Michael Sidney Fosberg

Michael grew up just north of Chicago in Waukegan, Illinois where he first stepped on stage during high school.  During the summer of 1974 he attended the National High School Institute's Theater Arts Program on the campus of Northwestern University, or "Cherub's" as is affectionately referred to.  He then went on to study acting, directing, and writing at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, graduating with a BFA. It was while still attending school he founded the Small Change Original Theater; producing, writing, directing, and conducting workshops for kids of all ages throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, North & South Dakota.

Upon returning to the Chicagoland area in the early ‘80’s he appeared in shows at Steppenwolf, Remains, Wisdom Bridge, and the Goodman Theatres - working with such directors as John Malkovich, Gary Sinse, and Robert Falls - as well as co-founding the Huron Theater Ensemble.

A move to Los Angeles in the late ‘80’s had him appearing in television and film, while continuing his work with young students as the Director of Education for the Living Library Theatre, a stage combat instructor at the Buckley School, and a teacher  / director for the South Coast Repertory’s Young Actor’s Conservatory program. He also worked as a guest artist at the Sundance Institute’s summer residency program, teaching educators how to utilize drama in the classrooms.

Returning to Chicago in the late ‘90’s he wrote and directed much of the family entertainment at Navy Pier including their elaborately staged haunted house/play. 

Since 2000 he has been touring his autobiographical solo-show, Incognito, in various stages of development at; the Sundance Institute in June of 2000, The California African American Museum in Los Angeles in February 2001, the Mercury Theatre (backer's audition) April 2001, the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre for its theatrical premiere in the fall of 2001, the Apple Tree Theatre in February 2002, opening the season at the prestigious Missouri Repertory Theatre in Kansas City in September of 2002, the Goodman Theatre (backer's audition) November 2003, the Barrow Street Theatre New York (backer's audition) May 2004, the Woodstock Fringe Festival (In the Catskill Mountains of New York) 2006 & 2007, The Illinois Theatre Center in January 2007, Mad Anthony Theatre Co. April 2007, Pro-Arts Black Arts Festival October 2007, & the Cape May Stage New Jersey in November of 2007

During the summer of 2004 he returned to the "Cherub" program at Northwestern University as a teacher, and directed Lanford Wilson’s Balm and Gilead, and has returned each summer since directing, Thieve's Carnaval, The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, and Smooch Music.  For most of 2004 he also performed in one of the most unusual shows of his career, the critically acclaimed Job Opportunity. The play, set in a moving 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88, invited an audience of four into the back seat while the car navigated the streets of Chicago. He was an understudy in the world premier production of Arthur Miller’s Finishing the Picture at the Goodman Theatre, appeared in the world premier of FIRE by Alice Austen at the Prop Theatre, directed a one-woman piece -Please Stay Tuned and a one-man show -Planet of the Bisexuals. In the fall of 2006 he again understudied and assistant-directed the one-man show, Beyond Glory starring Stephen Lang at the Goodman Theatre, then appeared in Nathan The Wise as a part of the Chicago Festival of the Arts.  This past summer he again was invited to peform at the Woodstock Fringe in the world premier Backwards by Alice Austen.

He has now toured INCOGNITO to colleges, high schools, performing arts centers, festivals, and theaters all over the country and conducts workshops in race, diversity, identity, and theater related topics, while he finishes the memoir, INCOGNITO for Lawrence Hill Books, and participates in the filming of the documnetary about his life and play.