Mike Descoteaux (he/him) is a veteran songwriter, improviser, and creator of musical theater whose work fuses sharp comedy, emotional truth, and theatrical storytelling. For more than 25 years he has built a career on bold original projects that surprise audiences and performers alike — from full-length books and scores like Ready for Life, Dia de los Muertos, The Fundamental Skip, and Warfield: USA, to boundary-pushing improvised musicals including BLANK! The Musical (Off-Broadway), Musical! The Musical, and Baby Wants Candy.

Genre-fluid as a composer, Mike moves effortlessly between contemporary folk-pop, rock, lush orchestral textures, and pointed political satire, with songs that explore complex characters and tell unexpected stories. As founding director of the Music Program at The Second City Training Center in Chicago and longtime music director of their famed ETC stage, he developed hundreds of songs, revues, musicals, and artists.

A true collaborator, Mike has written and worked alongside Grammy, Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winners — Jason Robert Brown, Ellis Paul, William Finn, Laura Hall, Jackie Hoffman, and Keegan-Michael Key among them. His work has been seen at New World Stages, The Goodman Theatre, Club Passim, The Wilbur, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Second City, and a cruise ship or two. He’s led workshops and master classes worldwide in improvisation, songwriting, and musical theater at institutions including Northwestern University, Columbia College, Harvard University, BroadwayCon, and UCB.

His achievements have earned him the Jeff Award (Chicago), the Paynter Award (Northwestern), and national recognition from the Johnny Mercer Foundation, the American Music Theater Project, and grants from NEMPAC and the MCC. Whether in rehearsal rooms, on the stage, or in live music venues, Mike thrives on the collaborative, often messy alchemy of bringing daring, original works to life.