Michael Rios

Michael Rios has been pinballing around the Chicagoland area since 1966. From Bridgeport to Wheaton, from Schaumburg to Oswego, Mike has enjoyed his life as an IT guy and puzzle enthusiast. The Theatre Fairie visited Mike in the summer of 1986 in the guise of "The Fantasticks", where he got his first taste of being on stage in a loincloth and sporting a fake English accent.

After a ten year hiatus from that first role, The Theatre Fairie finally convinced Mike to try a non-loincloth role in "His Girl Friday." That lead to many many other roles in productions at the Elk Grove Center for the Performing Arts, where Mike learned to like Shakespeare and really like physical comedy in Shakespeare. Mike's last role was in "Much Ado About Nothing," where Rich Geiger was second director's chair and Cathleen Ann was a fellow actor.

Following extensive applications of Social Lubricant (Rumplemintz, for the faint of liver), Cathleen, Rich, and Mike conceived a notion of theater that would be unlike the common coin of the realm; a theater that wouldn't stick to what's tried and true, but would try to truly do something different; a theater that challenges audience and actor alike; a chance to try something off the beaten path just to see if we can set up camp and have some fun out in the wilderness with those that are willing to follow us and see what's out there.

Is it a dream? Yes, but the best realities all start that way.

And if The Theatre Fairie should one day show up in camp, I'm going to give her a great big hug.