In honor of my late father and his work to encourage young people, every year we awarded a scholarship to a deserving theatermaker.

The number of talented and hardworking applicants we had was incredible – and choosing just one was harder than producing a Broadway show!

This deserving individual will receive a $1,000 grant to be used towards their theater education pursuits.

And it’s my pleasure to introduce you to this year’s recipient . . .

Michael Bailey

MFA Candidate in Performing Arts Management at Brooklyn College

What are Michael’s career goals/aspirations:

“I see myself as the nexus between the art itself and the business of the art. I’m a proud working multi-hyphenate artist and I’m amazed at how being immersed in the artistic underpinnings of a project can inform other aspects. From my perspective, the art itself and the business of the art are intrinsically linked; I’m working toward a career where I can successfully do both. 

In the short term, I would love to join the ATPAM union and get my master’s degree. In the long term, I have so much I want to accomplish, but overall, I want to cultivate a positive reputation in the industry where people know me as a person of good character and as a person who does great work. I firmly believe that one’s reputation and credibility are all we have in life and theater.”

How theater has impacted Michael’s life:

“As a person with a stutter, I never thought I had a place in the theater, especially with my early negative experience as an actor. The only theater my high school offered students was “acting.” It was very clear from teachers and my peers that this impediment affected daily operations. It got to a point where I just dropped out of it and pursued other areas of interest. I now know theater is more than just acting. Thank god! 

Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark was the first Broadway show my parents brought me to. Despite the reputation this show has in our industry, my family really enjoyed the production. We still remember elements of the performance to this day. That show helped me discover other productions like Avenue Q, [title of show], and The Book of Mormon which are the two shows that made me pursue a career in the arts. Even though I was way too young to listen or watch those shows, I knew I wanted to be a part of it somehow and that’s how I found refuge in being a composer and playwright because I didn’t have to speak. 

I am privileged to have met some amazing people, both inside and outside of theater, who were instrumental in helping me grow my confidence and encouraging me to use my voice. Truly, I’m in debt to these people. This confidence allowed me to not only better advocate for myself but also pursue opportunities. Working with TT Partners (formally known as Thompson Turner Productions) during the 2023-24 Broadway season allowed me to be under the tutelage of some of our industry’s best companies and general managers. Because of them, I am pursuing a Master’s in Performing Arts Management at Brooklyn College and I hope to be like them one day leading and cultivating new works to ensure the longevity of American theater.”

Praise for Michael:

“Michael is an eager and very smart young man. He asks all the right questions and continues to always be enthusiastic about working in the Theater Community. I was very happy with the work that he did within the TT Partners office during his internship.” -Shaun Moorman, Company Manager, The Book of Mormon

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If you’d like to help with my dad’s mission and support merging theatermakers, please click here.

Thank you to all of this year’s applicants and your thoughtful submissions.

Stay tuned for next year’s scholarship!