Directing
College Productions
College Productions
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College Productions
My Mother#*^%#! College Life, Conceived by Jon Jory and Created by Brooke Jennet
and Michael Bigelow Dixon Transylvania University 2017
Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka Transylvania University 2016
Beware Wolf ... And Other Nightmares* Monster monologues and one-acts Transylvania 2015
Shakespeare in Mind* a collage play by a dozen authors Transylvania University 2014
Lawrence Booth’s Book of Visions* adaptation of Maurice Manning's poetry T.U. 2014
Today Is History* by Transylvania Students Transylvania University 2013
Attack of the Monster Crabs* by Kelsa Dine Goucher College 2012
Animal Farm (musical) adapted by Peter Hall Goucher College 2010
Antigone adapted by Bertolt Brecht Goucher College 2010
The Secret Life of Losers* by Megan Mostyn-Brown Carleton College 2006
Ice Glen* by Joan Ackermann Carleton College Players 2003
Knuckle by David Hare Brown U. Summer Theatre 1980
Antigone by Sophocles North Carolina Central University 1979
Professional Productions
My Mother#*^%#! College Life, Conceived by Jon Jory and Created by Brooke Jennet
and Michael Bigelow Dixon Transylvania University 2017
Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka Transylvania University 2016
Beware Wolf ... And Other Nightmares* Monster monologues and one-acts Transylvania 2015
Shakespeare in Mind* a collage play by a dozen authors Transylvania University 2014
Lawrence Booth’s Book of Visions* adaptation of Maurice Manning's poetry T.U. 2014
Today Is History* by Transylvania Students Transylvania University 2013
Attack of the Monster Crabs* by Kelsa Dine Goucher College 2012
Animal Farm (musical) adapted by Peter Hall Goucher College 2010
Antigone adapted by Bertolt Brecht Goucher College 2010
The Secret Life of Losers* by Megan Mostyn-Brown Carleton College 2006
Ice Glen* by Joan Ackermann Carleton College Players 2003
Knuckle by David Hare Brown U. Summer Theatre 1980
Antigone by Sophocles North Carolina Central University 1979
Professional Productions
Professional Productions
Ghost-Writer by Michael Hollinger Commonweal Theatre 2017
Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley Commonweal Theatre 2015
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz Commonweal Theatre 2013
Ellis Island (Symphony with Monologues) Project SEE & Lexington Philharmonic 2013
The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry Commonweal Theatre 2012
To Kill a Mockingbird adapted by Christopher Sergel Commonweal Theatre 2011
Turn of the Screw by Jeffrey Hatcher Commonweal Theatre 2010
Sweet, Sweet Motherhood* by Jeremy Kareken, HERE, New York 2010
Yankee Tavern* by Steven Dietz Florida Stage 2009
Match Games*, an evening of ten 10-minute plays Actors Theatre of Louisville 2009
A Christmas Carol*, new adaptation by Allard & Dixon Commonweal Theatre 2008
Boats on a River by Julie Marie Myatt Los Angeles Theatre Works - NPR Radio 2008
Ward 57* by Jessica Goldberg Florida Stage 2008
Well by Lisa Kron Park Square Theatre 2008
Boats on a River* by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Theatre 2007
Sez She* by Jane Martin (w/ Liz Engelman) Illusion Theatre 2006
Boats on a River* by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Construction Zone 2005
The Story* by Joaquin Vences Pillsbury House Chicago Ave Proj. 2005
Ice Glen* by Joan Ackermann Florida Stage 2004
The Sex Habits of American Women by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Theatre 2004
The Bill of (W)Rights* by 10 playwrights Mixed Blood Theatre 2004
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher Illusion Theater 2004
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher Florida Stage 2003
The Sex Habits of American Women* by Julie Marie Myatt Magic Theatre 2003
Beautiful Again* by Melanie Marnich Commonweal Theatre Company 2003
Pleasure Cruise* by Kira Obolensky Guthrie Experience Program 2002
Black Sheep* by Lee Blessing Florida Stage 2001
Wit by Margaret Edson ATL Mainstage Production 2000
Standard Time* by Naomi Wallace Humana Festival of New Plays 2000
Creditors by August Strindberg ATL Free Theatre Production 2000
Nixon’s Nixon by Russell Lees ATL Mainstage Production 1999
Hold Me* by Marianne Harding Hales ATL Showcase 1999
Lunchtime* by Robert Marcato ATL Showcase 1999
Nightswim* by Julia Jordan ATL Showcase 1998
Guest of Honor by Richard Strand NPR Radio/Anthem 1998
Lonely* by Ann Marie Healy ATL Showcase 1997
The League of Semi-Superheroes* by Val Smith & Michael Dixon ATL Showcase 1996
Median* by John Stinson ATL Showcase 1995
Lysistrata* by Vladimir Prahcharov ATL Showcase 1994
* signifies first production/world premiere)
Member: Stage Directors and Choreographers
Sez She, 2006, Illusion Theatre received Minnesota's IVEY Award for Best Production in the Twin Cities.
Directing: Workshops and Readings
Wake Up, Mrs. Moore by Julie Myatt GeVa Theatre 2011
Behind the Eye by Carson Kreitzer The Playwrights’ Center 2009
Enchantment by Carson Kreitzer The Playwrights’ Center 2009
Dog and Wolf by Catherine Filloux The Playwrights’ Center 2009
The Dalai Lama Is Not Welcome Here by Elaine Romero The Playwrights’ Center 2008
Women Who Tidy Up by Ai Nagai The Playwrights’ Center 2008
Inana by Michele Lowe The Playwrights’ Center 2007
Calley’s Tally by Betsy Howie Guthrie Theater 2005
The Boys by Jeffrey Hatcher Guthrie Theater 2005
The Secret Lives of Losers by Megan Mostyn-Brown The Playwrights’ Center 2005
Vrooommm! by Janet Allard with Michael Dixon TheatreWorks, CA 2004
Shadow Language by Kelly Stuart Guthrie Theater 2005
Boats on a River by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Theater 2005
Sexsting by Doris Baizley with Susan Raffanti The Playwrights’ Center 2004
Ada by Rosanna Staffa Guthrie Theater 2003
The Sex Habits of American Women by Julie Marie Myatt The Playwrights’ Center 2003
Mayhem by Kelly Stuart InterAct Theatre Company 2003
A Bright, Clear Sky by Kristina Halvorson Guthrie Theater 2003
Incognito by Janet Allard Guthrie Summer Conference 2002
Good Boys by Jane Martin Guthrie Theater 2002
Discovery of America by Arthur Kopit Guthrie Theater 2002
Mayhem by Kelly Stuart Guthrie Theater 2002
Wintertime by Charles Mee Guthrie Theater 2002
Resident Director, The Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis, MN (2007 – 2009)
Responsibilities included directing workshops of plays in progress by American and Japanese playwrights; heading the Core Writer program; moderating public events and post-show discussions; and scheduling and producing 25 workshops each year.
Directing Reviews
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz, Commonweal Theatre Company, Lanesboro, MN 2013
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon, whose work is well known in Minnesota, has taken the material confidently in hand, and has fashioned a standout production. There is a timely theme overarching the action (both figuratively and literally); some bold and surprising casting choices (which work); a brisk pace just on the good side of feverish; and a deft handling of the inevitable romance, appallingly overblown by Gillette, mercifully tempered by Dietz, and tamped down to an acceptable palatability by Dixon….. [T]his production will be remembered longer, stronger and better than most. Michael Bigelow Dixon and his gifted cast, from their shining enclave in rural Minnesota, just may have mastered the Game. – James Briggs, http://mcmurdoscamp.wordpress.com
Sweet, Sweet Motherhood by Jeremy Kareken, HERE, off-off Broadway, NYC, 2010
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon does a superb job of keeping the proceedings believable, not an easy task. In this he is abetted by excellent design work from Ray Neufeld (sets), Christopher Brown (lights), and Zoë Woodworth (video). – Clifford Lee Johnson III, Backstage
Match Games – 10 Ten-Minute Plays, Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2009
Suavely directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon, the ensemble performs short plays that take the audience through romantic episodes ranging from youngsters awakening to the opposite sex, dating difficulties, marriage and breakups to the bedroom of a long-married couple whose love life has passed the point of impetuous passion. – Judith Edgerton, Louisville Courier-Journal
Ward 57 by Jessica Goldberg, Florida Stage, 2008
Under Michael Bigelow Dixon's smart and precisely calibrated direction, and thanks to the currents of tension and feeling that flow between Kapil and Morris, Ward 57 gets a penetrating, illuminating world premiere. – Christine Dolan, Miami Herald
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon provides remarkably fluid staging, partly due to Jim Fulton’s lighting and partly due to having characters seamlessly flow from one scene to the next. —Bill Hirschman, Sun Sentinel
Boats on a River By Julie Marie Myatt, Guthrie Theater, 2007
Dixon and designer Victor Becker, who uses tarps and bamboo furniture to create the ramshackle locales, give us a journey that is both theatrical and documentary (aided by the artful integration of Ted’s gritty video journal)….The coup de theatre comes at the end, as the child prostitutes revert to being children again, joyously riding bicycles that they long had wished for. It is a moment of simplicity and powerful tears, thanks to playwright Myatt, director Dixon and an affecting cast. – Rohan Preston, StarTribune
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon wrangles all these intersecting stories well, drilling for detail in performance and presentation… – Dominic A. Papatola, Pioneer Press
Ice Glen by Joan Ackermann, Florida Stage, 2004
A professional world premiere, this production steered by Michael Bigelow Dixon should induce theatre artistic directors around the country to program Joan Ackermann's lyrical, impeccably crafted play….Set in 1918 in a Berkshire cottage going to seed in the wake of a death, the story charted the re-awakening of its principal characters, each of whom were frozen in some respect. Ackermann's language was as exhilarating as a spring thaw, the characters were fully realized, and the plot never sagged into the predictable. – Jan Sjostrom, Palm Beach Daily News
Now at Florida Stage in a world premiere gracefully directed by the Guthrie Theater’s Michael Bigelow Dixon, Ice Glen is billed as a comedy, but it’s an uncommonly rich and layered on… Some of Ackermann’s plot twists are surprising, some predictable, but the play is always energized and engaging.
– Christine Dolen, Miami Herald
The script is getting its professional world premiere at Florida Stage. Unlike many other first-time productions, this one betrays no awkwardness. Under the sure direction of Michael Bigelow Dixon, who steered an earlier student production, all the elements have come together in a harmonious whole.
– Jan Sjostrom, Palm Beach Daily News
The Florida Stage delivers a sparkling premiere for Ice Glen… As the Florida Stage’s guest director for Ice Glen, [Dixon] brings out the warm radiance of Ackermann’s style… – Jack Zink, Sun Sentinel
Michael Bigelow Dixon (of last season’s Mercy of a Storm) again directs with a gentle touch, shepherding a play which could be precious with a more emphatic approach. – Hap Erstein, Palm Beach Post
The Sex Habits of American Women by Julie Marie Myatt, Guthrie Theater, 2004 and Magic Theatre, 2003
Michael Bigelow Dixon, who directed the world premiere of this script last year in California, delivers a smooth, sure-handed staging…of a show that effectively pricks at a sensitive subject while never taking itself too seriously. – Dominic P. Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Directed at the Guthrie Lab by Michael Bigelow Dixon, it’s a production with wit to spare. – Quinton Skinner, City Pages
Myatt’s comic drama, which had its world premiere at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre last weekend, is… gracefully directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon…. The cast is as solid as Dixon’s production. – Chad Jones, The Tribune
Smartly directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon, whose background includes Louisville’s Actors Theatre and the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Sex Habits displays a production polish rarely encountered at the Magic. – Charles Brousse, Marin Independent Journal
Bill of (W)Rights, Ten Short Plays at Mixed Blood Theatre, 2004
The concept itself is so compelling and so immediate that it would be worth seeing “Bill of (W)Rights” for the experience alone, regardless of the quality of the plays. But Mixed Blood artistic director Jack Reuler and Guthrie Theater literary director Michael Bigelow Dixon, who conceived the project, have assembled a skilled and diverse ensemble of writers. For the most part, their quick-hit plays find their mark….In Kelly Stuart’s “Spyware,” staged [by Dixon] with an exquisite sense of claustrophobia in a cramped spotlight loft, a married couple bickers about who is reading whose e-mail, in a snarky but intriguing look at the issue of “unreasonable search and seizure.” – Dominic P. Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Bill of (W)Rights is an extraordinary case; we might even call it great…. Conceived by Guthrie literary director Michael Bigelow Dixon and Mixed Blood artistic director Jack Reuler, Bill of (W)Rights comprises 10 short plays by nine writers and brings together 24 actors and five directors. – Dylan Hicks, City Pages
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher, Illusion Theatre, 2004
Ironically, Hatcher’s tale was inspired by a juicy circumstance rife with melodrama. He has pushed beyond that facility and journeyed with two people caught in the cruel pincers of fate, whose love is not sufficient to overcome their own actions and the expectations of society. His co-conspirators in a marvelous staging that opened Friday at the Illusion Theater in Minneapolis are director Michael Bigelow Dixon, who senses the tragic soul of the play’s protagonist, and two excellent actors – Steve Hendrickson and Carolyn Pool. – Graydon Royce, Star Tribune
Directed with an adriot, wry touch by Guthrie literary director Michael Bigelow Dixon, the production at once touches on and eschews the stereotypes that you’d anticipate in these two characters. … And so, though it’s a period piece, its deft creation and execution – carrried out with style, skill and panache – makes it feel like a brisk breath of fresh air.” – Dominic P. Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press
It’s the heat between these two actors that gives this production its sizzle. Director Michael Bigelow Dixon, who is artistic associate and literary manager of the Guthrie, draws performances from Hendrickson and Pool that made me care about this unlikely couple. Under Bigelow Dixon, I get a strong sense of ensemble collaboration in this production, from playwright through sound designer. – Minneapolis Magazine
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher, Florida Stage, 2003
Hatcher, director Michael Bigelow Dixon and actors Steve Hendrickson and Carolyn Pool are all Minneapolis-based theater artists, smart ones who know that heaven is in the details. They’ve brought this period tale of class conflict, jealousy and deception to a place where the snow is artificial but the emotions are powerfully authentic. In other words, they get good weather, Florida Stage audiences get more good theater.– Christine Dolen, Miami Herald
As George and Zanovia struggle to weather the storm that’s rocking their marriage, Hendrickson’s and Pool’s carefully calibrated performances, Hatcher’s lucid words and Michael Dixon’s sure-footed direction ensure that we’re there with them, urging them toward a safe harbor. – Jan Sjostrom, Daily News
Beautiful Again by Melanie Marnich, Commonweal Theatre Co., 2003
The Commonweal Theater Company of Lanesboro sent what is to be an annual tradition of performing new scripts by Minnesota playwrights off to a great start by doing everything right…The play, which opened Friday, is also admittedly one of Dixon’s favorites, and fortunately the theater company got him to direct it. Dixon did well by the play…imaginative staging is another key to success. – Christina Killion Valdez, Rochester Post-Bulletin
Black Sheep by Lee Blessing, Florida Stage, 2001
Guest director Michael Bigelow Dixon, literary manager of Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater, shows himself to be a man of visual and verbal dexterity. Note his dream logic scene transitions, as characters vanish in front of our eyes or transmute into each other. Even without much to say – at least by Blessing’s usual standard – Black Sheep manages to be wordy, but it rarely feels like it, thanks to Dixon’s staging flair. — Hap Erstein, Palm Beach Post
Dixon…rigorously guards the boundaries of Black Sheep’s dream state. Inside, he juggles symbolism, parody and satire with finesse. – Jack Zink, Sun-Sentinel
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon and a terrific cast unerringly hit the right notes, finding a tone that makes even the most outrageous idea seem perfectly normal in the Winship’s twisted world…Black Sheep has its own weird logic, and Dixon coolly keeps a sometimes wild ride from veering off track.
— Christine Dolen, The Miami Herald
Ghost-Writer by Michael Hollinger Commonweal Theatre 2017
Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley Commonweal Theatre 2015
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz Commonweal Theatre 2013
Ellis Island (Symphony with Monologues) Project SEE & Lexington Philharmonic 2013
The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry Commonweal Theatre 2012
To Kill a Mockingbird adapted by Christopher Sergel Commonweal Theatre 2011
Turn of the Screw by Jeffrey Hatcher Commonweal Theatre 2010
Sweet, Sweet Motherhood* by Jeremy Kareken, HERE, New York 2010
Yankee Tavern* by Steven Dietz Florida Stage 2009
Match Games*, an evening of ten 10-minute plays Actors Theatre of Louisville 2009
A Christmas Carol*, new adaptation by Allard & Dixon Commonweal Theatre 2008
Boats on a River by Julie Marie Myatt Los Angeles Theatre Works - NPR Radio 2008
Ward 57* by Jessica Goldberg Florida Stage 2008
Well by Lisa Kron Park Square Theatre 2008
Boats on a River* by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Theatre 2007
Sez She* by Jane Martin (w/ Liz Engelman) Illusion Theatre 2006
Boats on a River* by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Construction Zone 2005
The Story* by Joaquin Vences Pillsbury House Chicago Ave Proj. 2005
Ice Glen* by Joan Ackermann Florida Stage 2004
The Sex Habits of American Women by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Theatre 2004
The Bill of (W)Rights* by 10 playwrights Mixed Blood Theatre 2004
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher Illusion Theater 2004
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher Florida Stage 2003
The Sex Habits of American Women* by Julie Marie Myatt Magic Theatre 2003
Beautiful Again* by Melanie Marnich Commonweal Theatre Company 2003
Pleasure Cruise* by Kira Obolensky Guthrie Experience Program 2002
Black Sheep* by Lee Blessing Florida Stage 2001
Wit by Margaret Edson ATL Mainstage Production 2000
Standard Time* by Naomi Wallace Humana Festival of New Plays 2000
Creditors by August Strindberg ATL Free Theatre Production 2000
Nixon’s Nixon by Russell Lees ATL Mainstage Production 1999
Hold Me* by Marianne Harding Hales ATL Showcase 1999
Lunchtime* by Robert Marcato ATL Showcase 1999
Nightswim* by Julia Jordan ATL Showcase 1998
Guest of Honor by Richard Strand NPR Radio/Anthem 1998
Lonely* by Ann Marie Healy ATL Showcase 1997
The League of Semi-Superheroes* by Val Smith & Michael Dixon ATL Showcase 1996
Median* by John Stinson ATL Showcase 1995
Lysistrata* by Vladimir Prahcharov ATL Showcase 1994
* signifies first production/world premiere)
Member: Stage Directors and Choreographers
Sez She, 2006, Illusion Theatre received Minnesota's IVEY Award for Best Production in the Twin Cities.
Directing: Workshops and Readings
Wake Up, Mrs. Moore by Julie Myatt GeVa Theatre 2011
Behind the Eye by Carson Kreitzer The Playwrights’ Center 2009
Enchantment by Carson Kreitzer The Playwrights’ Center 2009
Dog and Wolf by Catherine Filloux The Playwrights’ Center 2009
The Dalai Lama Is Not Welcome Here by Elaine Romero The Playwrights’ Center 2008
Women Who Tidy Up by Ai Nagai The Playwrights’ Center 2008
Inana by Michele Lowe The Playwrights’ Center 2007
Calley’s Tally by Betsy Howie Guthrie Theater 2005
The Boys by Jeffrey Hatcher Guthrie Theater 2005
The Secret Lives of Losers by Megan Mostyn-Brown The Playwrights’ Center 2005
Vrooommm! by Janet Allard with Michael Dixon TheatreWorks, CA 2004
Shadow Language by Kelly Stuart Guthrie Theater 2005
Boats on a River by Julie Marie Myatt Guthrie Theater 2005
Sexsting by Doris Baizley with Susan Raffanti The Playwrights’ Center 2004
Ada by Rosanna Staffa Guthrie Theater 2003
The Sex Habits of American Women by Julie Marie Myatt The Playwrights’ Center 2003
Mayhem by Kelly Stuart InterAct Theatre Company 2003
A Bright, Clear Sky by Kristina Halvorson Guthrie Theater 2003
Incognito by Janet Allard Guthrie Summer Conference 2002
Good Boys by Jane Martin Guthrie Theater 2002
Discovery of America by Arthur Kopit Guthrie Theater 2002
Mayhem by Kelly Stuart Guthrie Theater 2002
Wintertime by Charles Mee Guthrie Theater 2002
Resident Director, The Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis, MN (2007 – 2009)
Responsibilities included directing workshops of plays in progress by American and Japanese playwrights; heading the Core Writer program; moderating public events and post-show discussions; and scheduling and producing 25 workshops each year.
Directing Reviews
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure by Steven Dietz, Commonweal Theatre Company, Lanesboro, MN 2013
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon, whose work is well known in Minnesota, has taken the material confidently in hand, and has fashioned a standout production. There is a timely theme overarching the action (both figuratively and literally); some bold and surprising casting choices (which work); a brisk pace just on the good side of feverish; and a deft handling of the inevitable romance, appallingly overblown by Gillette, mercifully tempered by Dietz, and tamped down to an acceptable palatability by Dixon….. [T]his production will be remembered longer, stronger and better than most. Michael Bigelow Dixon and his gifted cast, from their shining enclave in rural Minnesota, just may have mastered the Game. – James Briggs, http://mcmurdoscamp.wordpress.com
Sweet, Sweet Motherhood by Jeremy Kareken, HERE, off-off Broadway, NYC, 2010
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon does a superb job of keeping the proceedings believable, not an easy task. In this he is abetted by excellent design work from Ray Neufeld (sets), Christopher Brown (lights), and Zoë Woodworth (video). – Clifford Lee Johnson III, Backstage
Match Games – 10 Ten-Minute Plays, Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2009
Suavely directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon, the ensemble performs short plays that take the audience through romantic episodes ranging from youngsters awakening to the opposite sex, dating difficulties, marriage and breakups to the bedroom of a long-married couple whose love life has passed the point of impetuous passion. – Judith Edgerton, Louisville Courier-Journal
Ward 57 by Jessica Goldberg, Florida Stage, 2008
Under Michael Bigelow Dixon's smart and precisely calibrated direction, and thanks to the currents of tension and feeling that flow between Kapil and Morris, Ward 57 gets a penetrating, illuminating world premiere. – Christine Dolan, Miami Herald
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon provides remarkably fluid staging, partly due to Jim Fulton’s lighting and partly due to having characters seamlessly flow from one scene to the next. —Bill Hirschman, Sun Sentinel
Boats on a River By Julie Marie Myatt, Guthrie Theater, 2007
Dixon and designer Victor Becker, who uses tarps and bamboo furniture to create the ramshackle locales, give us a journey that is both theatrical and documentary (aided by the artful integration of Ted’s gritty video journal)….The coup de theatre comes at the end, as the child prostitutes revert to being children again, joyously riding bicycles that they long had wished for. It is a moment of simplicity and powerful tears, thanks to playwright Myatt, director Dixon and an affecting cast. – Rohan Preston, StarTribune
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon wrangles all these intersecting stories well, drilling for detail in performance and presentation… – Dominic A. Papatola, Pioneer Press
Ice Glen by Joan Ackermann, Florida Stage, 2004
A professional world premiere, this production steered by Michael Bigelow Dixon should induce theatre artistic directors around the country to program Joan Ackermann's lyrical, impeccably crafted play….Set in 1918 in a Berkshire cottage going to seed in the wake of a death, the story charted the re-awakening of its principal characters, each of whom were frozen in some respect. Ackermann's language was as exhilarating as a spring thaw, the characters were fully realized, and the plot never sagged into the predictable. – Jan Sjostrom, Palm Beach Daily News
Now at Florida Stage in a world premiere gracefully directed by the Guthrie Theater’s Michael Bigelow Dixon, Ice Glen is billed as a comedy, but it’s an uncommonly rich and layered on… Some of Ackermann’s plot twists are surprising, some predictable, but the play is always energized and engaging.
– Christine Dolen, Miami Herald
The script is getting its professional world premiere at Florida Stage. Unlike many other first-time productions, this one betrays no awkwardness. Under the sure direction of Michael Bigelow Dixon, who steered an earlier student production, all the elements have come together in a harmonious whole.
– Jan Sjostrom, Palm Beach Daily News
The Florida Stage delivers a sparkling premiere for Ice Glen… As the Florida Stage’s guest director for Ice Glen, [Dixon] brings out the warm radiance of Ackermann’s style… – Jack Zink, Sun Sentinel
Michael Bigelow Dixon (of last season’s Mercy of a Storm) again directs with a gentle touch, shepherding a play which could be precious with a more emphatic approach. – Hap Erstein, Palm Beach Post
The Sex Habits of American Women by Julie Marie Myatt, Guthrie Theater, 2004 and Magic Theatre, 2003
Michael Bigelow Dixon, who directed the world premiere of this script last year in California, delivers a smooth, sure-handed staging…of a show that effectively pricks at a sensitive subject while never taking itself too seriously. – Dominic P. Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Directed at the Guthrie Lab by Michael Bigelow Dixon, it’s a production with wit to spare. – Quinton Skinner, City Pages
Myatt’s comic drama, which had its world premiere at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre last weekend, is… gracefully directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon…. The cast is as solid as Dixon’s production. – Chad Jones, The Tribune
Smartly directed by Michael Bigelow Dixon, whose background includes Louisville’s Actors Theatre and the Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Sex Habits displays a production polish rarely encountered at the Magic. – Charles Brousse, Marin Independent Journal
Bill of (W)Rights, Ten Short Plays at Mixed Blood Theatre, 2004
The concept itself is so compelling and so immediate that it would be worth seeing “Bill of (W)Rights” for the experience alone, regardless of the quality of the plays. But Mixed Blood artistic director Jack Reuler and Guthrie Theater literary director Michael Bigelow Dixon, who conceived the project, have assembled a skilled and diverse ensemble of writers. For the most part, their quick-hit plays find their mark….In Kelly Stuart’s “Spyware,” staged [by Dixon] with an exquisite sense of claustrophobia in a cramped spotlight loft, a married couple bickers about who is reading whose e-mail, in a snarky but intriguing look at the issue of “unreasonable search and seizure.” – Dominic P. Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Bill of (W)Rights is an extraordinary case; we might even call it great…. Conceived by Guthrie literary director Michael Bigelow Dixon and Mixed Blood artistic director Jack Reuler, Bill of (W)Rights comprises 10 short plays by nine writers and brings together 24 actors and five directors. – Dylan Hicks, City Pages
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher, Illusion Theatre, 2004
Ironically, Hatcher’s tale was inspired by a juicy circumstance rife with melodrama. He has pushed beyond that facility and journeyed with two people caught in the cruel pincers of fate, whose love is not sufficient to overcome their own actions and the expectations of society. His co-conspirators in a marvelous staging that opened Friday at the Illusion Theater in Minneapolis are director Michael Bigelow Dixon, who senses the tragic soul of the play’s protagonist, and two excellent actors – Steve Hendrickson and Carolyn Pool. – Graydon Royce, Star Tribune
Directed with an adriot, wry touch by Guthrie literary director Michael Bigelow Dixon, the production at once touches on and eschews the stereotypes that you’d anticipate in these two characters. … And so, though it’s a period piece, its deft creation and execution – carrried out with style, skill and panache – makes it feel like a brisk breath of fresh air.” – Dominic P. Papatola, St. Paul Pioneer Press
It’s the heat between these two actors that gives this production its sizzle. Director Michael Bigelow Dixon, who is artistic associate and literary manager of the Guthrie, draws performances from Hendrickson and Pool that made me care about this unlikely couple. Under Bigelow Dixon, I get a strong sense of ensemble collaboration in this production, from playwright through sound designer. – Minneapolis Magazine
Mercy of a Storm by Jeffrey Hatcher, Florida Stage, 2003
Hatcher, director Michael Bigelow Dixon and actors Steve Hendrickson and Carolyn Pool are all Minneapolis-based theater artists, smart ones who know that heaven is in the details. They’ve brought this period tale of class conflict, jealousy and deception to a place where the snow is artificial but the emotions are powerfully authentic. In other words, they get good weather, Florida Stage audiences get more good theater.– Christine Dolen, Miami Herald
As George and Zanovia struggle to weather the storm that’s rocking their marriage, Hendrickson’s and Pool’s carefully calibrated performances, Hatcher’s lucid words and Michael Dixon’s sure-footed direction ensure that we’re there with them, urging them toward a safe harbor. – Jan Sjostrom, Daily News
Beautiful Again by Melanie Marnich, Commonweal Theatre Co., 2003
The Commonweal Theater Company of Lanesboro sent what is to be an annual tradition of performing new scripts by Minnesota playwrights off to a great start by doing everything right…The play, which opened Friday, is also admittedly one of Dixon’s favorites, and fortunately the theater company got him to direct it. Dixon did well by the play…imaginative staging is another key to success. – Christina Killion Valdez, Rochester Post-Bulletin
Black Sheep by Lee Blessing, Florida Stage, 2001
Guest director Michael Bigelow Dixon, literary manager of Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater, shows himself to be a man of visual and verbal dexterity. Note his dream logic scene transitions, as characters vanish in front of our eyes or transmute into each other. Even without much to say – at least by Blessing’s usual standard – Black Sheep manages to be wordy, but it rarely feels like it, thanks to Dixon’s staging flair. — Hap Erstein, Palm Beach Post
Dixon…rigorously guards the boundaries of Black Sheep’s dream state. Inside, he juggles symbolism, parody and satire with finesse. – Jack Zink, Sun-Sentinel
Director Michael Bigelow Dixon and a terrific cast unerringly hit the right notes, finding a tone that makes even the most outrageous idea seem perfectly normal in the Winship’s twisted world…Black Sheep has its own weird logic, and Dixon coolly keeps a sometimes wild ride from veering off track.
— Christine Dolen, The Miami Herald