Assistant Professor
Specializations
History, Criticism, Dramaturgy, Playwriting
Courses Taught
THTR 214 Tragedy
THTR 215 Comedy
THTR 331 Improvisation and Creativity
THTR 313 American Theatre Between the Wars
THTR & ENGL 347 Playwriting
THTR 310 Theatre Criticism
HNRC 101 Fine Arts Honors Core
THTR 101 Introduction to Theatre
THTR 132 Introduction to Acting
Contact
724-357-2169
Biography
Michael is a professor who has taught in the Theatre, Dance, and Performance Department since fall 2011. His career encompasses playwriting, historical scholarship, criticism, directing, and performance, and he is continuing to discover the points where all these elements of theatre-making and theatre study intersect. Michael has taught and performed improvisation for Philly Improv Theatre; written full-length and one-act plays performed in New York City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and a few other places; written books, chapters, and articles on theatre history, class development, and economics; and worn at least two really silly-looking wigs onstage (possibly three).
Publications and Creative Research
Books
Class Divisions on the Broadway Stage: The Staging and Taming of the I.W.W. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
Broadway and Corporate Capitalism: The Rise of the Professional-Managerial Class 1900-1920. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Nominated for ASTR Barnard Hewitt Award 2010.
Journal Articles
“’I’m a Pretty Squid, Mama’: The Ongoing Self-Referential Legacy of Gypsy.” Critical Stages, The International Association of Theatre Critics [IATC] Journal June 2021: Issue No. 23.
Book Chapters
“Art Isn’t Easy (and Neither is Commerce): The Musical Stays in the Money.” In Routledge Companion to Musical Theatre, eds. Laura MacDonald and Ryan Donovan. New York: Routledge, 2022.
“The Twin Menaechmi” and “Glengarry Glen Ross.” In How to Teach a Play: Essential Exercises for Popular Plays. Eds. Miriam Chirico and Kelly Younger. New York: Bloomsbury, 2020
“Systemic Vaudeville and Systematic Farce: The Unlikely Team of Taylor and Schmidt.” In Performing the Progressive Era: Immigration, Urbanism, and Nationalism on Stage 1890-1920. Eds. Max Shulman and Chris Westgate. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 2019.