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Mike Daisey (b. 1973 ) is an American monologist, author, and actor best known for his full-length extemporaneous monologues. The New York Times said about his work: "What distinguishes him from most solo performers is how elegantly he blends personal stories, historical digressions and philosophical ruminations. He has the curiosity of a highly literate dilettante and a preoccupation with alternative histories, secrets large and small, and the fuzzy line where truth and fiction blur. Mr. Daisey’s greatest subject is himself."

His most famous work "21 Dog Years" is an account of life as an Amazon.com employee during the Dot-com boom. Daisey was recruited though a staffing company in 1998 to work in Customer Service and left the company in 2000 having been promoted to a position in Business Development. Since that time he has created monologues about Nikola Tesla, L. Ron Hubbard, the history of the New York transit system, Wal-Mart and a variety of other topics, weaving together personal events from his own life alongside historical fact. He lives with his director and collaborator, Jean-Michele Gregory, in Brooklyn.

Monologues

• TRUTH {the heart is a million little pieces above all things} (2006)

A monologue about James Frey, Oprah, lying and telling the truth. Ran Off-Broadway in New York City at Ars Nova.

• Great Men of Genius (2006)

Four interlocking monologues about Bertolt Brecht, P.T. Barnum, Nikola Tesla, and L. Ron Hubbard which has been produced at Galapagos Art Space in New York City and the Capitol Hill Arts Center in Seattle. It will appear this year at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

• Invincible Summer (2005)

Invincible Summer is about the history of the New York City transit system, loss and democracy in our time. It has been produced at the Public Theater, the 2006 Spoleto Festival and will appear this year at Yale Repertory Theatre and American Repertory Theatre. Originally workshopped at ACT Theatre in Seattle.

• Monopoly! (2005)

Monopoly! was workshopped at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, has been produced at the Ohio Theatre by Les Freres Corbusier, and at the 2006 Spoleto and Bumbershoot Festivals. Among other things, the piece deals with the board game, Nikola Tesla, Bill Gates, Wal-Mart, and the author's home town in Maine.

• The Ugly American (2003)

The Ugly American, a story of life in the theater and its discontents, has been produced by ACT Theatre, the 2005 Spoleto Festival, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre after receiving workshops at Manhattan Theatre Club, Intiman Theatre, and the Cape Cod Theatre Project. In 2005 the BBC aired a radio adaptation of this monologue on Radio Four.

• 21 Dog Years (2001)

21 Dog Years began in Seattle’s Speakeasy Backroom in February of 2001, where it received the attention of media outlets big and small, from Entertainment Weekly to South African Public Radio to David Letterman. Daisey then took the show Off-Broadway where it played for six months at the Cherry Lane Theatre before going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Intiman Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and numerous engagements around the world. In 2002, the Free Press (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) published Daisey’s book version of the tale under the same name, and in 2004 the BBC aired Daisey’s radio adaptation of his monologue on Radio Four.

• I Miss The Cold War (1998)

Originally produced by 24/7 Productions in Seattle in June 1998.

• Wasting Your Breath (1997)

Originally produced by Open Circle Theater in Seattle in 1997, Wasting Your Breath was remounted and produced at Berkeley Repertory Theater in 2004.

Further reading

• Mike Daisey (2002). 21 Dog Years. Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-2580-5.
• Brendan Koerner (2006). The Best of Technology Writing 2006. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-03195-3.

Homepage: http://www.mikedaisey.com/

References

• Mike Daisey, Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2004.

1. "The Need To Think Onstage Is Driving Mr. Daisey". New York Times.

• Living people
• American dramatists and playwrights
• One man show