The Executives Circle: A Fireside Chat with Michael Bobbitt

  • DATE: November 5 @ 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
  • FEE: FREE Members
  • VENUE: PACT Zoom
  • ACCESS: Automated captions
  • OPEN TO: Members & Colleagues

The Executives Circle is an initiative convening senior arts leaders for candid, strategy-focused conversations about the future of our field. In a collegial setting, executives and senior arts leaders will gather to discuss ideas, explore bold solutions, and learn from one another while facing some of the most pressing challenges in the sector today.

This session will feature Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council, who captivated audiences at PACTcon 2025 - Ripples of Impact in Halifax leaving a lasting impression with his keynote challenging us to embrace this moment of disruption as a time of transformation.

Michael reminded us that theatre is not dying, it’s molting. The messy, vulnerable process of shedding outdated models and systems is an act of growth and survival. Building on that conversation, the conversation will dive deeper into:

  • Reimagine theatres not only as stages but as cultural embassies serving civic life.

  • Rethink governance, subscription, and business models that no longer serve.

  • Measure success by civic impact, joy, and generativity rather than box office alone.

  • Embrace partnerships across sectors to secure theatre’s place as an essential human service.

  • Use our greatest tools, imagination and creativity, not just for art on stage, but for reinventing the very structures of our institutions.

This is a space for strategy, reflection, and shared leadership; a rare chance for executives to engage in forward-looking conversation with peers to reflect and dissect the challenges and opportunities of leading in the arts today.

This conversation will invite arts executives to explore how we can move beyond survival and sustainability toward generativity -- investigating new models, new relationships, and new outcomes that ensure the sector continues to build a bold future for theatre.

Required reading:

The session will feature and dive deeper into elements of Michael Bobbitt's PACTcon 2025 keynote speech, which you can find at this link.

Registration:

Please note: This conversation is for folks who have 6+ years of experience as a senior or executive leader in the arts sector OR PACT Members who have attended the opening session featuring keynote speaker, Michael Bobbitt at PACTcon 2025.

The link for the session will be sent upon registration. If you did not receive the link, please reach out to Program Manager, Patricia at patriciac@pact.ca

This session is for PACT Members & Colleagues.

Interested in becoming a member? Contact PACT's Membership & Communications team at info@pact.ca

About Michael Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council:

Michael J. Bobbitt is a distinguished theater artist. As the Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council, he is the highest-ranking public official in Massachusetts state government focused on arts and culture. Since 2021, he has led the Agency through several initiatives, including the development of its first Racial Equity Plan, d/Deaf & Disability Equity and Access Plan, and Native American & Indigenous Peoples Equity Plan; the launch of the nation’s first statewide Social Prescribing Initiative; the securing and distribution of $60.1 million in pandemic relief funding; and the design and implementation of a strategic plan for fiscal years 2024-2026. He has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Black Empowerment, the Statewide K-12 Graduation Council, the Mass STEM Advisory Council, and the Massachusetts Cultural Policy Development Advisory Council. Michael is a proud alumnus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa from Dean College and recently completed his MBA with The Global Leaders Institute.

He previously served as Artistic Director of the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA; immediately prior to this he held the same position at the Adventure Theatre-MTC in Maryland for 12 years. While in Maryland Michael led the organization to be a respected regional theatre training company, and a nationally influential professional Theatre for Young Audiences.

Michael’s training includes Executive Education from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, The National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, and Cornell University’s Diversity and Inclusion Certification Program. He has also completed YW Boston’s signature leadership program, LeadBoston, The Partnership, Inc.’s Next Generation Executives program, and the Civic Action Project’s CAP Collaborative. He is an appointed member of the Board of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and served on the New England Foundation for the Arts Board of Directors from 2021 to 2023. He has taught at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Howard University, George Washington University, and Catholic University.

Michael is the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Kennedy Center Gold Medallion in recognition of his commitment to the arts and educational theatre. He was named one of the Boston Business Journal’s Power 50 Movement Makers and one of Boston’s Most Influential Men of Color by Get Konnected!. He is invested into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre – one of the highest honors bestowed on American theater professionals and recognized by Speak Out for his efforts to build a more inclusive cultural sector. Additionally, he is the recipient of MassOpera’s Action Bearing Award and OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center’s Sojourner Truth Award, and he was honored by the Greater Roxbury Arts & Cultural Center at its Juneteenth Jubilee in June 2024. He is a popular speaker and presenter at national and international conferences and convenings most recently delivering the keynote address at the Black Theater Network Conference in Los Angeles.

Michael has directed/choreographed at Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Center Stage, Roundhouse Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and the Washington National Opera. His national and international credits include the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Mel Tillis 2001, La Jolla Playhouse, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Jefferson Performing Arts Center, and the Olympics. As a writer his work was chosen for the NYC International Fringe Festival and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He has plays published by Musical Theatre International, Concord Theatricals, and Plays for Young Audiences. Michael has received the Excel Leadership Award (Center for Nonprofit Advancement), the Emerging Leader Award (County Executive’s Excellence in the Arts and Humanities), and Person of the Year Award (Maryland Theatre Guide).

Photo: Johnny/BTS Design Studio.