Michael Thomas Cain

Michael Thomas Cain

Michael Thomas Cain is a writer, director, producer, and sometimes actor living in New York City.

Michael is an award winning filmmaker, and movies that he has written and directed have been official selections and screened at prominent international film festivals.

Michael's short screenplay "Killing The Small Family Farmer" has been recognized at these film...
Michael Thomas Cain is a writer, director, producer, and sometimes actor living in New York City.

Michael is an award winning filmmaker, and movies that he has written and directed have been official selections and screened at prominent international film festivals.

Michael's short screenplay "Killing The Small Family Farmer" has been recognized at these film festivals:

-2th Place Winner-Best Short Drama (Screenplay). The 25nd Indie Gathering International Film Festival. Westlake, Ohio. 2020.
-Finalist (Screenplay). Hollywood Just4Shorts Film and Screenplay Competition. Hollywood, California. 2022.
-Finalist-Best Short Drama (Screenplay). Las Vegas International Film and Screenwriting Festival. Las Vegas, Nevada. 2020.
-Nominee-Best Short Screenplay Drama (Screenplay). Austin Revolution Film Festival. Austin, Texas. 2020.
-Official Selection (Screenplay). New York Script Awards. New York, New York. 2022.
-Official Selection (Screenplay). Chicago Script Awards. Chicago, Illinois. 2022.

In the spring of 2022, Michael wrote, directed, and produced his one-act play "Not Approved For Cancer Treatment" as part of the New York Theater Festival.
Broadway World: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Not-Approved-For-Cancer-Treatment-to-Open-at-The-New-York-Theater-Festival-20220410

Also, in 2017, Michael directed and produced FIFTEEN MINUTES WITH ELLEN, written by Andrew Selig, as part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.
Review: https://dramaqueensreviews.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/a-powerful-fifteen-minutes/

In recent years, Michael wrote and directed WHERE ART LIVES (performed at UNDER St. Marks Theater) and “Eliminated” (performed at Manhattan Repertory Theatre) for the stage, and he directed two Marlin Thomas plays titled “I Never Heard Such Silence” (performed at Manhattan Repertory Theatre and the 13th Street Repertory Theatre) and “Germaine and Diane” (performed at the Jewel Box Theater as part of the Midtown International Theatre Festival). In 2012, Michael wrote, directed, and produced ENOUGH’S ENOUGH at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club as part of the NY International Fringe Festival.
Review: http://www.nytheatre.com/Content/fringenyc2012-enoughs-enough

In addition, Michael is the founder of Forgotten Artist Productions and has earned an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Adelphi University and a B.A. in Communications/Theatre from Augusta College.
Forgotten Artist Productions Website: http://www.forgottenartistproductions.com/

In addition to his creative pursuits, Michael is a college/university educator in and around New York City.

Michael is also a member of The Dramatists Guild of America.

Plays

  • Christmas Consequences: Life on the Naughty List
    Lance Long works for THE Santa Claus and delivers coal to all of the naughty little boys and girls on Christmas Eve as his punishment for being the Roman soldier who nailed Jesus Christ to the cross all those years ago. One Christmas Eve, Lance returns to the North Pole only to realize that he missed one name on his naughty list. Lance is forced to return to the 1% estate of Ronald Stump in order to place coal...
    Lance Long works for THE Santa Claus and delivers coal to all of the naughty little boys and girls on Christmas Eve as his punishment for being the Roman soldier who nailed Jesus Christ to the cross all those years ago. One Christmas Eve, Lance returns to the North Pole only to realize that he missed one name on his naughty list. Lance is forced to return to the 1% estate of Ronald Stump in order to place coal into the stocking of Little Bianca Stump before the Christmas magic wears off and tradition is broken. While completing his task, Lance is confronted with earthly greed and evil and becomes trapped on earth. Lance learns that more people will end up on the naughty list compared to the nice list in the very near future, and once this happens, there will be no opportunity to reverse it; the common courtesy, traditions, and moral humanity that society was founded on will be lost forever as a result of the overwhelming isolation and greed being bred by technology, social media, and rapidly changing advancements. Lance is called upon to reverse this fate before it’s too late, and if he can get Little Bianca Stump back on the nice list, the rest will follow and humanity will be restored. Lance jumps at the chance to be relieved of his coal duties. Travel with Lance as he maneuvers through this impossible task and comes in contact with Joe and Mary who have no room at their motel for him on Christmas Eve, a Salvation Army Santa who Lance mistakes for the real Santa, a Godly voice that comes from a burning bush, a ghost from a Christmas past, a pair of talking dogs who show Lance how easy it is to communicate, and a gospel choir who puts on a show that will knock your socks off. Will Lance Long save the future state of humanity, or will all be lost forever? CHRISTMAS CONSEQUENCES: LIFE ON THE NAUGHTY LIST is a funny and touching journey filled with all of the sights, sounds, and traditions that we’ve come to recognize during the holiday season.
  • Enough's Enough!
    Man and Woman have lost any recognizable identity and are trapped in an office space 24/7 for years. They are not allowed to do anything other than work in confinement. After thirty years of this, Man has lost hope and wonders if he'll ever be allowed out. Woman has only been in the environment for ten years, and she clings to the hope that there's more to life than survival. The two try to find a...
    Man and Woman have lost any recognizable identity and are trapped in an office space 24/7 for years. They are not allowed to do anything other than work in confinement. After thirty years of this, Man has lost hope and wonders if he'll ever be allowed out. Woman has only been in the environment for ten years, and she clings to the hope that there's more to life than survival. The two try to find a human connection with each other because they can’t stomach the loneliness and isolation anymore, but doing anything other than work has consequences. Enough's Enough! is a strange, grotesque, and absurd look at corporate greed's exploitations. Will they make the ultimate choice?

    Review: http://www.nytheatre.com/Content/fringenyc2012-enoughs-enough
  • Eliminated
    A working class couple is brought in by a soldier for routine questioning, but as they move through this strange and absurd situation, the married couple find out that they are in the hot seat as a result of new government laws. How close are you to being eliminated?
  • Where Art Lives
    Can a family survive a lifetime of lies or will it crumble like the broken down blue collar factory town around them? WHERE ART LIVES takes its audience on a twisted ride with a family who is trying to keep its head above water while everything they know and the life they have built can be taken from them at any moment. The play explores how the economic downfall of middle America effects everyone around it....
    Can a family survive a lifetime of lies or will it crumble like the broken down blue collar factory town around them? WHERE ART LIVES takes its audience on a twisted ride with a family who is trying to keep its head above water while everything they know and the life they have built can be taken from them at any moment. The play explores how the economic downfall of middle America effects everyone around it. Follow Art (Husband and Father) and his family’s struggles in WHERE ART LIVES.
  • Restructuring
    A middle-aged employee who works with machines leaves his job on Friday, but he returns on Monday morning to find that the company has a young, new owner and the warehouse is completely empty except for one piece of modern, advanced technology. The employer expects the employee to continue working there with this symbol of progress, but the employee has no knowledge, skill, and interest when it comes to current...
    A middle-aged employee who works with machines leaves his job on Friday, but he returns on Monday morning to find that the company has a young, new owner and the warehouse is completely empty except for one piece of modern, advanced technology. The employer expects the employee to continue working there with this symbol of progress, but the employee has no knowledge, skill, and interest when it comes to current technology. Modern technology divides these representations of the past and future that have a difficult time communicating with and understanding each other. Mixing comedy and drama, Restructuring is a slightly absurd play that asks, is technology moving too fast, are some people and hundreds of years of progress being left behind and forgotten, and is technology conditioning how we work and function as a society? What will be the end result when the employer pushes the employee to perform work that he was not hired to do?
  • For All The Wrong Reasons
    Mark and Leslie are in a new, romantic relationship, but they're in it for all the wrong reasons. As much as they both desire to cure their individual loneliness and emptiness, Mark and Leslie's connection is extremely rocky as a result of the past being close at hand. For All The Wrong Reasons is a psychological drama that slowly unfolds with shocking surprises as these two attempt to navigate their...
    Mark and Leslie are in a new, romantic relationship, but they're in it for all the wrong reasons. As much as they both desire to cure their individual loneliness and emptiness, Mark and Leslie's connection is extremely rocky as a result of the past being close at hand. For All The Wrong Reasons is a psychological drama that slowly unfolds with shocking surprises as these two attempt to navigate their unhealthy intimacy. Will they end the madness, or will they choose to stay together out of fear of being alone?

  • Not Approved For Cancer Treatment
    A husband and wife are faced with talking about cancer treatment options with their doctor. Thankfully, the doctor presents them with a few promising options for healing. Slightly absurd but very realistic, what happens when corporate and government greed stand in the way of getting what you need to survive?
  • When In God's Country, Hide In The Closet
    While Francis and Honoré attempt to enjoy each other’s company in the Bible belt, they're careful to hide at a corner table of a restaurant on a Monday night for social and professional reasons. What will be the fate of this gay couples love during a time and place that is not accepting?
  • Making Up For The Past
    After years of living a charmed but an unhappy life in the big city, a man returns to his small hometown to seek an old girlfriend. While there, he ends up spending the night talking with his old best friend at a dive bar which conjures up the past, regret, and the truth.