Support Michael Pavese

While teaching a class on April 1, Michael Pavese was suddenly unable to speak. Quick action by students and school staff brought medical help, which ultimately led to urgent brain surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He is currently undergoing radiation and chemo treatment for glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Mike had been quietly managing his Parkinson’s disease for years, his reserved, humble nature never revealing the struggles that illness brings. Now he and his loving and supportive partner Mischelle face a far more severe challenge, an uncertain outcome, and a battery of financial costs.

All of us who know Mike treasure him for his kind and gentle nature, his wit, and his love of literature, pop culture, and Broadway. In addition to his passion for teaching, Mike is an exemplary father, a dedicated friend, a patient mentor, an essayist and prolific playwright, and a vital force in regional theatre. His work, imbued with the open-hearted insights of the man himself, can be inspiring or peculiar or emotionally complicated, but it is always entertaining.

This fundraising effort is our opportunity to show Mike how much his community of friends, colleagues, theater pals, and students and their families truly appreciate what an extraordinary person he is and how much he’s touched all our lives.

If you’re able, please contribute whatever you can to make this difficult time in his life a little easier. Let’s all surround Mike with an outpouring of love and support today.