MICHAEL BUTLER is Artistic Director of Center REP, the resident professional theatre company at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.

In addition to his many directing credits at Center Rep, his directing work has been seen in New York, Los Angeles, at major regional theatres around the country (Seattle Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, San Jose Rep) and at The Juilliard School, of which he is a graduate.

He is a published songwriter and the co-writer and composer of numerous musicals, which he has directed and performed in New York, LA, and at theatre festivals in India and Morocco.  His original rock musical Shout & Twist toured five cities in India, and the music-theatre piece It’s Still Life was commissioned by, and performed at the Whitney Museum in New York.

In his career as a performer, he has acted in plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in film and television; performed with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company; portrayed the villainous Pierre Le Chance on The Guiding Light; did voiceover work for the New York City Opera and several Louis L’Amour audiobooks, and played guitar and harmonica in many rock, blues, and country-western bands at all the notable dives in NYC.