Canadian Comedy Award Nomination

Norm Vs. Cancer nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for "Best One Person Show"!

Michael directed and co-wrote the show with Second City Alum Rob Hawke. It won Best Solo Male Performance at the San Francisco Fringe and is now being performed at hospitals to educate doctors and nurses about patients' experiences.

 

 

 

Michael moderated Animation Voice Over Casting Panel at AFI Hollywood

Michael moderates casting director panel at SAG Hollywood on "Casting Character Actors"

Wizards of Waverly Place

Michael guest stars with Wilmer Valderrama on the Wizards of Waverly Place.

Fedex Spot

Michael is featured in a  national network campaign for FedEx.

 

 

 

 

MICHAEL IS NOMINATED FOR A GEMINI!

Michael has been nominated for a Gemini Award (a Canadian Emmy) in the category of "Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series" for his performance in Grossology. He voices the lead role of Ty Archer, part of the brother/sister team who work together to solve crimes too gross for adults. The show is a hilarious CSI for kids and airs daily on Discovery Kids in the U.S., YTV in Canada, and on various other networks around the world.

EASTWICK

Michael played Fidel's right hand man in ABC's new series Eastwick.

AFTRA Series - HEALING AND PERFORMANCE MASTERY

Because of the success of the recent panel event on “Healing and Performance Mastery” produced and moderated by Michael, and featuring Larry Moss, Jean-Louis Rodrigue, Marice Tobias, and April Daisy White,  AFTRA has expanded the event into a series. Marice and Michael returned in May to present “The  Voice as Mirror of the Mind”, a voice-over workshop. In August, Michael led a workshop called "The Invisible Toolbox: Acting and the Subconscious".
Here's a review from blogger Tracy Pattin's perspective, on Voicebank.

My Name is Earl

Michael appeared with Danny Glover in an episode of "My Name is Earl" on NBC.

Michael plays a prisoner of war being comically water tortured by Glover. 

 

 

 

 

 

CAPITAL ONE SPOT

Michael played a Visigoth in the new Capital One campaign to air this Fall on network tv.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boston Market Spot

Watch Michael in this new national network commercial for Boston Market. 

Click on the pic of Mikey and the Dummy to go to the Boston Market website and see the commercial - it's called "8 seconds".

 

 

 

Hello Tribeca Film Festival!

2 MINUTE PROMO - click here

 

Michael sits on SAG Conservatory Voice-Over panel
Michael joined voice legend Bill Ratner and Voicebank founder Stewart Wilson-Turner on a panel at the AFI in Hollywood to speak to SAG Conservatory members about being a voice-over artist this past October. The first part of the evening was a Q&A after which each of the three panel members directed each of the 50+ students in reading commercial copy.

 

Snot, Bugs & Poop
Grossology returns for a second season!! Michael voices the lead character "Ty Archer" in the animated tv series Grossology. The series is a CSI for kids - Ty and sister Abby are Grossologists who solve crimes too gross for adults.

Airs daily in the U.S. on Discovery Kids and in Canada on YTV.

 

 

Demo Reel a Winner
Michael's demo reel was one of four finalists in the Comedy category at the Reel Actors Film Festival in Los Angeles. He also took home the Audience Favorite Award! The demo was edited by the amazing editor and eclipse chaser David Makepeace. Click here to view the reel or go to the Demos page of this website.

 

Skinheads
Skinheads, a comedy about unlikely friendships, stars Jayne Eastwood, Jonathan Goad, Michael Cohen and Michael Barry, and is directed by Michael Vass. The film recently picked up awards at the Euroshorts International Festival of Short Film in Poland, and the Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival in Canada.

Click here to check out the trailer

Cancer Laughs in Prague
Michael and Second City alumnus Rob Hawke returned from Prague where they debuted F*ck You Cancer, a terminally funny one-man show, at the Prague Fringe Festival. Michael directed, Rob conceived the show, and the duo co-wrote. The show was also produced as part of the Bad Dog Short Play Festival in Toronto.

 

 

 

Clown Ballet
Michael and dancer/choreographer Donna Marie Baratta opened the International Clown and Circus Festival in Toronto with their clown ballet turn choreographed to Sleeping Beauty. Donna Marie has performed with Mickey Rooney in Crazy For You and in Livent's production of Sunset Boulevard. She knows ballet. Michael doesn't. She's tall. He's not. It was funny.