Michael Swickard

Background

About Michael Swickard

My years as a performer, teacher, and leader at Walt Disney World taught me many things. I performed and maintained multiple roles in entertainment offerings such as "Finding Nemo: The Musical,""The Hoop Dee Doo Revue," and "The Dapper Dans of Main Street" at the highest professional level for a world-class entertainment organization. I was trusted with leadership and coordinator positions, such as a Vocal Captain, Scheduling Lead, Stunt Captain, and Safety Committee Member. My duties included collaborating with fellow cast members to create the best possible product for our guests, providing direct feedback for performance improvement, building and maintaining complex schedules, developing training strategies, and partnering with business leaders across multiple disciplines.As a Resident Director with Disney Performing Arts, I lead thousands of school children from across the country through hundreds of workshops based on Disney entertainment offerings. The hiring process for the position was highly competitive and I was able to exceed expectations. As a workshop leader, I would assess the needs of the participants quickly and adapted the material to their skill level, motivate the participants during the three-hour workshop to overcome adversity and expand their skillset, while emphasizing building character on and off the stage, partner with cast members across multiple disciplines to provide the best possible experience for the participants, and provided exceptional customer service to the participants and their chaperones.Above all, we wanted to give our audiences and students the feeling of that special standard of Disney "magic" that can only be created through a group of dedicated employees working together for a common goal. I have used that standard of excellence to succeed in other organizations as well. As a member of Actors' Equity Association, the labor union that represents over actors and stage managers in the United States, I have been able to rise to the positions of Central Florida National Convention Delegate, Vice Chair of the Central Florida Liaison Committee, and a lead member of the Walt Disney World Contract Negotiation Team. I have gained the trust and confidence of my peers to represent them and their interests within the union.