, as an artistic member, his goal is to meet the high standards that have already been set by an amazing group of artists.

What’s He Doing Next?

contact the dirigo group