Michael John Garcés is the artistic director of Cornerstone Theatre Company, a community-engaged ensemble. Plays he has written for Cornerstone include Magic Fruit, an adaptation of The Magic Flute, and The Forked Path (presented at Stut Theatre’s Net Even Anders Festival in Utrecht and The International Community Arts Festival in Rotterdam). He has directed plays at theatres across the country, including, for Cornerstone, What Happens Next by Naomi Iizuka (produced by the La Jolla Playhouse), and Urban Rez by Larissa FastHorse. Michael is a core member of the Living Word Project, where he creates work in collaboration with writer/performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph, composer Tommy Shepard (aka Emcee Soulati) and choreographer Staci Printz; most recently they premiered /peh-LO-tah/ a futbol framed freedom suite at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (subsequent tour to various venues including BAM and The Kennedy Center). He wrote the text for composer Alexandra Vrebalov’s oratorio Stations, (premiere at the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra and subsequently at the NOMUS Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia). Michael Garcés is a recipient of the Princess Grace Statue and the Alan Schneider Director Award, and serves as vice president of the executive board of SDC, the union for stage directors and choreographers.