Welcome To The Adventure Addict. My name is Mike. I am not an adrenaline junkie. But I am an adventure addict. Every day, I daydream endlessly about travel to far off places, cultural events across vast urban landscapes, and unique experiences that provide thrill, wonder, and great conversation changers when my Grandmother asks my brothers and me how soon she’s getting grandchildren. While this addiction has never felt truly detrimental to my health, unlike, say, my love for Ben & Jerry’s Blueberry Vanilla Graham Greek Frozen Yogurt, or, my hobby of ingesting knives, I think it has robbed me of something of value – finding adventure in the every day, and acknowledging wonder in the ordinary. So instead of a 12 step program, I have vowed to share 120 personal stories about every day adventure. From the hysterical to the heartwarming, from the mundane to the extraordinary. The Adventure Addict will be a compilation of short, true life stories, each presented with an accompanying personal photo. Through written and visual storytelling, it is my hope to create an interactive, engaging community – one that discovers and shares the extraordinary adventures that lie within every day life. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” -Helen Keller “Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.” - Unknown
I wrapped up 15 years in New York and moved back to LA. We got engaged and bought our first home. And after decades of dreaming, I finally made it to the Amalfi Coast.
I wrote, directed, produced and released my first studio film, premiered new music videos, edited my first novel, wrote new scripts, created new pitches, worked with several new clients, and other awesome things to share in the…
When I moved to New York fifteen years ago,
I promised myself that when the time came to leave,
I’d bike the perimeter of Manhattan.
And so I have. And so we did.
Passing all our places of work, of communion, and love.
That spot there, and that place there, and oh God, remember, that corner there?
A simple ride was always the goal.
Even after a bike nearly broke me whole.
Of course…
For theatre makers and theatre lovers around the world, the last year has been heartbreaking.
One highlight of my career as a theatre maker took place ten years ago in the Spring of 2011. Over the course of a couple months, I Assistant Directed “The Homecoming” and produced a Pinter Festival at A.C.T. in San Francisco, participated in the TS Eliot US/UK Exchange and directed “Lost Cause” at the…
AROUND CHRISTMAS
I’ve always liked Christmas, and not just because I like Chinese food and movies. I like the spirit of it, the renewed focus on friends and family, the dedicated time to slow down and reflect on your blessings. There is a kindness and a generosity that people can’t help but exhibit this time of year.
It’s always a little funny to be Jewish around Christmas. Every Jewish kid has…
“Lifelong Vegetarian. Cultural Carnivore.” That’s been my life’s subtitle since I was 10 years old.
“Culture. Creation. Community. Connection.” Those have been my four core values since I was 20.
In high school, I remember asking my World History teacher why armies at war destroyed cultural centers first. He kneeled down, looked me dead in the eye and said, “Culture is…
1. To everyone out there seeing canceled projects or financial hardship ahead due to coronavirus, you are seen and valued. Hang tight. Take care of yourself. Join me for a digital dance party. When the dust settles, know that we will rally around you and lift you up in full force. ♥️
As I reflect back on the last decade, it is a collection of small moments, professional and personal, surprising and spiritual, some in solitude, most in the company of friends and family, that stay with me, give me joy, and drive me forward with humility, gratitude, and optimism. I’ve been asking friends lately to share with me their favorite moments from the last 10 years. Here are 15 memorable…
Yesterday was one of those not-so-good writing days. I probably wrote three paragraphs in six hours. I snacked incessantly, took multiple breathers on my roof, and tried repeatedly to convince myself that committing a life to anything other than telling stories would be a hell of a lot…easier.
Most of the day was spent drowning in an ever swirling wormhole of unnecessarily over detailed plot…
A small story of joy at the end of a dark week in our country.
As some of you know, I build experiences across unused, Class A commercial spaces for one of my clients. My job is to essentially engage, strengthen and connect disparate communities in any given building.
One of the ways we recently achieved this for a particular building in Midtown was by inviting all tenants who had side passions…
Our short film, Montana, based on my Sundance finalist TV pilot of the same name, played film festivals across the country this year, including
The Brooklyn Film Festival in New York, SeriesFest in Denver, and
The Awareness Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Montana will continue to play the festival circuit in the new year, and be available to watch online late Spring 2019. In a…
I never share my craziest stories publicly, but this article gave me some major #TBT last week, and I think, I hope, the lesson is worth sharing.
Last Summer, smack dab in the middle of my Tony Awards Week, I suddenly found myself in ten interviews, from the Yale Club to the top of 1 World Trade, as the sole candidate for the newly created role of Editor-In-Chief, Experiential across all of Condé…
2017: Top 10 Highlights Check Out Our New Boat Ashore Productions Animated Production Company Logo! 1. MAKING MONTANA This Fall, I directed a short film called MONTANA, based on a TV pilot script of mine that was a finalist in the 2016 Sundance Episodic Story Lab. With a top notch cast and crew, we completed the film this month. And with the backing of more than 170 incredible supporters, we ran…
And now for something completely different. I’m going to swear online for the first time today. Racist Nazi fucks don’t scare me. You wanna fuck with black people and Jewish people? Good luck with that. Here’s what does scare me: Complacency. I was out at a bar last night for a birthday party. I was talking to friends about Charlottesville. I then struck up a conversation with a stranger – a…
She was the first artist I knew. She was a painter. She made her living oil painting over the portraits my grandfather, a photographer, took in his Brooklyn studio. Their business was called Vega Photography. She was the first chef I knew. When I was a child, her visits were hotly anticipated. She arrived bearing the gooiest and most delectable rocky road fudge you could ever imagine. Frankly,…
Cheers To The Friends Cheers To The Gatherings Cheers To The Travel Cheers To The Adventures And Cheers To The Memories 2016 was certainly my most adventurous year yet, in every sense of the word. I am thankful for the opportunity to know so many incredible people and places around the globe. Let us all continue to combat insularity and hate and strive for a kinder, more generous, and more…