Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Michael Bayler is very excited to be a part of the M.F.A Acting program here at IU. He comes from Big Rock, Illinois, a tiny town about 50 miles west of Chicago. He graduated from Hinckley-Big Rock High School in 2013 with a class of about 50 students and then headed off to the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO to study journalism. Within his first semester, Michael made the switch from journalism to theatre after taking an Acting for Non-Majors course realizing his only reason for wanting to do journalism was to be in front of a camera. He was fortunate to perform in 16 different shows throughout his time at Mizzou and is extremely grateful for all of the opportunities he has been given over the years.

By the end of his time at Mizzou, Michael knew he wanted more training and a space to further develop his craft, so he set his sights on grad school. After going through the URTA auditions in Chicago, he accepted the offer to attend the program here at Indiana University after graduating in 2017. He could not have made a better decision. Ever since arriving in fall of 2017, he has loved his time here, and he has enjoyed the opportunity to learn and grow with such a positive community.

After IU, Michael plans to head to Chicago to continue his acting career and be close to his family.