Michael Best

Michael Best is a critically acclaimed playwright with a deep commitment to exploring the complexities of identity, culture, and the human experience. Michael draws on personal history and lived experience to craft evocative and intimate works that resonate with audiences across generations. Michael also received an MA in International and Intercultural Communication from Royal Roads University in 2014 which has given him a solid academic lens through which he can better explore work with more diverse partners and communities. In addition to his artistry, Michael has spent years cultivating a vibrant creative community, both locally and nationally, and remains dedicated to fostering opportunities for underrepresented voices, particularly in the LGBTQ+ community. His works challenge traditional notions of aging, love, and legacy, and have received widespread recognition for their emotional depth, innovation, and cultural relevance. Michael was a founding member of the groundbreaking sketch comedy group Birdy Num Num which played to audiences in Halifax and beyond from 1996 to 2002. Michael is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Other Awards & Recognitions • Canada Research Council Award for Public Ethnography and Innovative Learning, 2014 Recognized for producing a creative international social media campaign to bring awareness to the issue of the criminalization of homosexuality around the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z34HjtQFmyY • Nova Scotia Arts Council Creation Grant for the play Go To Hell 2013 • Canadian Screen Award Nominee, Children’s Writing, Olliver’s Adventures, Teletoon Network, 2005 • Prix d’excellence francophone, Les Adventures d’ Ollivier (French children’s TV), 2005 • Creation Grant – Arts Nova Scotia, 2002 to support the creation of the play Gay White Trash in collaboration with Eastern Front Theatre in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. • Canadian Comedy Award Winner, Best Writing in a Series, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, 2002 • Canadian Comedy Award Nominee, Best Sketch Group, 2002 Michael’s plays have received several Robert E. Merritt Award nominations: • Best Supporting Actor – Gord White Go To Hell 2013 • Best Actor – Kevin Curran Gay White Trash 2006 • Best Actress – Tara Doyle Gay White Trash 2006 • Best Production Gay White Trash 2006 Michael also won the Merritt Award for Best New Play (Gay White Trash) Other Professional Writing Experience Michael has over twenty years of experience as a screenwriter. He has written series TV for CBC, Oprah Winfrey Network, Smithsonian Channel, YTV, Teletoon, and The Comedy Network to name a few. His independent short films have screened at LGTBTQ2A+ film festivals in Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver, Hamburg, and Sydney, Australia.