MEET MICHAEL
AWARD-WINNING WRITER, DIRECTOR & PRODUCER BASED IN LOS ANGELES.
I work in film, television, theatre, tech, experiential, and events. Got a project in outer space? I’d like to try that too.
I enjoy surprises. My favorite feelings are wonder and awe. I get excited by the quick breath and the elevated pulse that come from something new or unexpected. That’s why I enjoy playing with form and space.
I play with form by making stories participatory, blending fiction and non-fiction narratives, merging disciplines, involving communities, integrating new technologies with live events, blurring lines between theatre and experience, creating opportunities for social impact.
I play with space by invigorating the senses, building organic collision zones, unifying the digital and the tactile, integrating creative architecture and design, inspiring authentic emotional connections, facilitating safety and inclusion.
RECENT NEWS - WINTER, 2024
Michael is the director and co-creator of THAT’S A GAY ASS LIVE SHOW. The variety game show recently opened the New York Comedy Festival with Bowen Yang (SNL), Jessica Vosk (Wicked), and Chris Murphy (Vanity Fair.) The show will next play the NETFLIX IS A JOKE festival in May. The TV version, GAY OLYMPICS, is currently in development.
His latest film, the disco horror SNATCHED for 20th Digital Studio (Disney), stars Emmy Winner Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk), Brendan Hines (The Tick), and Misha Osherovich (Freaky.) Stream it now on Hulu. The film’s festival run kicked off in Spring ‘23 when it screened at the biggest horror film fest in the country, Overlook Film Festival, garnering the runner-up Audience Award for Best Short Film. It then played in competition at two Oscar-qualifying festivals over the Summer, Hollyshorts and Cinequest.
Michael has also been endorsed by Coverfly, the premiere platform for screenwriters around the world. His TV pilot SENIOR HIGH was featured on THE RED LIST, and placed as a TOP 5 FINALIST in Final Draft’s annual Big Break contest.
His debut novel, the YA mystery PROJECT WILD, was recently named by Launch Pad as one of the best unpublished manuscripts in the world.
He also produced the TikTok Shop Experience for Orca at Salesforce Connections in Chicago and VidCon in Anaheim throughout Summer ‘23.
Michael is currently in pre-production on his next film, the Queer Noir STRANGERS ON A BEACH, starring Jelani Alladin (Fellow Travelers), Zane Phillips (Fire Island), and Aimee Carrero (The Menu), rolling cameras Spring, 2024.
CURRENT WRITING PROJECTS INCLUDE
FOLLOW MY ADVENTURES
EXTENDED STORY
Michael Schwartz is a writer, director and producer, and the Founder and Creative Director of Boat Ashore Productions.
FILM & TV
As a filmmaker, Michael has directed narrative films, music videos, and docuseries. His latest film, SNATCHED, for 20th Digital Studio (Disney), starring Emmy Award Winner Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk), Brendan Hines (Locke And Key), and Misha Osherovich (Freaky), premiered on Hulu October, 2022 before playing Oscar-qualifying film festivals Hollyshorts and Cinequest. Entertainment Weekly featured it on their “What To Watch” list, and them, Condé Nast’s LGBTQ+ publication, called it, “The funniest horror short of the year.”
His award-winning short film, MONTANA, which Film Threat called “Breathtaking and Visually Compelling” and Indie Shorts Mag called “A Powerful Lesson in Hope,” premiered at The Brooklyn Film Festival before screening at SeriesFest in Denver and playing film and television festivals across the country. He collaborated with The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention to use the filmmaking process as a catalyst for dialogue, support, and education around teen mental health. The film won three Best Picture laurels, and is now available to rent, buy, or stream on Amazon Prime. He directed and produced the CONCRETE PARK docuseries for Curio, and music videos for Billboard charting pop duo Karmina with Academy Award nominated composer/producer John Powell (Solo: A Star Wars Story, How To Train Your Dragon), and Grammy Award Amplifier finalist Malynda Hale. His latest video for Malynda, GOD AND HIS GUN, was nominated for Music Video Of The Year at The Josie Awards - The Grammy Awards for independent musicians. He is currently in pre-production on his next narrative film, STRANGERS ON A BEACH.
TV projects in development as a creator include SENIOR HIGH (Featured on The Red List, Top 5 Finalist - Final Draft’s Big Break 2021), MONTANA (Finalist - Sundance New Voices Lab 2018 and Sundance Episodic Story Lab 2016), PAC HEIGHTS (Finalist - SeriesFest 2016), SPICE IT UP (formerly in development with Warner Music Group/Eko), GAY OLYMPICS (based on the hit stage show) and 8th DEADLY SIN. He is currently shopping his debut novel, PROJECT WILD (named by Launch Pad as one of the best unpublished manuscripts in the world.) Other writing includes extensive ghost writing and speeches made at The White House. He’s also been endorsed by Coverfly, the premiere platform for screenwriters around the world.
His still photography has been featured in the liner notes of music albums, on the jackets of New York Times best-selling books, in art galleries throughout SoHo, and on the headshot boards for Broadway Opening Nights.
THEATRE
As an award-winning theatre maker, he has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at Lincoln Center, and directed productions at some of the world’s most notable theatres, including The Old Vic in London, Yale University in New Haven, and the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He is the co-creator and director of THAT’S A GAY ASS LIVE SHOW, currently playing sold-out shows across the country. Additional credits include work with IAMA Theatre Company, The Magic Theatre, Boston Court, Antaeus Theatre Company, New World Stages, Skirball Center, The Flea, The Lark, NAMT, Fringe NYC, Sam French Festival, Midtown International Theatre Festival, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, and New York Theatre Barn, a non-profit incubator for new musicals, where he was Associate Artistic Director.
EVENTS & EXPERIENTIAL
He has directed many large-scale productions and events in non-traditional venues including The American Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Hall, The Plaza Hotel, The Rainbow Room, Google HQ, Microsoft HQ, Spotify HQ, AOL HQ, and the 4,000 seat Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre atop Mt. Tamalpais in California.
Additional work includes annual direction for THE TONY AWARDS events (Rainbow Room, Sofitel, The Plaza Hotel,) direction for The Golden Trailer Awards at the Orpheum Theatre in DTLA, producing the TIK TOK SHOP Experience at Salesforce Connections in Chicago and VidCon in Anaheim, annual galas for PENCIL, The YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund, and All Star Code, work at Art Basel Miami and Sleep No More NYC, direction for the Inbal Dror Fashion Show and Teens For Food Justice gala, and experiential direction, strategy, and programming of world-class talent for tech companies Better Spaces and Speakizi. For Better Spaces, Michael also created, programmed, produced and hosted the four-day virtual festival Better Work Week. Brand Activation + Management work includes Disney, HBO, Comic Con, Evian, King, Tribeca Film Festival, Pandora, Panasonic, Time Warner Cable, Nautica, Express, Banana Republic, and The Indie Beauty Expo.
Michael has also Assistant Directed large-scale theatrical productions for TV and Film, including RESTORING LOVE, broadcast live from the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and COMPANY, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, and Patti LuPone, at the NY Philharmonic, which was broadcast on PBS and distributed internationally by Screenvision in the largest platform ever for a filmed theatre production. He was the Assistant Musical Stager on the 2008 Broadway Revival of the Pulitzer-Prize winning SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, and most recently directed segments for THE TONY AWARDS telecast.
IMPACT
Additionally, Michael has an extensive background in the education and social impact spaces. In 2013, he helped launch ALL STAR CODE, a leading tech inclusion and education non-profit that bridges opportunity gaps for young men of color nationwide. And in 2008, he co-created THE TOMMY AWARDS, an evening of celebration, philanthropy and performance that continues to be held annually Off-Broadway in honor of the cultural contributions made by USC alumni in New York.
His work has been covered by Vanity Fair, Vogue, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, Bloomberg, Glamour, Elite Daily, PBS, BizBash, The San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times. He is a California Arts Scholar, a member of SDC, Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and Old Vic New Voices, an alumni of the USC Schools of Dramatic Arts and Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles and The British American Drama Academy in London, a lifelong vegetarian, and a cultural carnivore.
Full CV available upon request. For assorted musings, visit TheAdventureAddict.com.