Michael J. Bobbitt is an American playwright, director, choreographer, and performing arts leader based in Boston. He will become executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council on February 1, 2021. Bobbitt was the artistic director of

Adventure Theatre Adventure Theatre is the longest-running children's theatre in the Washington, D.C. area. Located in Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Vi ...

-MTC, the longest-running children's theater in the Washington metropolitan area, for 12 years before becoming artistic director of the

New Repertory Theatre The New Repertory Theatre (New Rep) is a Boston-area regional theater A regional theater or resident theater in the United States is a professional or semi-professional theater company that produces its own seasons. The term ''regional theater'' ...

in greater Boston on August 1, 2019. Bobbitt's work has been recognized frequently as both a nominee and a recipient of the annual

Helen Hayes Awards The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

for excellence in theater.

Career

After joining Adventure Theatre as artistic director in 2007, Bobbitt transitioned the organization from a volunteer-run community theater to a nationally recognized leading children’s theater and training academy, ATMTC Academy. Under his direction, the company grew from 15,000 patrons to more than 100,000 and received more than 50 Helen Hayes Award nominations and eight awards. He guided Adventure Theatre through its 2012 merger with Musical Theatre Center, which created the new entity, Adventure Theatre-MTC. Bobbitt has commissioned and premiered more than 50 new plays for young audiences. He has co-authored or adapted several stories for the stage, including ''

Mirandy and Brother Wind ''Mirandy and Brother Wind'' is a 1988 children's picture book by Patricia McKissack and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is about a girl, Mirandy, who attempts to catch the wind so he will be her partner for the upcoming junior cakewalk. Recepti ...

'', ''Bob Marley's Three Little Birds'', ''Caps for Sale'', ''Garfield the Musical with Cattitude'', and ''Jumanji''. He has also overseen the development of ATMTC Academy, the theater's conservatory and pre-professional training program for young people. In addition to his work at Adventure Theatre-MTC and New Repertory, Bobbitt has directed or choreographed productions at

Arena Stage Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...

, Ford’s Theatre,

The Shakespeare Theatre The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the Shakespeare canon, but its seasons include works by other classic playwrights such as Euripides, ...

Studio Theatre A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provoking. ...

, Center Stage,

Roundhouse Theatre The Roundhouse Theatre is a theatre-in-the-round located in the Kelvin Grove Urban Village, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is Australia's only purpose-built theatre in the round. The building is owned by Queensland University of Technolog ...

, Rorshach Theatre Company, Strathmore,

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

and

Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performa ...

. His national and international credits include the NY Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, La Jolla Playhouse, Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and 1996 Olympics. A focus of Bobbitt's work has been to reach out to underserved populations and increase cultural diversity in theater for young children. He has been an innovator in offering

Sensory friendly Sensory friendly is a designed environment which is an accommodation for people who have a sensory dysfunction or a sensory processing disorder. There are sensory friendly experiences which are offered by businesses and there is also sensory fri ...

performances for children with autism. He mounted Adventure Theatre's first sensory friendly performance—a production of ''If You Give a Mouse a Cookie''—in 2008. Bobbitt, a Helen Hayes Awards nominee and recipient, co-hosted the Helen Hayes Award ceremony in 2018. In August, 2019, Bobbitt will join the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA as their new artistic director.

Early life and training

Bobbitt is a native of Washington, D.C., one of five sons of an auto mechanic and a financial manager. He was educated in D.C. public schools through eighth grade, and then attended

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 16 ...

, graduating in the class of 1990. He attended

Susquehanna University Susquehanna University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Its name is derived from the original Susquehannock settlers of the region. Founded in 1858 as a m ...

in Pennsylvania on an academic and trumpet scholarship, and moved to New York after one year to study at the

Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served a ...

. He also trained at

Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington DC. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day, and has been under the artistic directorship of Julie Kent since 2016. Septime Webre was artistic director for ...

American Musical and Dramatic Academy The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is a private conservatory for the performing arts located in New York City and Los Angeles, California. The conservatory offers both Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and two-year certificates in prof ...

, and

Cap21 The Citizenship, Action, Participation for the 21st Century (french: Citoyenneté, action, participation pour le e siècle) was a minor green liberal political party in France, founded by Corinne Lepage in 1996 as a political reflection club. ...

."For Michael Bobbitt, all the world is a stage for children's theater," DeNeen Brown, ''Washington Post'', April 29, 2011. Found at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/for-michael-bobbitt-all-the-world-is-a-stage-for-childrens-theater/2011/04/25/AFpWUIFF_story.html

Honors and civic activities

2015: Excel Leadership Award from the Center for Nonprofit Advancement 2015: Maryland Theatre Guide Person of the Year Award 2010: County Executive’s Excellence in the Arts and Humanities – Emerging Leader Award Board member, Rockville (Maryland) Chamber of Commerce Board member, The Nonprofit Village

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobbitt, Michael J. Living people American dramatists and playwrights American choreographers African-American theater directors American theatre directors Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American writers