Artistic director & co-founder of The Gift Theatre, Michael was most recently seen onstage as King Richard III in The Gift Theatre's production of RICHARD III at Steppenwolf in a historic production where Thornton became the first actor to ever act onstage while wearing a robotic exoskeleton. Other recent stage credits include Iago in Othello at The Gift Theatre and in Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 50th anniversary production of Our Town and onstage at The Gift in the world premiere of Hinderaker's Joseph Jefferson Award-nominated Dirty. Previous stage credits: U.S. premiere of Absolute Hell at The Gift Theatre directed by fellow Gift ensemble member Sheldon Patinkin and the Midwest premiere of Will Eno’s Middletown at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, directed by Les Waters. Directing credits at The Gift: the world premiere of Gift Ensemble Member David Rabe's Good For Otto, War of the Worlds, the Chicago Premiere of Gift Ensemble Member Will Eno's Oh, The Humanity (and other exclamations) Prairie View, Night & Her Stars, Stop/Kiss; Santa's Great American Depression Holiday Show! America; White People; Three Sisters; Long Day's Journey Into Night; Hurlyburly (Joseph Jefferson Award: Actor In Leading Role); A Young Man In Pieces; Language Of Angels; County Fair; and Orestes 2.0. Elsewhere: Of Mice and Men (Steppenwolf) the World Premieres of Sean Graney's IS N UR B1UDS7REEM...and Mark Harvey Levine's LA 8AM (Collaboraction) and Picasso At The Lapin Agile (Noble Fool). Michael was a very grateful assistant director on Steppenwolf's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning August: Osage County. A Joseph Jefferson Award-winning actor, Michael was honored with a Jeff Nomination for his performance in The Gift's World Premiere of ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker's Suicide, Incorporated. Other acting at The Gift: Will Eno's Brief Study of an Endless Thing and David Rabe's It's Just The Moon (TEN: 2013, 2012) The Ruby Sunrise, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,
