Michael Thomas Walker is very excited to be joining the Theatre Tuscaloosa family. He has spent the last 11 years teaching acting and voice at the University of Montevallo and served as Chair of the theatre department for the past three years. He is a proud graduate from the University of Alabama, having received a BA in Theatre, and also holds an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University. Before that, Michael was working as an actor and director in NYC for over 13 years. He has worked at several Off-Broadway theatres, including Classic Stage Company, New Light Theater Project, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Jean Cocteau Repertory, and Boomerang Theatre Company. He has performed on national tours, including "Edna Turnblad"(Hairspray) and "Horton the Elephant" (Seussical the Musical). His film and television appearances include Boardwalk Empire, Dirty Little Secret, Now That’s Cute, and Non-Stop. Michael is a recipient of the Wildacres Playwriting Residency and was a finalist for the Edna St. Vincent Millay Colony Playwriting Residency. His interview-based solo show, BUBBA, received the Best Variety Show Award in the United Solo Festival, Best Solo Performance Award for the Planet Connections Festival, and was performed on NPR’s Tales From The South. He is a co-author of the play "Canfield Drive," which received its world premiere production at The Black Repertory Theatre in St. Louis in 2019 and was also presented at the National Black Theatre Festival. He has also co-created the devised plays Septic and A Buzz in the Bankhead.​ He recently performed at Red Mountain Theatre in Birmingham, AL, as a part of their Human Rights Festival, helping to develop the new musicals Bar Mitzvah in Birmingham by Nissim Black and Ben Andron and She Reached for Heaven by Oliver Houser.