Michael J. Bobbitt Bio
Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council
Michael J. Bobbitt is a distinguished theater artist. As the Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council, he is the highest-ranking public official in Massachusetts state government focused on arts and culture. Since 2021, he has led the Agency through several initiatives, including the development of its first Racial Equity Plan, d/Deaf & Disability Equity and Access Plan, and Native American & Indigenous Equity Plan; the launch of the nation’s first statewide Social Prescribing Initiative; the securing and distribution of $60.1 million in pandemic relief funding; and the design and implementation of a strategic plan for fiscal years 2024-2026. Recently, Michael was listed as one of the Boston Business Journal’s Power 50 Movement Makers. He has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to serve on both the Governor’s Advisory Council on Black Empowerment and the newly established Massachusetts Cultural Policy Development Advisory Council, and he recently received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa from Dean College. He is a proud alumnus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
He previously served as Artistic Director of the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA; immediately prior to this he held the same position at the Adventure Theatre-MTC in Maryland for 12 years. While in Maryland Michael led the organization to be a respected regional theatre training company, and a nationally influential professional Theatre for Young Audiences.
Michael’s arts management training includes participation in Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management, The National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, and Cornell University’s Diversity and Inclusion Certification Program. He has also completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, YW Boston’s signature leadership program, LeadBoston, The Partnership, Inc.’s Next Generation Executives program, and the Civic Action Project’s CAP Collaborative. He has served as an Associate Professor of Theatre at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Howard University and served on the New England Foundation for the Arts Board of Directors from 2021 to 2023.
Michael is the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Kennedy Center Gold Medallion in recognition of his commitment to the arts and educational theatre. He was named one of Boston’s Most Influential Men of Color by Get Konnected!, invested into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre – one of the highest honors bestowed on American theater professionals, and recognized by Speak Out for his efforts to build a more inclusive cultural sector. Additionally, he is the recipient of MassOpera’s Action Bearing Award and OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center’s Sojourner Truth Award, and he was honored by the Greater Roxbury Arts & Cultural Center at its Juneteenth Jubilee in June 2024.
Michael has directed/choreographed at Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Center Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and the Washington National Opera. His national and international credits include the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, La Jolla Playhouse, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and the Olympics. As a writer his work was chosen for the NYC International Fringe Festival and The New York Musical Theatre Festival. He has plays published by Concord Theatricals/Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatricals, and Plays for Young Audiences. Michael has received the Excel Leadership Award (Center for Nonprofit Advancement), the Emerging Leader Award (County Executive’s Excellence in the Arts and Humanities), and Person of the Year Award (Maryland Theatre Guide).
Photo: Johnny/BTS Design Studio.
