Michael Burgos is a theater maker who’s been presenting work around the world since 2014.
A 15-time internationally award-winning writer and performer, he most notably won Best Comedy at the Adelaide Fringe in Australia — the second-largest performing arts festival in the world. Most recently, he was a 2023 Helen Hayes Award Nominee for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play.
He performed his first one-person show, The Eulogy, 210 times worldwide — in 36 cities across 11 time zones; and his second one-person show, Tiramisu, 49 times internationally — in 10 cities across 5 time zones.
His passions also include directing, teaching, and mentoring. As a Lead Teacher with Acting For Young People, Michael has written and directed more than 50 short plays for children, and has taught acting to more than 2,500 students. Many of his students have gone on to study drama at prestigious institutions, including NYU, Carnegie Mellon, and RADA; and several former students have returned to Acting For Young People and become teaching assistants with Michael.
He has also led acting workshops for:
high schoolers in Indiana and Utah;
college students at George Mason University, Gettysburg College, The University of Scranton, and Northern Virginia Community College;
and adults in Washington, DC, Scranton, PA, and Toronto, ON.
Michael has:
been a guest speaker for playwriting at George Mason University;
served as a Playwriting Mentor for Acting For Young People’s 6th Annual Student Playwright Festival;
been a guest speaker for acting for the camera at George Mason University;
been a guest speaker for theater-making at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah; and has
served as a guest coach for GMU’s improv troupe, the Mason Improv Association.
Michael studied acting on the outskirts of Paris, France with Philippe Gaulier, and in Washington, DC with Dody DiSanto — a teaching protégé of the late Jacques Lecoq. He also studied clown extensively with Giovanni Fusetti (Italy / another teaching protégé of the late Jacques Lecoq), Aitor Basauri (Spain), Christopher Bayes (Yale), Carlo Jacucci (Italy), Philip Burgers (United States), Jon Davison (England), Lucy Hopkins (England), Deanna Fleysher (United States), and Jet Eveleth (Clown Church LA). He holds a Diplôme in Théâtre from École Philippe Gaulier and a B.A. in Theater from George Mason University, where he was a founding member of the Mason Improv Association. He also holds a B.M. from Berklee College of Music and toured with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.
