Michael French is originally from London, England and he is a writer, director, actor, and creator of magical things from thin air. As a very young boy he saw the play “Cathy Come Home” by Jeremy Sandford on the seminal British television series “Play for Today,” and was soon on his own road to Damascus. Still in his early 20s, he wrote and directed the Ovation award winning play “The Rainy Season” and the much-acclaimed “Bellyache.” He has since directed over thirty-five plays in London, New York, San Francisco, and Oakland, and collaborated with Tiger Lion Arts on “The Buddha Prince,” a “walking play” about the life of the Dalai Lama. “The Buddha Prince” has since toured the U.S. extensively and was performed in Central Park in New York City during the summers of 2005 and 2008. Mr. French is a resident director for PlayGround, an Associate Artist for the Oakland Theatre Project, the Director for Artist Development for Afro Urban Society’s “Onye Ozi” program, the facilitator for Afro Urban Society’s creative writing classes, and co-editor of the Peace Out Loud anthology. He is currently writing his first collection of short stories entitled “Babble.”