Meet Melissa Michels | Singer/Actress/Mentor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Michels and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, how do you think about risk?
Being in Los Angeles in the first place, picking up and moving to California after some personal family devastations as a single mother, is an extension of the risks I have taken and continue to take in my life. I took the risk at 18 years old to move from a small town in North Carolina to the big city of Manhattan to pursue my dreams of being an actress and singer, and this move to California is an echo and extension of that effort, just many years later. I have had to keep pushing myself over and over to take risk after risk to keep being creative with ways that I can continue and develop and express my artistry over the years.

I’m usually the type that prefers calculated risks. I like to really look at all my options and ponder over them before the courage it takes to go for it. I would say that I never give up on the arts, and I am willing to remain flexible in taking creative risks to keep a career flowing and growing with an arts focus.

What should our readers know about your business?
It has not been easy for me to go after my dreams in the arts. I grew up singing in a family band: My Dad played the piano and my Mom and my sisters and brother and I sang together (like the Von Trapp Family Singers;). (In fact, we were on a local television station every Christmas Eve for 20 years singing Christmas songs as a family: “The Musical Michels”). I fell in love with performing from the start of my life, but it seemed like my desire to perform professionally always clashed with my strong family/spiritual beliefs. I wished to be living the dream performing as a profession, but I wanted so much to also be a wife and a mother. Those worlds didn’t collide easily.

I got married at 19 years old while I was finishing my BFA in Musical Theatre. As a young wife, I performed in various professional regional theatres and sang backup vocals on some of my husband’s Hip Hop tracks, as he was also an incredible MC/artist/producer (FatCatTB – YouTube), and he had a record deal he was working on at the time. Our three daughters came along soon enough (Sariah Jaz, Luseane Jean, & Mele Tilini Jill), and I realized that we had to make a steady living to provide for our children. That was not easy to do as performers. Ideas such as running a newspaper route at night to trade shifts with him to be able to be with our our babies so they didn’t have to go to daycare was just not cutting it as a way to feel fulfilled in using the skills I had learned in college for musical theatre (NYU – Tisch School of the Arts/Stella Adler Conservatory, Webster Conservatory, and East Carolina University). It just did not feel aligned.

I decided to use my talents by teaching others to sing and act, while keeping my babies close to me and teaching from home so I could be with them. I found fulfillment artistically during the time of my babies being young by recording my inspirational solo vocal album (on all platforms as Melissa Burke – “The Gift of God in You”).

Sadly, my marriage ended after 13 years. And, I was pushed further into the need for survival financially as a single mother to three young daughters. I decided I needed something more steady and reliable at the time, so I went back to school to complete the credits needed for me to become a licensed theatre educator (and even was the Utah Advisory Council of Theatre Teachers – “Teacher of the Year” for 2019-2020). I taught at a charter school for the arts, Syracuse Arts Academy, for 12 years running the theatre program – directing the Musicals and One Acts, coaching Shakespeare competition teams, and teaching film classes.

I did perform along the way at some of the local hotspots for performers in Utah such as Hale Centre Theatre and Temple Square, and my music is still played on the Salt Lake radio station FM 100.3.

I tried remarriage, but a blended family brought its own challenges. It was hard to find the time to perform as much as I wished to be able to. During this time, I did decide to reunite with a college friend from Webster who is a successful film and theatre director, Michelle Bossy. She directed, and I starred in, a short film “Love and Joy” about a single Mom having her first Christmas without her child. It was accepted into 15 film festivals, including Hollywood Women’s International Film Festival, New York Shorts International Film Festival, Golden State Film Festival, the MOM Film Fest, and Faith in Film Festival and won 6 awards including “Best Short” and “Best Actress Nominee.”

Between teaching at school and directing and teaching private lessons at nights and on weekends and balancing family life, I definitely did not have much time to be able to go out and audition or perform often (although singing in harmony with my own daughters and watching each of them blossom as singers and performers individually, and as artists in their own right – was a fulfillment and dream come true of its own).

The beat change of life that came next was quite the blow. Just after COVID, a “perfect storm” of sorts hit our blended family and a second divorce was on the horizon. At the same time, my first husband, the father of my three children, passed away unexpectedly. The grieving that was happening in our home was heavy. The healing from this grief, and what was needed for my daughters to heal specifically, took all of my energy and focus. It took all of me.

I found myself having to start all over again. I was gifted the opportunity to work with a Business/Life Coach, Chris George, as I tried to piece my life together again somehow. Over 20 years of therapy from personal and family tragedies had me focused on continued healing. I told my coach, I need to be able to get more education. I knew I would have even more pressure financially under this new set of circumstances. I wanted to use what I knew and understood: musical theatre – singing, dancing, and acting and to be able to take that to another level. I decided that I was not able to pursue a Masters degree in performance training due to the demand of time it would require of me outside of the home. I did some research to find what else I may be able to do to help others through these skills. I found Expressive Arts Therapy as a profession. I felt it was the perfect combination of using musical theatre skills (singing, dancing, and acting) as well as poetry, storytelling, and visual arts as part of healing others. I realized, if there was a way I could help anyone else who was suffering and who could use a combination of many forms of art (Intermodal Expressive Arts) consciously for healing, I wanted to be a part of that.

I am an online graduate student seeking my MA/PhD in Expressive Arts Therapy. I also set out to audition after relocating to California within the last year, and I am now a professional singer as part of the Los Angeles Goode Time Carolers. I also had the chance to perform recently as part of Brooke Burke’s Soul Creek Wellness Retreat and for a spiritual event at Rafi Lounge in Malibu.

I am revitalized by this fresh start. I have found myself able to go from “Devastated to Dreaming Again” through the conscious use of music. I am here to help you do the same.

I am currently unveiling my own business “Express YourSELF with Melissa.” I am here to help the “Lost Creatives” use music THEY love to HEAL and CREATE more of what they want in their lives. My focus in on “Musical Manifesting.” I offer a variety of options (online courses and workshops, private online Creative/Healing Coaching, and retreats — all a combination of Musical Theatre Techniques and Expressive Arts Therapy). I also offer private vocal and acting coaching (have been doing this for 22 years), and I perform professionally as often as I can. Visit my website for a free gift and more information from me: www.expressyourselfwithmelissa.com. Or you can find me on Facebook under the page: Express Yourself with Melissa or on Instagram: @_melissa.michels_. You may also email me at expressyourselfwithmelissa@gmail.com.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m still so new to California! But so far, these are some of my favorite places in the Los Angeles area that I have discovered and enjoyed so far:

Favorite Restaurants:
-Casita Del Campo – SilverLake
-Beetle House (Year-Round Halloween Themed Dining in Los Angeles)
-Ruby’s Diner

Favorite Beaches:
-Manhattan Beach (such a vibe! Love the restaurants, the Strand – Boardwalk to walk on the beach, the Pier, “Gelato and Angels,” etc.!
-Malibu – the “Bu” itself

Favorite Downtown/Shopping Areas:
-DTLA
-Melrose Arts District
-Sunset Strip
-Beverly Hills
-Santa Monica

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Always shoutouts to my family – my three daughters @jazzyburke, @luseaneburke, @mele.tilini, my parents and my siblings – love each of you dearly!
-special shoutout to my sister who also recently debuted a solo jazz album Jenn Quader @jennquader
-shoutout to all who have ever helped and loved me in any way along the way …
But special shoutouts here to my California Support Team of beloved Artists and Professionals:
@goodetimecarolers – my professional singing/Caroling team
@brookeburke – always my sister and my children’s cousins/artists @sierraskyfisher and @thisisneriah
@michellebossydirects – Los Angeles director and co-producer of our Short Film “Love and Joy”
@whatsgoldin – my trainer and our team of athletes with @thewonderwomenofficial
@alessandracolfi – my Graduate School advisor
@chrisgeorgecoaching Business/Life Coaching
@gungormusic my favorite LA based inspirational artist/mentor
@luiswhiteviolin musical colleague
And
Mile High Theatre and Fringe of the Woods Festival – Peter Kjenaas, Director @peterkjenaas

Other: Y

Image Credits
@jacksondavisphoto