Paul Michael Thomson

Paul Michael Thomson

Paul Michael Thomson is a Chicago-based theatre artist and interdisciplinary scholar who always texts back. His plays have been produced by Good Company Theatre, Definition Theatre, Live Theatre Workshop, Theatre L'Acadie, Avalanche Theatre, The Impostors Theatre Co., Other Theatre Company, Chicago Children's Theatre, Young Actors Theatre of Indiana, North Central College, Arc Theatre, Arizona...
Paul Michael Thomson is a Chicago-based theatre artist and interdisciplinary scholar who always texts back. His plays have been produced by Good Company Theatre, Definition Theatre, Live Theatre Workshop, Theatre L'Acadie, Avalanche Theatre, The Impostors Theatre Co., Other Theatre Company, Chicago Children's Theatre, Young Actors Theatre of Indiana, North Central College, Arc Theatre, Arizona Repertory Theatre, and The Story Theatre, of which he is a founding ensemble member. He is currently under commission as the playwright-in-residence at Raven Theatre.
Paul Michael is pursuing his PhD in Afro-American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona, earning a BFA in Acting, a BA in Africana Studies, and minors in Spanish and Art History. He has trained as a playwright under Elaine Romero, Chicago Dramatists, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, and his seventh grade English teacher.

Plays

  • brother sister cyborg space by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: environmental activism, environmental justice + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, science fiction
    Keyword: environmental activism, environmental justice, Artificial Intelligence (AI), billionaires, A Family drama
    In the too-close-for-comfort future, an environmental justice organizer named Giselle and her billionaire baby brother Elon are (unsurprisingly) at odds. She believes the earth and her people are worth saving; he marvels at the potential in starting over somewhere new. Meanwhile, his virtual assistant Ava has some very nuanced opinions of her own. (Who programmed her to talk so much?!) Set against the backdrop...
    In the too-close-for-comfort future, an environmental justice organizer named Giselle and her billionaire baby brother Elon are (unsurprisingly) at odds. She believes the earth and her people are worth saving; he marvels at the potential in starting over somewhere new. Meanwhile, his virtual assistant Ava has some very nuanced opinions of her own. (Who programmed her to talk so much?!) Set against the backdrop of a rapidly-accelerating climate crisis, brother sister cyborg space explores political divisions within families, an expanding definition of humanity, and what we'll do when time runs out.
  • What a Time to Be Alive (You Say That Every Time) by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: American politics, Politics + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: American politics, Politics, campaign, interracial friendship, American race relations and racism, early 2000s, election
    It’s 2004, and a state senator named Barack Hussein Obama is running to represent Illinois in the United States Senate. On the South Side of Chicago, his field team includes: Dan, a hot, smart white guy (“politically incorrect”); Clark, a spritely base coverer; and Porsche, an environmentalist who loves humanity but is meh on humans. When newcomer Aisha joins the team, her candor, quick smile, and...
    It’s 2004, and a state senator named Barack Hussein Obama is running to represent Illinois in the United States Senate. On the South Side of Chicago, his field team includes: Dan, a hot, smart white guy (“politically incorrect”); Clark, a spritely base coverer; and Porsche, an environmentalist who loves humanity but is meh on humans. When newcomer Aisha joins the team, her candor, quick smile, and comfortability with voters rocket her to the top of the organizing food chain. But how will the other members of her team react to this fast ascent? Can white men cede power when they really, really think they deserve it? And, dear God, will Mr. Obama win his Senate race?!
  • Fremont Junior High Is NOT Doing Oklahoma! by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: drama class, Oklahoma! + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, melodrama, political, satire
    Keyword: drama class, Oklahoma!, theatre class, queer teens, identity politics, adults as teens, junior high
    Fourteen-year-old queer boy Chrysanthemum is the endearing know-it-all serving as president of the Drama Club Council and is based on no playwright in particular. His best friend is Vice President Phylicia, a coloratura soprano in every way. (If you’ve ever done musical theatre, you know what I'm talking about!!) They are best best friends, okay? They comment on each other’s posts out of desire, not...
    Fourteen-year-old queer boy Chrysanthemum is the endearing know-it-all serving as president of the Drama Club Council and is based on no playwright in particular. His best friend is Vice President Phylicia, a coloratura soprano in every way. (If you’ve ever done musical theatre, you know what I'm talking about!!) They are best best friends, okay? They comment on each other’s posts out of desire, not obligation. But when FJHS announces the spring musical will be Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, our protagonists rift. Shoot! Now one of them is the antagonist. But which one?!
    Phylicia wants to star in Oklahoma! as Laurey Williams. Having a Black girl take on this iconic lead role in a classic American musical will make a statement—and she’s the only one qualified for the job. But Chrys wants to scrap the musical altogether: it’s too problematic, providing a revisionist history that not only degrades womxn, but completely erases and forgives the atrocities done to the Native American folx from whom the territory was stolen. “We know we belong to the land/ and the land we belong to is grand”? Bullshit! That land was not theirs!
    The six members of the Drama Club Council must come to a vote by the end of the week, and right now it’s 50-50. How far will Phylicia and Chrys go to get their ways? Will Chrys resort to blackmailing Zac & Jack, Cutest Couple™ for three years running? Will Phylicia betray their ten-year friendship for the chance at a role? And where the eff is their teacher?!
  • The G.O.A.T., or Who Is Ximone? by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: gymnastics, Olympics + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: gymnastics, Olympics, Girls and Sports, female friendship, competition, female competition
    When the Phenomenal Four arrive in Stockholm for the 2020 Summer Olympics, they feel the world is at their feet. After all, they’ve got the Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T.), Ximone, to lead them to gymnastics glory. But when second-best Dougy starts having visions (of Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan, no less!), the seed of sabotage is planted. Will the team be able to stick the dismount of competition, or will they fall from grace?
  • Artemis Books & the Well-Meaning Man by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: adult women best friends, womxn + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, melodrama
    Keyword: adult women best friends, womxn, feminist, activism, local business, patriarchy, Greek mythology, reclaiming greek myths
    Regina (Reggie) runs a femme-centric feminist bookstore in Tucson, AZ. Artemis Books is a safe space for queer people, free expression, and womxn of all kinds. When her boss unexpectedly jumps ship, Reggie is stuck with a new-hire: straight, white, cisgender JJ. Workplace romances, existential anxieties, and some questionable spell casting abound as Reggie tries to reclaim her safe space. Does identity have to...
    Regina (Reggie) runs a femme-centric feminist bookstore in Tucson, AZ. Artemis Books is a safe space for queer people, free expression, and womxn of all kinds. When her boss unexpectedly jumps ship, Reggie is stuck with a new-hire: straight, white, cisgender JJ. Workplace romances, existential anxieties, and some questionable spell casting abound as Reggie tries to reclaim her safe space. Does identity have to influence ideology? Does colonialism ever stop? And what in the actual hell is a “good guy”?
  • (and i feel fine) by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, satire
    ·
    Keyword: Chicago Theatre, climate crisis + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, satire
    Keyword: Chicago Theatre, climate crisis, Los Angeles, Chicago, contemporary New York City, actors, end of the world
    It's the end of the world as we know it. Climate crisis has decimated the coasts of the former United States of America. So what happens to all the actors living in New York and LA? They move to Chicago and meet with the top artistic director of a certain totally-fictional, not-based-off-of-anything-in-real-life ensemble-based theatre.
    In this biting-but-not-bitter theatrical satire, no one is safe...
    It's the end of the world as we know it. Climate crisis has decimated the coasts of the former United States of America. So what happens to all the actors living in New York and LA? They move to Chicago and meet with the top artistic director of a certain totally-fictional, not-based-off-of-anything-in-real-life ensemble-based theatre.
    In this biting-but-not-bitter theatrical satire, no one is safe: not New York film actors; not LA improvisers; not even Chicago's Laurie Metcalf. (No matter how many Broadway shows she does, she is STILL OURS.)
  • Leave Me Alone! by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    10
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Anton Chekhov, Chekhov Adaptation + 7 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: Anton Chekhov, Chekhov Adaptation, Chekhov, LGBTQ, identity, mental illness, suicide, contemporary adaptation, Politics
    Nik Ivanov is broke. His wife is dying. He’s losing his bid for reelection. And he might be gay. But at least he has his looks! Leave Me Alone! is a contemporary, queer adaptation of Anton Chekhov's most unloved play, Ivanov. It’s about labels, identity, advice, Chekhov’s gun, and how none of that matters when you’re depressed…except perhaps the gun.
  • SAME SECTS! by Paul Michael Thomson
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: american race relations, white privilege + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: american race relations, white privilege, gay romance, political protest, liberalism, misguided liberalism
    Hooking up is supposed to be fun, but in the Age of Trump, even the extremely personal becomes overtly political. SAME SECTS! is a play about assumption, identity, intimacy, and what happens when they share a bed.