Mike has taught classes and facilitated workshops on playwrighting in many settings. He currently teaches classes and facilitates workshops and public readings of new plays for the Ohio Playwrights Circle.
Mike was a Teaching Artist and Visiting Artist for the Ohio Arts Council's Arts-in-Education Program for over 20 years. He was a Guest Professor in playwrighting for Otterbein University and taught Playwrighting for The Human Race Theatre Company's Education Program for many years. |
Story
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Stories for me are the text-books for life. This belief is at the center of the what and the why I do this work as a playwright. The theatre is a place to watch & create those stories that keep me thinking and learning long after I have left the space. I love film, and books of all kinds, but creating for the live experience of the theatre is where I connect to story-telling.
There are two key themes throughout my work…. secrets and families. What fascinates me is learning the histories and stories that aren’t told, the secrets of society. Discovering the secrets that often are at the core of what we do, who we are and who we have been, takes me to the truth of who I can be. I love digging up the secrets and unveiling them to an audience. Families are the context of my stories. Whether it is the families we know, the ones we don’t, the ones we think we know, or the families we create where none exists, all are the context for where we have come from, are going to, or wish we had. LGTBQ communities have been creating families for hundreds of years and we have so much to learn from those courageous acts. A great joy of mine is writing for actors. Whether it’s giving them a role to challenge them, excite them, or simply to allow them to go to a new place in their craft. I love giving actors roles that they love to play. That passion translates to audiences and comes right into the story. I have written in other forms, however, I am a playwright. It’s my way to tell our stories and add to that textbook of life. |
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