Michael Preston (B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz 1980), lived for many years in New York and was a member of the Shaliko Company, founded by Leonardo Shapiro. He also worked with such artists as John Sayles, Richard Elovich, David Cale, Wynn Handman and Theodora Skipitares. From 1991 until 2000 he toured the world as one of the Flying Karamazov Brothers, which included three different runs on Broadway. With them he collaborated on and performed 9 different shows, ranging from the post-modern tragedy Le Petomane, to an update of Room Service (winner of an L.A. critic's award in 1998). They were nominated for an Olivier award in London for best Comedy in 1994. He directed their latest show, Life: A Guide for the Perplexed, which is now touring the country.

Since 2004 he has been sharing a teaching position with his wife, Barbara Karger. It is his hope that student actors will receive a firm basis in the history and traditions of theater and that, within the framework of a structured and supportive environment, they will be able to unlock their creativity, imagination and physicality in order to further their growth as an artist and begin to create a engaged and exciting theater for their times.

Directing Credits:

• Life: A Guide for the Perplexed by Paul Magid, with The Flying Karamazov Brothers, ACT Theatre, Seattle,  American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, San Diego Rep, San Diego, US Tour 2004-2007.
• Lysistrata  by Aristophones, co-directed with Barbara Karger for the Theater and Dance Department at Trinity College, Hartford 2006.
• From the Gutter to the Glitter, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, co-directed with Barbara Karger, Theatre for a New City, New York City, 2004.

Acting Credits (With The Flying Karamazov Brothers)

• The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha by Paul Magid, directed by Sam Woodhouse, San Diego Rep., San Diego California, 2007.
• Room Service,directed by Robert Woodruff, ACT Theatre, Seattle, Arena Stage Washington, D.C., Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1997.
• The Orchestra Show,Carnegie Hall, New York, US Tour, 1995-99.

Film Includes:

• The Elementors(Walter). hadowcatcher Entertainment, 1995.
• Eight Men Out. irected by John Sayles, (Les), 1987.
• Matewan. irected by John Sayles, (Ellix), 1985.

Television Includes:

• Law and Order
• Seinfeld
• Ellen
• The Today Show

Circus Includes:

• Circus Amok. Directed by Jennifer Miller, (Fratelli Brother), New York City Parks, 2000.
• Circus Flora. Directed by Cecil MacKinnon, (Seamus/Mr. Punch), Spoleto Festival, Charleston, S.C., US Tours,  1988-91, 1996.
• Zoppe’s Circus Europa.Directed by Alberto Zoppe, (Ringmaster), Brooklyn Academy of Music, US Tours, 1989-91.

Playwriting Includes:

• The Crash, a one man show, 2004.
• Santa’s Last Christmas, co-written with Barbara Karger, 2003.
• Peter and the Wolf, co-written with Barbara Karger, Royal Carr Theatre, Amsterdam, 2001.
• Flats, Sharps and Accidentals, co-written with Paul Magid, Sam Williams and Howard. Patterson, US and World Tours, 1996-99.

Awards/Nominations

• Lifetime Achievement Award International Juggling Association.
• L.A. Critics Award for Best Adaptation for Room Service, 1997.
• Olivier Award Nomination for Best Comedy, Juggle and Hyde, London, 1994.