Mickey Rowe

Mickey Rowe (he/him) has had a prolific and varied career as an actor, director and public speaker; now highly sought after both nationally and internationally. He was the epicenter of significant publicity when he became the first autistic actor to play Christopher Boone, the lead role in the Tony Award winning play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This also made him the first autistic actor to ever play any autistic character in a professional performance setting. He has appeared as the title role in the Tony Award winning play Amadeus and more. As an autistic child and through school Mickey had no friends but found sanctuary as an audience member in theater and the performing arts. Mickey's tenacious pursuit of his goals, and his belief that our differences and perceived weaknesses are actually our strengths have allowed him to live his dream. As an autistic man Mickey is also a husband and a father, learning how to effectively communicate in the face of differences through all types of relationships, professional and romantic. Mickey now teaches best practices and is changing the industries in which he works. His casting in the lead role of Curious Incident led to a multitude of high-profile interviews and speaking engagements. He has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, Teen Vogue, Playbill, NPR, CNN, Huffington Post, Salon, and has keynoted at organizations including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Disability Rights Washington, Yale, The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, the DAC of the South Korean government, and more. Mickey is author of the book "Our Differences are our Strengths" coming soon and was the founding Artistic Director of National Disability Theatre, which works in partnership with Tony Award winning companies such as La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego and the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and more. NDT productions re-imagine disability and universal design as key storytelling and design elements showcasing that people can be successful not just in spite of their challenges, but also because of them. National Disability Theatre's productions feature only professional artists, artisans, and designers with disabilities.