Interview: Miika Stewart of LOVE BOMB at Catastrophic Theatre

Miika Stewart is an actress who is currently appearing in Brian Jucha's LOVE BOMB. It's a show from the Catastrophic Theater Company that takes the idea of taxi dancers in a hall, singing songs by the ‘70s artist Melanie. The show amalgamates dance, movement, music, and a strongly abstracted text that is cobbled together from many sources. The actors create the piece, and Miika has much to draw on for her portrayal. She’s one of the most fascinating performers out there in Houston today! She lights up the stage in LOVE BOMB, and she is easily one of the breakout performers of the production. BROADWAY WORLD writer Brett Cullum got a chance to catch up with her and discuss LOVE BOMB and where she is heading next.   

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Brett Cullum: How did you end up in LOVE BOMB?

Miika Stewart: I did a Brian Jucha piece two years ago; THEY DO NOT MOVE. I really enjoyed that experience. It was a nice welcome back to the theater because I took a break before that. I took another two-year break from performing, and then Brian contacted me. He said, “Hey, are you interested in doing my show? It's a musical. I think you will love it!” And I'm like, “Sure, I'm down to do it just because it's you because I really really enjoyed THEY DO NOT MOVE.”  So now I am back performing in this, which has been such a thrilling experience. I have learned a lot about myself, as an artist, and as a person in general. It has been such a wonderful time.

Brett Cullum: How do you describe the show to somebody that's coming in? That's never seen it; I have never seen an actual Brian Jucha production, so I'm coming in cold. 

Miika Stewart: So this is my second time with him. From what I've learned, it is always with found text. There are some moments of movement as well. It is all about just telling stories through this little world that we create together, and many of us bring in many of our personal experiences as actors or even just through our lives. And the show really invited that openness, for sure, because LOVE BOMB or just love in general is a topic that can go so many different ways. It's so enigmatic, and I feel like we are tapping into something cool. Brian tends to explore as much as possible with whatever topic is presented, and I wish I could clearly explain how his shows work. I always advise, “Just come in with an open mind. It's like moving art. It's like an art exhibition. But you're just seeing actors play it out.” I invite that type of perspective for people coming to see the show. It's an art piece, but it has moving parts to it.

Brett Cullum: Now you're a character in it, but you invent this character, right?

Miika Stewart: Yes, yes. Brian gave us a prompt for building our characters. We do a composition piece in the 1st couple of weeks of workshopping, and that's where he invites us to really find things that bring this character to life, like create a little backstory with them, and he has a few parameters on how to build it. So we're not just thrown out there randomly. My character's name is Raven Flowers. With her, I had to figure out a character that was not me or my life experiences. And I had to really dig deep for it cause I haven't played (just to be more transparent) a lot of flat-out women, women, characters, female characters. And so this was a wonderful opportunity to explore that. And I decided to just happen to a very classic narrative of her being a runaway bride, and she gets swept up into this world, and she's here to find the true essence of love within the LOVE BOMB universe or the Taxi Dancer Club.

Brett Cullum: You get to sing a Melanie song, right? Can you tell me which one you are singing?

Miika Stewart: I do get to see him sing a Melanie song. Yeah, I sing “Left Over Emotion.”

Brett Cullum: This is one of your director’s, Brian Jucha’s favorite songs! It was released officially in 2002 on her CRAZY LOVE album, but it had been kicking around for years! She sang it live at Carnegie Hall in 1978. And there was a lost 1979 album that had it on there. 

Miika Stewart: Yes, I know. When I saw your interview with Brian, I thought, “Wait! No! That's too much!” After reading that interview, I got a little more pressure and was like, “Oh no, I better not mess this up!” The pieces that Brian has picked for this are so amazing. At first, we weren't sure how they would make sense in the piece, but then, as we built the script, we also explored more of our characters. They fit so well within this cabaret style that we're approaching it. I'm still very new to Melanie. So, hearing these songs outside of what they originally were is cool because of the way these actors approach these pieces; they are really getting into the meat of her text while also being these showmen while doing it. I've learned a lot working with “Leftover Emotions” because I have never worked on songs in this style before. I made music before, and I've done mostly electro Pop or R and B. This was a wonderful opportunity for me to explore a different sonic palette. I was very grateful that Brian gave me this piece to work on.

Brett Cullum: Do you have a full band behind you or just a track? What's happening with the music?

Miika Stewart: Miriam Daly arranged our music! She was in charge of it and arranged all the pieces through her studio. So, it is through a pre-recorded track. It sounds like an actual band behind us. We have fresh arrangements for these songs. I have a pop music background. It was great that Brian allowed me to bring that kind of into it. He mainly wanted to keep the meat of the text the way it was, and he wanted me to be a little bit more powerful with my vocals. I tend to be a little bit of a whispery singer. But this! I said, “Okay, I guess I have to really sing out Louise for this one!” It's been great. I was very grateful for the challenge, and I look forward to people in the audience connecting to my piece and everyone else's.

Brett Cullum: I'm really looking forward to it because I've been a fan of Melanie's since I was a kid. I stole one of my parents' albums with some of her greatest hits. I've known about her for a while, so I'm excited to see you all take this and run with it. But let me ask you, how did you get into performing? You mentioned that you've sung before. How did you come to this? To say, “I'm going to be an artist, and I'm going to perform.”

Mikka Stewart: So it found me by accident because I was in college when I decided to pursue theater as a vocation, and I just went to an audition randomly. This was a musical theater audition because I always sang, and I thought this would be really cool to try out. And I tried it out. And I got a callback. I said, “Okay, I don't know how these work. Let's try it out and see what happens.” I wasn't great, so I ended up not getting booked for the show, but it lit a fire in me. It was like, “Hey, I'm kind of enjoying this little bit of rejection. Let me come back, try to get it!” I wanted to get another opportunity, and so I continued to audition. I went to school for musical theater and got stronger through training. That led me to Houston as an actor. I was performing nonstop for ten years, and then in 2020, I took a pause from the theater to focus on music. So that's kind of where I really started to find a home for myself even more through performing my own compositions.

Brett Cullum: I think that's a natural trajectory for many of us right now, just because it was so hard. Theater was the last thing to come back after the pandemic. And you could do music on your own. I played the piano through the pandemic. 

Miika Stewart: Yeah, music is and has always been my own personal escape. It was the best way for me to connect with an audience if I couldn't do a show. But theater is always instilled in me, even when I do my performances or shows. It's like I still bring a theatrical element to it.

Brett Cullum: What I love about Catastrophic Theatre is that they have a super diverse group of performers, and you are part of that legacy they are building. What do you love about them?

Miika Stewart: I'm so with Catastrophic because they allow you to play and tap into that youthful energy of creating. My background was so rigid with musical theater. I have these set things, but Catastrophic has allowed so much freedom. An expression on stage with no real wrong answers, and I've gotten better at not trying to be perfect. I've learned that it's okay to be imperfect in this work because we are, at the end of the day, portraying human existence, which is so layered. There are no set rules for being an individual person. I work with this cast daily and learn something new about myself. I am nothing but grateful for them cause they have been so supportive and inviting and even challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, and THAT is the biggest thing with working Catastrophic. I do not get to play it safe at all, and it is a great feeling; it is amazing. I am very blessed and fortunate to be with this company for this production.

Brett Cullum: Well, I think it's amazing how many people stick with Catastrophic. Brian's been with them since they were known as Infernal Bridegroom Productions, and I know that a majority of the cast that you're with have been in almost every one of his shows. Tamarie Cooper has been on every show Brian Jucha has done in Houston. So it's gotta be wild coming into people with that much history.

Miika Stewart: Yeah. It's also very intimidating at times because everyone knows them, and I tend to come in as this new face, though I did the last Brian Jucha show. But it's still like I'm coming back again. I still feel like a newbie. But they just treat me like I'm a part of the team, like I'm a part of the family, and I love that cause they are all powerhouses. I cannot believe I get to be within this great company of people because they're killing it in this scene on that song or in this moment of the show. And I'm over here fangirling every day and forgetting I'm also in the show.

Brett Cullum: What surprised you the most about Miika when you were exploring this and doing this particular production? What do you think you learned about yourself? 

Miika Stewart: I've learned a little more about who I am and how I walk in this world. This show invited me to have a little bit more autonomy with myself. It was my sensuality, self-esteem, and perception of what love and relationships mean to me. I leave rehearsal sometimes thinking about how I can be better in my connections with others, and the whole point of being an actor for me is becoming a better person in this crazy world that we live in right now. This show definitely opened up something new within me, and I wish I could pinpoint the exact words, but it's just so elusive. We establish our connections with each other. Yeah, I think it's really been a great moment of becoming for me. I feel there's more to explore after this piece ends. I'm excited to see what's to come because I feel this is a wonderful comeback to myself at the beginning of whatever happens to me in this space.

 

Brett Cullum: Well, that's the thing I wanted to ask you. What's next for you? What does Miika Stewart go out and do after LOVE BOMB? Because I am so excited to see it! 

Miika Stewart: I'm in talks about some projects, and I am also working on new music. So, there are multiple things I am trying to plan out for 2025. I can't fully define them, but more things will come within the next year. So, y'all ain’t getting rid of me now; I'm not gonna run away. I've been inspired to step out and represent so many people. This is not just like the Trans community but also the black community, black women, and showing that power and this art form and how we do belong here as well. I'm just here to tell stories. That's all! I'm in service to tell the stories of human existence. And what a wonderful gift to be given.

Brett Cullum: Well, and in this era that we are in now. If there's anything that needs power when I look at the world, it is black women; it is the trans community. I feel like that's where we need it. So, I am so glad to see you here in this space and being such a powerhouse of a performer.

 

LOVE BOMB can be seen at the MATCH facility through December 7th. It makes for a perfect counterprogramming holiday show to celebrate Thanksgiving. There is plenty of parking, restaurants, and bars within walking distance, and the CATASTROPHIC is always pay-what-you-can.

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