Michael Rohd

Michael Rohd has been exploring the intersection of theatre and democracy for years with Sojourn Theatre and through his projects with collaborators and universities around the nation. He is founding artistic director of Sojourn Theatre in Portland, Oregon, a 2005 recipient of Americans for the Arts Animating Democracy Exemplar Award. His work there as creator/director/performer includes BUILT (presented as part of Portlands TBA 2008 Festival), GOOD (2008 Portland Drammy, Outstanding Production of the Season), The War Project (2005 Drammy, Best ensemble), 7 Great Loves (five 2003 Drammy awards including Best Production and Best Director), and Witness Our Schools (9 months of Oregon and national touring). Rohd is a recipient of Theatre Communication Groups 2001 New Generations Grant, and their 2002 Extended Collaboration Grant with Atlantas Alliance Theatre. An associate artist with Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles and an artistic associate with Ping Chong & Co in New York City, he is on faculty at Northwestern Universitys Theater Department with a focus on Devising Performance, Directing & Civic Engagement. His work has been supported by Ford Foundation, the NEA, Rockefellers MAP Fund, Doris Duke Foundation and Arts Councils in states around the nation. Recent projects as a creator and/or director include Chuck Mee's Full Circle at Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington DC and his own Wilson Wants it All at The House Theater in Chicago. Current projects include creating Oregon Shakespeare Festival's first company-devised, site-specific work titled Willful, a new Sojourn piece called On The Table and a commission at Kansas City Rep. He is author of the book Theatre for Community, Conflict, and Dialogue.