Playwright

Michael
Shayan

Michael Shayan is an Emmy Award–nominated, Harvard trained, queer Iranian-American writer, performer, and illusionist. Following sold out, record-breaking runs in Chicago, DC, Denver and Southern California, Shayan's acclaimed solo play Avaaz is currently on national tour. Directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (hand to God), with a Tony and Emmy–winning creative team, Shayan embodies his larger-than-life mother's epic journey from Tehran to "Tehran-geles," CA. The play received three Helen Hayes Awards nominations in 2025, including Outstanding Lead Performer and Outstanding Production. Recognized by NBC as a “rising star in comedy,” Shayan was recently profiled in the Los Angeles Times and honored in Out Magazine’s prestigious OUT100 list of the year’s “most impactful and influential LGBTQ+ visionaries.” He was a nominated writer and Consulting Producer for the Emmy Award–winning The Book of Queer (Max) and got his start in television on the Emmy–winning We’re Here (Max). His new play Cruising will receive its world premiere from Audible in 2025, directed by Tony Award nominee Robert O’Hara (Slave Play). A Fellow with the Sundance Institute, Lambda Literary, and the Sun Valley Writers Conference, Shayan’s plays have been produced and developed at South Coast Repertory, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Geffen Playhouse, Olney Theatre Center, New York Stage and Film, La MaMa, and Rattlestick Theater, among others. His distinctive and innovative comedy has reached millions on social media. At age 13, he was the youngest performer in the history of the Hollywood Magic Castle. @michaelshayan

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