Meet the Hosts

Meet your Hosts.

Mikael Johnson

Mikael Johnson is a native of Middletown, Maryland and a graduate of Frostburg State University (B.S Communications). Johnson took the stage for the first time at Winchester’s open-mic in Baltimore, Maryland (November 2001) where upon he managed one sentence and was subsequently escorted from the establishment after the following comic made fun of him and Johnson rose to his feet drunkenly gesticulating some sort of fighting stance. Soon after, he (wisely) enrolled in acting and improv classes at the Maryland Ensemble Theater in Frederick, Maryland. Johnson’s study of all things acting, improv and comedy, soon took him down the road to Washington DC. For the past 7 years he has been performing, writing, directing and teaching all over the Metropolitan region.

2011 has been a busy year for Johnson, who had a co-starring role as “Zamir” in American Ensemble Theater’s production of “Why Torture Is Wrong”. Right around the same time, his 3-person improve troupe won Washington Improv Theater’s F.I.S.T tournament which included over 60 teams from all over the area. His two-man improv show ShawnMikael(s), which plays monthly at the DC Improv Lounge, received critical acclaim at this year’s Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC, garnering “5 out of 5” ratings from DC Theater Scene and Maryland Theater Guide. ShawnMikael(s) also won this past year’s Harrisburg Improv Comedy Throwdown for the second year in a row, beating out teams from all over the east coast. Currently, Johnson performs with Washington Improv Theater’s longest running ensemble, “161” and the independent and critically acclaimed group, “The Score”–who were recently featured in Improvisation News following their successful debut at the Del Close Marathon in New York City.

Johnson is thrilled to be back working with Clark Kline and Doug Powell for this year’s 72 Film Fest, and thanks J.T Smith, Flying Dog, the teams that have supported the Fest year after year, and all of the talented performers that made the trek up the road to help out with this year’s 72 short film. Many thanks go out to Amy Hard as well, for all her love and support; and to Clark too, for his never-ending hard work and creative support.
photo: Erick Gibson Doug Powell has been writing and performing comedy around Washington DC and Baltimore for over a decade. A veteran recording artist, Doug has released four comedy albums and numerous ringtone albums with DC-based Hahaas Comedy. Combining multiple disciplines, Powell twists structured material with improv making each performance a unique experience for both himself and the audience. This past year marked the release of his latest stand-up album/DVD “I Am You An Hour From Now,” recorded live at the Frederick Cultural Arts Center by Fool Martyr Productions and Hahaas Comedy. Within the past year Doug has teamed up with Frederick-based Flying Dog Brewery on numerous creative projects. The most recent is a charming burglar who breaks into homes in order to videotape his personal beer reviews. “Sipping Tom” as the character is known, has given Powell an opportunity to sharpen his understanding of improv comedy while working with a film crew. Doug Powell is once again slated to co-host this year’s 72 Film Fest in Frederick, MD along-side good friend and collegue Mikael Johnson. With each passing year Doug Powell hopes to mature and grow as a writer and a performer with the overall goal being a Kung-Fu type mastery of his art.

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