Playwright Talkback

THIS WEEKEND | Michael Bobbitt, playwright of “Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds,” is back this season with “Make Way For Ducklings.” Join us for a talkback this Saturday, April 22 at 2pm with Michael and director Nick Bazo, facilitated by Artistic Director Jeff Revels. This event is free with your ticket to “Make Way for Ducklings: The Musical” (get yours HERE).

Michael Bobbitt (Playwright) is the former Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre (2007 – 2019) in Maryland and New Repertory Theatre in Massachusetts (2019-2021). Currently, he is the Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council, the highest ranking government official for arts and culture in the state of Massachusetts. A published playwright, his plays include Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds (nominated for The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical by the Helen Hayes Awards), Garfield, the Musical with Cattitude, Jumanji (Nominated for Outstanding Play or Musical Adaptation by the Helen Hayes Awards), Caps for Sale, Blueberries for Sal, Bingo Long and the Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, The Yellow Rose of Texas, Mirandy and Brother Wind, Say It Ain’t So, The Stephen Schwartz Project, and Tam’s Two Dads. For the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre, he has revised How Old Is a Hero?, Black Diamond, and Going the Distance. Additionally, he adapted Big, the musical into a Theatre for Young Audience version (published by Musical Theatre International) and the redux of Broadway’s After Midnight (Published by Broadway Publishing). Currently, he’s working The Lil’ Flo and Big Moe Show!, a Radio play commissioned by Hartford Stage, Monster Mash – A New Musical adaptation of the song, and Our Gang and adaptation of the Hal Roach short films. He studied creative writing and music at Susquehanna University and theater and dance at The Washington Ballet, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and NY University’s Tisch School of the Arts (Cap 21). As a writer, his work has been accepted in the 2006 NYC International Fringe Festival, The New York Musical Theatre Festival. His new musicals, Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds and Caps for Sale appeared at the New Victory Theatre in NYC. He is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Recently, he received the 2023 Kennedy Center Gold Medallion from KC American College Theatre Festival and was invested in the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.

Nick Bazo (Director) is a Cuban American director, professor, teaching artist, and arts administrator originally from South Florida. He is an adjunct professor at UCF and UF and currently works with the Renaissance Theatre and The William Daniel Mills Theatre Company. He was most recently the Director of Education at Garden Theatre, where he directed the mainstage production of On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. He recently directed Water by the Spoonful at Rollins College. Previously he worked in Boston as the Director of Programs for The Theater Offensive and ran the True Colors: OUT Youth Theater Program for LGBTQ Youth. At Orlando Family Stage, he worked as a teaching artist, actor and director where he performed in Wiley and the Hairyman and I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Nick has an MFA in Theater from UCF, a BA in Theatre from Rollins College, and holds a Youth Development Training Certificate from The BEST Initiative. Additionally, he studied with nationally renowned artists including Tectonic Theatre Project, Fringe Benefits Theatre, Double Edge Theater, and Michael Rohd. He was a member of the board of directors for American Alliance for Theatre and Education and the Pride Youth Theater Alliance. Nick received the 2014 Wesley V. Montgomery Memorial Mentorship and Leadership Initiative award from the National Performance Network. This award funded an artistic exchange trip to his family’s native Cuba.

Jeffrey M. Revels (Artistic Director) has directed many productions at Orlando Family Stage including The SpongeBob Musical, Pete The Cat; How I Became a Pirate; Junie B. Jones Is Not A Crook; Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt; The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical; Rock The Presidents; Harry Connick, Jr.’s The Happy Elf; and Orphie and the Book of Heroes. He directed Florida tours of The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful (and Her Dog!) and Katie Couric’s The Brand New Kid. Jeff recently did some writing and consulting for Universal Orlando, Dollywood, and Dolly Parton. He wrote/co-directed large-scale stage spectaculars for the city of Manaus, Brazil, and wrote/directed digital films seen daily at Okada Resort in Manila, Philippines. Jeff received the Alumni Professional Achievement Award from Winthrop University and was spotlighted by the Orlando Sentinel as one of Central Florida’s Most Fascinating People and one of Ten People Who Make Orlando A Better Place To Live. He received a Distinguished Career award from Florida Theatre Conference. He serves on many arts committees and panels including for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Advisory Board of UCF’s Rosen College Entertainment Management Program. He served as Executive Producer for the Orlando Citrus Parade and is an Emmy-nominated writer for the National Cherry Blossom Festival Celebration & Parade, Nashville Christmas Spectacular, National Memorial Day Parade, American Valor: A Tribute To Our Military, and the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, all nationally syndicated. Jeff is the founder of Conway Cares, an initiative that provides food for 150+ schoolchildren each week that are struggling with food insecurity. In 2015, the City of Orlando proclaimed “Jeff Revels Day” to honor his work.