BA 2008, Drama
Michael currently works as a playwright. He has taught new play development at the University of Waterloo, and is currently leading a workshop at Toronto's Assembly Theatre on new play development. He has produced plays performed in Toronto, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He has also worked extensively in marketing, mostly as a copywriter.
Tell us about a memorable learning experience from your time in the Theatre and Performance Program.
One of my most memorable learning experiences was in one of my first classes in first year. My professor at the time asked the room if we thought that theatre could change the world, and we began engaging in a robust debate about the potential for large societal change through the arts. That has stayed with me all these years - even if theatre doesn't necessarily have the power to provoke a massive global shift, it is in fact working slowly and carefully inside the people that engage with it. By experiencing the arts, and by engaging with the 'liveness' of theatre, we are deepening our capacities for empathy and learning about different perspectives. We take these emotional lessons from these dark rooms into the real world with us, and that can influence the people that we want to be, and the world that we want to live in.
Theatre is something you make with other people, for other people.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
During the pandemic, I have really been reconnecting with nature - something I really have not appreciated much up until now. I like going on walks, listening to podcasts and listening to audiodramas; it's been a great way to stay connected to artistic work. I also love going to theatre and movies with people, and having debates and spirited conversations about what we liked.