Meet the Cast of The Hombres: Michael Gurshtein

Introduce yourself! Where have audiences seen your work before and where can they see you next?

I am an engineer by day and a nerd full-time. Most recently, audiences could have seen me playing Ranger in Snake! at Theater Company of Lafayette. Other recent roles include understudy for Michael in The Piano Teacher right here at Vintage Theatre, and Duvid in A Shayna Maidel and Nevile Strange in Towards Zero, both at Firehouse Theater.

How would you describe this show to someone who is experiencing it for the first time?

To me, this show is about the complex dynamics and difficulty of finding non-sexual male companionship in the modern world. Loneliness, particularly male loneliness, has been classified as an epidemic by various world health agencies, and this show takes an earnest look at what it's like to try to make friends as an adult man in America. Also, there's machismo and yoga.

Masculinity and the exploration of relationships between men are central themes of The Hombres--what has this show taught you about how culture perceives masculinity?

This show does a great job at putting people's preconceptions on display before deconstructing them and digging deeper. Almost every early interaction between any two characters in the show starts with them assuming stereotypical positions before they are forced to consider that the person in front of them might not fit neatly into those boxes.

Yoga and mindfulness also play a large role thematically in the show--do you have any personal practices that ground you?

I meditate, not nearly often enough. And I play lots of trivia, which is the easiest place for me to find a sort of zen flow.

Do you have a favorite line or moment from the show? What is it and why does it resonate with you?

I am lucky enough to have several incredibly close male friends, with whom I am able to share openly and honestly. These are men I absolutely love as deep friends, and we are able to express that to each other. However, I know that this is quite rare in modern American society, and my heart aches for all the men who don't have those kinds of connections. For this reason, it really hits hard for me when Julián says "We (men) don't tell each other, remind each other, that there is love between us. Why don't we?"