Michael Counts is a stage director, designer and entertainment entrepreneur. Inspired by elements of theater, film, contemporary and traditional dance, sculpture and painting, Mr. Counts strives to bring together a diversity of media springing from the archives of art and entertainment into a single unified form. With over twenty years of experience, he has created a large body of work ranging from intimate studio productions and sprawling performance installations, to ambitious New York public artworks such as “Looking Forward” and “So Long Ago I Can’t Remember,” an adaptation of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Additionally, he has created large scale site-specific productions in Prague, Czech Republic, Hakushu, Japan, and Bangkok, Thailand.

As the co-founder and artistic director of GAle GAtes et al., Mr. Counts led one of the fastest-growing performance and visual art companies in New York City from 1996 to 2003. Considered a founding artist of Brooklyn’s celebrated DUMBO, he united businesses and cultural interests through his unique and unconventional vision, contributing significantly to the redevelopment and economic revitalization of the community. Mr. Counts has also done work at the Center for New Theatre at the California Institute of the Arts, The Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, and at the Performance Annex of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Upcoming works include, John Zorn/Schoenberg/Morton Feldman Monodramas at The New York City Opera (2010-11 Season) and JC Bach’s Edimione(2011-12 Season).

He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife Sharon and his son Wilder.