Dialect Coaching (and more!)
Michael has served as a dialect coach for numerous local theater productions, including for The Importance of Being Earnest, Matilda: The Musical, And Then There Were None, Gaslight, The Wind in the Willows, and more. He's also been contracted to coach actors in The Nerd, The Bad Seed, and occasionally has been employed to help students prepare for collegiate auditions. Â
Development of new works
As part of his full-time work at Fenimore Art Museum, Mike has overseen the NEXT! Readings of New Works by Regional Playwrights for the past 9 years. This series exclusively showcases the work of central/upstate writers, and has featured 31 plays by 26 different playwrights. He also created Write Out Loud, a juried live performance showcase that gives poets, essayists, writers of short fiction the chance to have their work performed in front of a live audience. Â Â Â
Adjunct Theatre Faculty atÂ
Hartwick College
In 2025, Mike was hired as adjunct theatre faculty at Hartwick College to direct their MainStage department production of Eric Overmyer's hilarious, surreal, globe-trotting adventure On the Verge. Over three months, he worked diligently with a dedicated cast of four students to tackle the play's arcane lexicon, vivid and dynamic character changes, and high physical intensity (including fight choreography with both machetes and parasols), all on a deeply raked stage. He collaborated with numerous designers (both faculty and students), served as a faculty advisor to a student for whom the production was their thesis, and created the performance's sound design.
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"Shakespearian Toolbox" Â
Workshops (and more!)
Mike has taught original introductory Shakespeare workshops to hundreds of local students in both the Cooperstown Central and Franklin Central School Districts. These workshops have resulted in multiple students participating in Glimmer Globe MainStage productions. He's also taught intermediate/advanced workshops in Shakespeare technique and acting to adults at the Foothills Fringe festival in Oneonta, as well as at Fenimore Art Museum. He is also the discussion leader for the "Shakespeare Reading Group" based out of the Cooperstown Village Library.