Once upon a time, Michael Siewert, of Signature Interiors and Gifts, the local weekly TV show “Signature Mike,” was on track for a life on stage.
From putting on shows with his sister for their parents growing up in Kentucky—“I would be behind the curtain, and I would play records, and we would lip-sync to them”—to four “very serious” years studying musical theatre at a performance arts high school, to even a brief stint acting in community plays, theatre was a consistent and consuming passion for Siewert.
Six weeks into a theater program at the University of Northern Kentucky, however, a degree of pragmatism set in.
“I felt like it was a recap of what I had done in high school, and I wasn’t going to commit another four years into doing what I’d already done,” said Siewert. He would drop out, but later return after seeing friends graduate from college and start their careers. This time around, he decided to focus on another one of his passions, from which his own successful career would emerge: interior design.
This came with steady work at a design firm, but for years Siewert repressed his love of performing, even going so far as avoiding theater altogether. “I wouldn’t talk about it. I kind of pushed it aside because I felt I kind of had let it go,” he said.
His connection to the artform seemed to not let go of him, however. About a decade after he graduated high school, a suggestion from a client who was a community theater director prompted him to audition for a play. This brief spell in community theater reminded him, he says, that he’s a “thespian at heart,” but practical concerns for a steady income kept him from taking it seriously.
Siewert would move to Washington, D.C. a little over a year later, and his career in design would eventually bring him to Augusta, in 2005. His lifestyle and design show “Signature Mike” started airing on WRDW last year.
Augusta has been good to him, Siewert says, and with the success of his business and his show, coming back to the stage occurred to him yet again.
The upcoming Signature Mike Stage Show will consist of two parts: the first will the story of Siewert’s life, from his humble upbringing in Kentucky, to his time living in D.C., to coming to Augusta, complete with song selections, dancers and a 12-piece orchestra. The second half will be a live stage recording of the Signature Mike show.
Proceeds from the show partially go towards the Via Cognitive Health Center, by way of the Augusta Newcomers Club.
The cyclical nature of events is not lost on Siewert, who has found himself exploring his past, going over old photographs, in the process of returning to a passion he once tried to forget.
“I’m not writing a book, but I’m telling my story. And it’s interesting to go back and consider what I was thinking then,” he said, later adding, “I celebrate who I am in my life’s journey, and I hope everyone finds that interesting.”
Signature Mike Live will be at the Miller Theater on Oct. 25.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering general reporting for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com
