🎧 Episode 12 - Pay Attention to Everything - Michael Lewis

For this episode, I sat down with Michael Shawn Lewis — storyteller, director, producer, and longtime creative force whose path runs from classical music and Broadway to animation, preschool television, and beyond.

But this conversation isn’t just about credits. It’s about reinvention. About finding your own voice. And about what happens when you stop chasing the path you thought you should want and start making the work that actually matters to you.

We talk about:

✨ Growing Up with Story

Raised on a farm in Tennessee, Michael shares how animals, solitude, and observation shaped his earliest sense of communication and storytelling.

🎭 From Opera to Broadway

He opens up about studying opera and conducting, then moving into musical theatre, performing in Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and on Broadway for years before realizing he wanted something more.

💡 The “Now What?” Moment

After years in the grind of eight shows a week, and a major health scare that forced a hard reset, Michael reflects on the turning point that pushed him back toward his own creative voice.

🎬 Building Stories for Kids

From theatrical producing to founding the New York Children’s Theatre Festival, Michael talks about discovering how deeply he loves creating with and for children.

🐸 Working with The Jim Henson Company