Mike comes to us from Cirque du Soleil O at the Bellagio where he spent the last 16 years in the Rigging Department. He began with O as a Lead Rigger for Maintenance and quickly moved up to Assistant Head of Rigging. In early 2019 he was promoted to Department Supervisor of Rigging at O.

Mike has spent some of his free time teaching an “Intro to Technical Theatre” class at a local community college. He has taught at UNLV and has been a guest lecturer for previous engagements at Purdue, North Carolina School of the Arts, Chapman University, and other institutions.

Prior to Cirque du Soleil Mike worked for Royal Caribbean International on several of their ships for about 3 years as an Entertainment Rigging Specialist. He ran production shows, performed maintenance, and handled all the “Flying by Foy” equipment. He also participated in the commissioning of Royal Caribbean’s “Radiance of the Seas” and “Navigator of the Seas.”

Throughout his career Mike has also worked with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Peter Britt Music and Arts festival, the Lied Center, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Mike has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southern Oregon State College in Technical Direction and a Master of Fine Arts in Technical Direction from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.