He’s got range: Earlier this year, in Stageworks Theatre’s production of Birds of a Feather, Johnny Garde played a shy schoolgirl, a macho real estate magnate, a dorky birdwatcher and a fire-breathing preacher, and made each one not only distinct, but distinctly believable. And hilarious. He may be better known to Stageworks patrons as the box office guy — or to use his official title, Director of Audience Services — but Birds served notice that he’s first and foremost an actor guy.
I can do that: A motivational speaker at his Vero Beach elementary school inspired him to get on stage: “I remember thinking it’s so cool he gets to go up there and perform for us.” He went on to act all through middle and high school.
But USF toughened him up: “I just thought I was the best at theater, and I ended up going to USF and getting my ass handed to me by the professors. But it was such a great experience taking the theater program there.”
He also learned a new language: He'd always been interested in ASL, and ended up getting his minor in it.
Thanks, Anna: Stageworks founder Anna Brennen cast him in his first professional role — a member of the ensemble in To Kill A Mockingbird — while he was still a student at USF.
And lately he’s been popping up everywhere: He’s showed his versatility in Some Sort of Show, the SNL-esque sketch comedy troupe led by Jonathan Cho; TampaWrights, the new play festival produced by Tampa Rep’s TRT2; Timeless Tales Theatre (a touring children’s theater company); April Bender’s Night of Inappropriately Funny Moments; and the recent 4×6 Fest.
It’s a living: “I’ve just been blessed enough to be basically, continuously working as an actor, which is awesome.”
Which is good because there’s no backup plan: "When I was a kid I wanted to be a vet, but I’m allergic to cats. I remember my mom saying I wanted to be a chef — but I’m awful at cooking. So I really don’t have any other choice.”
His mom comes to everything: A program financial analyst, Johnny’s mother has seen “every single one of my shows with the exception of two,” traveling from her home in Panama City Beach.
And she’ll have a lot more to see: He’ll be in MMF at Silver Meteor in October, In the Blood at Stageworks in February, and in The Boys Next Door next month with Theatre Exceptional, a new company co-founded by Brianna Larson.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2015.