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Photograph by Steve DiBartolomeo
Mike Ryan
Ten Questions for Mike Ryan
The familiar Shakespeare Santa Cruz actor tells us what he'd be doing if he weren't acting and just how much he hates big vehicles in the right lane.
What do you do for a living?
I am an actor/director. For the past six years, I was also a lecturer for the UCSC theater arts department.
What would you be doing if you weren't doing that?
I think I'd make a good spy. But I'd probably end up being an attorney.
What do you do in your free time?
I'm a travel junkie. And a beer drinker.
What brought you to Santa Cruz?
Paul Whitworth hired me to work at Shakespeare Santa Cruz in 1997. I worked here off and on until moving permanently in 2003 when Danny Scheie offered me a teaching job.
What's your favorite street?
Meder Street past Western. Wildlife + Convenience = Awesome.
Name something you're excited about.
I'm going to the Galapagos islands in September, and I can barely sleep from thinking about it.
Name a pet peeve.
You know how sometimes you're waiting to turn left in a single lane and someone in a giant truck wedges themselves in between you and the curb to turn right and you can't see oncoming traffic any more? Drives me through the roof.
What are you reading?
Robinson Crusoe, which was an inspiration for the play I'm doing at SSC right now.
What's the most important thing you've learned in the last three years?
That I can share my life with someone and enjoy it.
Recent personal food trend?
Charcuterie.
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