Michael John Ciszewski (he/him) (creator/performer) is a queer actor and writer born, raised, and returned to New York City after launching his career in Boston and London. He is thrilled to return to the Mosesian Center for the Arts after making his professional stage debut here in New Rep Theatre’s 2012 production of Holiday Memories and returning last February as a centerpiece performer for Love Weekend.
Celebrated as “one of the most promising young actors on the Boston theatre scene” by digBoston, he has performed for all of Boston’s theaters including The Huntington, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, SpeakEasy Stage, the Umbrella Theatre, and Hub Theatre Company of Boston.
Ciszewski’s solo work, cited as “required queer viewing” by comedy duo BAPHTA, is rooted in queerness and healing and gleefully journeys across genres from stand-up and storytelling to collective ritual. His debut Everyone is Dying and So Am I premiered in July 2019 and has since enjoyed sold-out performances with Boston’s Open Theatre Project and Manhattan's Theatre Row and United Solo Theatre Festival—spotlighting the best in international solo performance. It was subsequently nominated for the festival’s audience award. His second effort The Sun is Sleeping, a full-length film composed at the start of the pandemic era, was screened in virtual theatrical events from late 2020 into 2021 and is now available to stream online. His hit third solo show Lovefool premiered in 2022 and has since played to over 800 people in venues ranging from proscenium and black box theatres to comedy clubs and festival stages in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, Provincetown, Jersey City, and beyond. Lovefool will continue to tour through 2024.
In the meantime, Ciszewski has launched his fourth solo show Michael John Remembers Everything—an hour of stand-up comedy on sobriety, sex, and profound stupidity that critics say “delivers vulnerability and authenticity along with absolute gay nonsense”—with a return to Brooklyn’s Pete’s Candy Store set for February 29.
Michael is a member of the staff of ArtsEmerson at Emerson College’s Office of the Arts. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and is a proud graduate of Boston University’s B.F.A. Theatre Arts program.
More Information: xomichaeljohn.com | @xomichaeljohn