Peter Michael Marino reflects on how STOMP changed his life

By Kip Driver January 04, 2024

Peter Michael Marino is an Artist/Arts Enthusiast who resides in NYC. I had the pleasure of chatting with him about his years performing in STOMP, not only in NYC at the Orpheum Theater, but also on tour across the U.S. as well as South America. But like many success stories he had a bit of a bumpy start getting there.

Peter was doing a play in 1994 in Florida when he saw there was going to be an Open Casting Call for STOMP. Well he had played drums from age five until he was 15-years old. So he signed up for a tap class at a Senior Center down there to help him along. Actually that reminds me of an episode of The Golden Girls when Dorothy, Blanche and Rose are preparing for a tap dance competition and Dorothy injures herself and she had the big solo in the middle of the number so Blanche and Rose had to rechoreograph the number without Dorothy, anyone else remember this? Sorry, I digress...

The day of the Open Call arrived and Peter spent the day there vying for the job. It was absolutely grueling! He was one of the last few people there at the end after everyone else had been cut. But he didn't get the job.

A few months later he was called in to audition for STOMP again with a small group of people. But he didn't get the job.

A little time passed and he was called in AGAIN to audition, and this time it was just him and one other person. But he didn't get the job.

In 1995 he had gone to the Actors' Equity lounge where they posted non-performing jobs sometimes if you needed to make some money until you book your next performing gig. He wrote down the number for one of these jobs. Went home to call and apply. But the phone rang. It was STOMP. They weren't calling to give him another audition. This time it was an offer. He got the job! And this life-changing job would give him years of employment in NYC, across 65 U.S. cities and all over South America.

I love this story so much because it is a tale of how perseverance pays off! It wasn't Peter's time to be in STOMP until it was. What an important lesson to remember: Work hard. Train hard. Be prepared. Be patient. Your time will come. And now it's my time to ask Peter a few questions.

How would you succinctly explain STOMP to someone who doesn't know anything about it?

It's a celebration of music using "found" objects.

STOMP ran for 29 years off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theater and just closed last year/ Why do you think it was able to run so long?

The show is tight! I went to the 25th Anniversary performance and it was packed with fellow alumni of STOMP. And we're still such a family even if you haven't done the show together in many years. There's always new people coming in and out of the show and there is so much teamwork involved. So we were always having little rehearsals before each performance to make sure we were in sync. That keeps it fresh! And because we're not communicating with words, but instead sound and movement, there are no language barriers. The show is in a universal language. That brings you closer together. And it truly is a show where all ages are welcome.

Do you think that STOMP changed/affected the trajectory of your career? Opened any doors for you that otherwise would not have been opened?

YES! Prior to STOMP I thought of myself as an actor only. But then I realized I didn't have to express myself as an artist through Shakespeare. Or any words actually. As a producer, director, writer, teacher and performer, clowning has become such a big part of my art.

Do you have a favorite Broadway or off-Broadway show?

It would probably be the original off-Broadway production of Little Shop Of Horrors which ran from 1982 through 1987. And it played at the Orpheum Theater which I would later perform there with STOMP. Now that was a full circle moment for me. Little Shop was the first time I realized how utterly ridiculous theater can be. It doesn't always have to be so serious.

Lastly, you are a lifetime New Yorker right? What is something(s) you feel like people should do if they come for a visit to NYC? Something that's not necessarily touristy.

Using the NYC waterways to travel to Rockaway Beach in queens is a must! And so easy. You can pick it up downtown at Wall Street/Pier 11 and less than an hour later be at this sandy beach neighborhood in Queens with several miles of boardwalk to explore. Or jump on the subway to Coney Island. Or head way uptown to the Cloisters Museum at the top of Manhattan. There's so many wonderful little areas off the beaten path to enjoy.