Mike Payette is a director, educator and actor who has appeared at some of Canada’s finest theatres. He has worked with incredible companies across the country including The Citadel, Vertigo, Banff Centre, Geordie, Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, Repercussion Theatre, Segal Centre, Centaur, The Grand, Factory Theatre, Neptune, and the National Arts Centre, among others.

Directing credits include Craze, Come Home: The Legend of Daddy Hall, Cockroach and Paint Me This House of Love (Tarragon), Blithe Spirit (Shaw Festival), Choir Boy (Canadian Stage/Arts Club Theatre), Harlem Duet (Black Theatre Workshop), Another Home Invasion (Tableau D’Hôte Theatre), Hosanna and Choir Boy (Centaur), Around the World in 80 Days, The Paperbag Princess, and Reaching for Starlight (Geordie), Venus, Burning Vision and Indecent (National Theatre School), Sensitivity (Obsidian Theatre/CBC Gem, as part of 21 Black Futures), the French-language premiere of Héritage – A Raisin in the Sun (Théâtre Duceppe), along with the national tours of The Tashme Project (Tashme Prod/Centaur/Factory/Firehall) and Lorena Gale’s Angélique (BTW/Tableau D’Hôte/NAC/Factory/Obsidian).

A lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University, and frequent guest artist at the National Theatre School of Canada, Mike is a two-time Montreal English Theatre Award (META) recipient and was the co-founding Artistic Director of Tableau D’Hôte Theatre and past Assistant Artistic Director for Black Theatre Workshop. He was also Artistic and Executive Director of Geordie Productions in Montreal before becoming Artistic Director for Tarragon Theatre in Toronto where he is currently based.