Remembering Michael Singer

“I am deeply saddened to share the passing of Michael Singer, a beloved friend and Mosaic Theater Board Member. Michael joined the Board in 2015, one month before the opening of the Company’s first production, Unexplored Interior.  His service to Mosaic was exemplary and his legacy will continue to inspire us. Michael’s kind, wise, and stalwart leadership has shaped the Company. He lovingly gave his voice, expertise, labor, and financial resources to build Mosaic Theater from an exciting startup to the visionary organization it is today. 

I have reflected on Michael’s legacy since being fortunate enough to visit with him briefly Wednesday evening. A decade of Board meeting minutes illustrates Michael’s influence on our community. He never sought the spotlight, but when Michael began to chair the Nominating Committee in 2018, he deftly managed some of Mosaic’s most significant transformations. Under his leadership, we professionalized, diversified, strengthened, and grew Mosaic’s exceptional Board of Trustees. Michael brilliantly coordinated staff, Committee members, two Artistic Directors, and three Board Chairs to prospect, cultivate, vet, and onboard 24 new Board Members over 8 years. This was an extraordinary organizational accomplishment. Michael also established governance practices such as Board orientations, a buddy system, and a regular annual cadence for the Nominating Committee’s work. I will always be grateful for the care with which Michael prepared for every meeting and mindfully led those meetings with values of inclusion and equity.  

In addition to his Committee responsibilities, Michael was a community ambassador, never tiring of extolling Mosaic’s accomplishments and encouraging others to do the same. He brought his husband James and their ebullient circle of friends to the Theater, celebrated Mosaic artists, and hosted Mosaic’s first Partners Circle event for Monumental Travesties, a play by Psalmayene 24 set just blocks away from Michael’s Lincoln Park home of 35 years. 

We are devastated by the loss of a good friend and Mosaic compatriot. We were buoyed by Michael’s warm smile and his enormous and multi-faceted contributions to our community. Michael’s memory and his legacy are indeed a blessing.”