Mickey Rowe
From Special Education To Broadway
- Topics:
- Belonging
- Disability Awareness
- Professional Development
- Audiences:
- Grade 6-12 Students
- Teachers & Staff
- Fundraising Events
Fee: More Than $5K
Invite Mickey• Grew Up as an Autistic Student with an IEP
• Artistic Director of the National Disability Theatre
• Featured by NY Times, TODAY show, Wall Street Journal
As an autistic and legally blind person, it was always made clear to Mickey the many things he was incapable of doing. But Mickey did them all anyway—and he succeeded because of, not despite, his autism.
He became the first autistic actor to play the lead role in the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, landed the title role in the play Amadeus, and founded the National Disability Theatre.
Mickey faced untold obstacles along the way, but his story ends in triumph.
Mickey inspires all people—autistic and non-autistic alike—that the things that make us different are often our biggest strengths.
Mickey has been featured in the New York Times, the TODAY show, PBS, Vogue, Playbill, NPR, CNN, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Forbes, and Smarter in Seconds. He is the author of, “Fearlessly Different: An Autistic Actor’s Journey to Broadway’s Biggest Stage.”
He has been a keynote speaker at organizations such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center, Yale University, Columbia University, Disability Rights Washington, The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, and more.
SPEAKING TOPICS: 2023 Top College Speakers
“Mickey’s warmth and grace instantly put our guests at ease. All of the guests I spoke to said that this was the best event we’ve ever had, and last year our speaker was Maya Angelou, so that is saying a lot! He gave our audience the ability to understand their own children and feel hope for the first time.”NC Child Development Center
“Mickey was amazing; I have heard nothing but compliments for his talk and the Q&A session. He was the perfect kickoff to a wonderful day of learning.”City of Rancho Cucamonga
“Mickey’s speech moved one of the attendees so much that he gave us a check for $10,000 on the spot and promised to pay all of the expenses to bring Mickey back next year.”Meristem HS
“Mickey Rowe was wonderful! What a great presentation. He provided our audience with a great keynote. Had the entire audience loving his presentation. He was authentic. Love to have him come back again!”The Family Cafe