Biografia
Michael was born in Ottawa, Canada, and at age three moved to Calgary, where he made his stage debut as a Polar Bear in his kindergarten Christmas pageant. At eight, he relocated to Brussels, Belgium, and then to Vancouver, Canada, at twelve. He attended South Delta Senior Secondary and later the University of British Columbia, becoming the first graduate of its new BFA Acting program in 1983. During university, he delivered many notable performances, including the role of 'Lucky' in 'Waiting for Godot'.
After graduating, Michael became a core member of the Vancouver Theatresports League (now 'The Improv Centre'), helping it become a leading improvisational theatre company worldwide. He won the World Theatresports Championships in Calgary in 1988 at the Winter Olympic Arts Festival and again in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1990 at the Commonwealth Games Arts Festival. Additionally, he secured championships across North America, Canada, and New Zealand. For several years, he performed alongside Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles.
In 1990, Michael moved to New Zealand and founded The Court Jesters improv company in Christchurch, which won the World Theatresports Championship in Los Angeles in 1995. The company produced many prominent alumni, including the late Cal Wilson. He also served as the primary instructor for The Improv Bandits in Auckland, which won the Super Cage Match long-form World Championship in Chicago in 2002. Furthermore, he taught improv at Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Arts, where among his many students was Cate Blanchett.
Alongside performing and directing improvisational theatre, Michael developed a television directing career spanning children's programming (Oi, 1993), comedy (Melody Rules, 1994; Flatmates, 1998), and factual series (The Shopping Bags, 2001; Tomorrow's World, 1965; Dream Lives, 2001; Serious Amazon, 2006 for the BBC).
He has earned eight international awards for television directing across Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, including a Leo, a BAFTA, a Prix Jeunesse, and a Royal Television Society Award.
Michael has also directed numerous theatre productions, notably as Artistic Director of the Queenstown Shakespeare Festival in New Zealand and the internationally touring hit and 'Best New Zealand Play' winner "Bare". For many years, he was senior improviser and teacher at the Vancouver Theatresports League, guiding its expansion into long-form improvisation, creating several long-form formats, and leading Vancouver improvisers to festivals in Miami, Calgary (three times), Chicago (twice), San Francisco, and Seattle (six times). He also held a teaching position at Vancouver Film School, where he taught Advanced Directing to film students and Improvisation, Acting, Character, Shakespeare, and Sitcom to acting students, designing the curriculum for these courses. Additionally, he helped develop the curriculum and taught during the first two years of the Centre for Digital Media Masters program.
In 2017, he revisited his passion for outdoor recreation by earning his Level One CSIA Ski Instructor certification and taught at Mt. Seymour in 2018 and Cypress Mountain in 2019, where he obtained his Level Two CSIA qualification and continues to teach. He has also worked as a Forest Educator at the Saplings Outdoor Forest School, teaching children.
Michael continues to direct television and theatre, perform improv internationally with the Improv Bandits, act in film, television, and theatre, teach and coach actors, instruct skiing at Cypress Mountain, and educate children in outdoor recreation.
