Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    • Acting Tips
      • Actors on Acting
      • Advice Columns
      • Acting Quotes
      • Audition Tapes
      • How To Become An Actor
      • How to Memorize Lines
    • Monologues
      • Monologues from Plays
      • Monologues from Movies
      • Monologues from Musicals
      • Comedic Monologues
      • Dramatic Monologues
      • One Minute Monologues
      • Monologues for Women
      • Monologues for Men
      • Monologues for Teens
      • Monologues for Kids
      • All Monologues
    • Acting Resources
      • Acting Resume
        • Acting Resume Template
      • Acting Classes
        • Los Angeles Acting Classes
        • Las Vegas Acting Classes
        • San Diego Acting Classes
      • Acting Schools and Colleges
        • Los Angeles
        • New York
        • BFA Acting Schools
      • Casting Websites
      • Headshot Photographers
        • Los Angeles
        • New York City
        • Headshot Printing
      • Acting Techniques
        • What is Method Acting?
      • Stage Directions
      • Demo Reels: Everything You Need to Know
    • Interviews
      Featured
      Casting Director Interview - Brett Benner and Debby Romano

      Interview: Casting Directors Brett Benner and Debby Romano Talk ‘Shrinking’, Finding Actors and More

      Recent
      Casting Director Interview - Brett Benner and Debby Romano

      Interview: Casting Directors Brett Benner and Debby Romano Talk ‘Shrinking’, Finding Actors and More

      March 6, 2023
      Jeremy Davis Olaf in Frozen Interview

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023
      Casting Director Kim Coleman Interview

      Interview: Casting Director Kim Coleman on ‘Five Days at Memorial’, Self-Tape Tips and Portraying Real People

      January 11, 2023
    • Actor Blogs
    • Reviews
      • Movies
      • Theater
      • Books
      • Products
    • Actor Services
      • Airchecks
      • Demo Reels
      • Website Design
      • Mailing Labels
    Daily Actor
    Home » Film » Sleepwalk With Me’s Mike Birbiglia on being a first time director: “It’s like going to medical school”
    Film

    Sleepwalk With Me’s Mike Birbiglia on being a first time director: “It’s like going to medical school”

    Erin KonradBy Erin KonradAugust 27, 2012Updated:September 16, 20182 Comments2 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    mike-birbiglia-sleepwalk-with-meComedian Mike Birbiglia has taken his own strange experiences with a sleep disorder and transformed them into a new movie, Sleepwalk with Me.

    However, he is quick to admit that he struggled to figure out how to make the film “every second of every day.”  In an interview with Time, Birbiglia said, “It’s like showing up to the field trip in seventh grade and jumping on the bus and saying, ‘Hey, everybody, I’m gonna drive the bus.’  Everyone’s like, ‘What?  You don’t know how to drive a bus.’  And you’re like, ‘I know, but I’ve been watching the bus driver.  I feel like I have the hang of it.  I’ve been watching other bus rides and I have my favorites and my least favorites, and I feel like I have a bus-driving aesthetic and I feel like that’s going to carry us through.’  Fortunately we arrived at the field trip.  We didn’t drive off the road.”

    Birbiglia enjoyed the process of working as a collaborative team on the film.  “I’ve always had collaborators,” he said.  “That’s how I started in college; I was in the improv group at Georgetown.  And I hired a director, Seth Barrish [who co-directed the movie] to direct my one-man shows.  But I’m on stage alone quite a bit and I have to manage an audience.  Managing an audience in a lot of ways is like directing a film.”

    Birbiglia is certain he’ll be behind the camera in the future as well.  “I just feel it’s like going to medical school,” he said.  “You can’t go to medical school and come out and be like, ‘I’m going to be a dog catcher.’  That would be so pointless.  Once you know how to make a movie, you can’t not make a movie.  It’s the hardest damn thing you could ever imagine and the skill-set is so specific.  Also it’s a passion.  I love movies and I loved making a movie, as hard as it was.  I’m working on the film adaptation of My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, which is the show I’m touring the world with right now.”

    Related

    Previous ArticleTrue Blood’s Denis O’Hare talks ‘Into the Woods’ and Having Options as an Actor
    Next Article Curious Labor Practices on ‘Portlandia’ Raise Eyebrows: Tweets, Casting Directors and SAG-AFTRA Collide

    Related Posts

    David Harbour Black Widow

    David Harbour on Building a Character, Finding Contradictions and Mastering an Accent

    September 3, 2021
    Nicolas Cage in Pig

    Nicolas Cage on Using a “More Quiet and Measured Performance Style” in ‘Pig’

    August 17, 2021
    Aubrey Plaza in Black Bear

    Aubrey Plaza on Auditioning and Why UCB Was the “Best Time” of Her Life

    August 12, 2021
    View 2 Comments

    2 Comments

    1. Ken Murray via Facebook on August 27, 2012 2:48 pm

      I’m a big fan of his and totally dug this movie when I saw it months ago. I might see it again this week

    2. Daily Actor via Facebook on August 27, 2012 8:16 pm

      Yeah, really liked it too. Wish there were more films like this out there.

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Daily Actor Facebook Daily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest Daily Actor YouTube Page
    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.