We have so many unique and talented people at Clickstop.

When not busy at work building marketing campaigns, making sales calls, balancing the books, or turning out ratchet straps, they are at home with their families, hanging out with their friends, or having fun with hobbies. And we have so many different activities and hobbies that our employees excel at. So today, we will feature an employee that somehow, between work, planning a wedding, and sleeping, still has a million different hobbies. That person is Nate Merrifield.

Nate poses for the camera after an awesome performance of the Toxic Avenger.
Nate poses for the camera after an awesome performance of the Toxic Avenger.

Nate has worked at Clickstop for just over 2 years. He works in the small shipping department and his high energy and enthusiasm keeps him ready for anything.

Nate’s hobbies include writing DnD campaigns (for those who do not know, DnD stands for Dungeons and Dragons), singing and songwriting (Nate is in a couple different bands), theater, and is pretty big into the Final Fantasy series. The thing about all of these hobbies… if Nate is interested in stuff, he gives it his all. He spends a lot of time nurturing each of his hobbies, becoming better and more enthusiastic every time he dives in.

This past weekend, a couple months of practices, singing, and hard work finally were presented to the masses. Nate co-stared in the musical The Toxic Avenger. This was Nate’s third performance on the MMU stage, so he had worked with the director, Jason Alberty, a couple times before. As soon as the show was announced, he listened to the soundtrack and was sold immediately.

The Toxic Avenger, in short, is about world pollution. It brings light to the subject that we aren’t taking as good of care of the earth as we should. In the show, a small town has become the victim of toxic waste. The corrupt mayor thought she could earn a couple extra dollars by subjecting her town to pollution. The hero, Melvin Ferd the Third, takes it upon himself to save the town to impress the blind librarian. After an unfortunate turn of events, Melvin is thrown into a vat of toxic goo and turns into the Toxic Avenger. Many songs and terrible jokes later, the hero saves the day and wins the heart of his true love.

An excerpt from the program…

Based on Lloyd Kaufman’s cult film and winner of the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, The Toxic Avenger is a charming love story and laugh-out-loud musical that has it all: an unlikely hero, his beautiful girlfriend, a corrupt New Jersey mayor and two guys who play… well, everyone else … bullies, mobsters, old ladies and stiletto-wearing back up singers.  With book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music and lyrics by David Bryan, the show also features, at its core, a heartfelt and humorous take on governmental graft and ecological issues.

Melvin Ferd, the Third, wants to clean up Tromaville, the most polluted town in New Jersey (just off Exit 13B on the Turnpike). Foiled by the mayor’s bullies, Melvin is dumped into a vat of radioactive toxic waste, only to reemerge as The Toxic Avenger, New Jersey’s first superhero. Affectionately known as Toxie, our new hero is a seven-foot mutant freak with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark. He’s out to save New Jersey, end global warming, and woo the blind librarian in town.

The Toxic Avenger stared Jackson Bartelme, Elizabeth Wareham, Randi Tumilty, Marlon Flores-Paniagua, and Nathan Merrifield.
The Toxic Avenger stared Jackson Bartelme, Elizabeth Wareham, Randi Tumilty, Marlon Flores-Paniagua, and Nathan Merrifield.

Nate played the character called “White Dude”.

In the show, White Dude would play multiple other characters. With a lot of costume changes, Nate played Bozo (the town bully), Folk Singer, Corrupt Executive, Diane (Blind Librarian’s best friend), a Thug, Juan (a toxic waste delivery guy), Sal the Cop (Nate’s personal favorite, in which he sported a fat suit), a sweet old lady, and Judy (the other half to a cute couple).

Nate shares his love of acting with his extremely talented Fiance, Randi.  Randi attends the school and is very active in the fine arts, helping Nate get his foot in the door. Randi played the corrupt Mayor, a Nun, and the Melvin Ferd the Third’s mother.

“I love performing with my Fiance.” said Nate. “Back in high school we were both in a production of Little Women. That is how we met and started dating. Theatre work has been a big part of our relationship and it’s a blast to work together on stage.”

“I enjoy anything considered fine arts. DnD and writing music allows me to express my creativity. Being on stage is a huge rush for me. I have always loved performing. Getting up on stage is just as natural as breathing to me.”

Nate’s hard work and dedication shows in his work. He also sees how the Clickstop core values play a role (ha, see what I did there?) in his life. “Think Big and Make it Happen! We all need to pull together to make a production work. For the most recent production I was ‘The Toxic Avenger’, each member of the cast came together to help build the set and offer ideas to create a unique version of the play.”

The hard work and dedication is not easy, but to Nate it is worth every second. He encourages others to step outside of their shell and try out theatre if they are interested. His biggest advice for aspiring stage actors… “Find a way to overcome your nervousness. Most people worry they will make mistakes and be ridiculed by the audience. Most people will forget the small things in a short amount of time. Any mistake made will most likely only be noticed by the director and cast mates. Mistakes happen every show. The secret to getting past it is to push through confidently.”

Nate performing as the Librarian's Best Friend
It was hard to get a picture while they were performing, but if you look closely you can see Nate dressed as the Librarian’s Best Friend.

 

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