Our Team

About Making the American Man

We are passionate fans of theatre and are dedicated to covering theatre from the perspective of fans involved in theatre as a regular part of their lives. We are dedicated to calling out the industry when it fails to serve its highest ideals, including racial and sexual identity, as well as covering up the misdeeds of its stars who prey on others.

In short, Making the American Man is a resource for the aspiring theatre performer during every stage of the theatre production as well as an ongoing call to action to further social progress in Broadway.

We are not financed by anyone inside the Broadway industry and have ruffled way too many feathers to be cozy with any Broadway mega-players. This way, we can give you honest coverage of the industry that desperately needs some.

Making the American Man has a writing staff committed to its ideals that publishes work regularly. Making the American Man will also publish guest editorials on any theatre topic from individuals. If you would like to have a guest editorial published, please submit to office@makingtheamericanman.com. Guest editorials are published based on the discretion of the editorial staff.

Staff Writers

Michael Ramirez

Michael started his career in blogging and content creation in 2009 with the launch of a successful political blog in his hometown of Riverside, CA. In 2016, he launched Making the American Man which has since become a leading voice in the theatrical industry. His work has been featured and mentioned in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Atlanta Journal Constitution. The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, Yahoo Lifestyle, and The New Yorker.

Critics

Ben Payton – Associate Theatre Critic

Ben’s love of theatre was nurtured at a young age having grown up in Columbia, SC. His passion for theatre grew over the years by being a part of community theatre organizations in and around Columbia. During this time he also helped to create a new theatre organization. He has worked in arts administration for many years. In 2019 Ben joined the Making the American Man team, and in late 2019 he and his family moved to East Coast. Ben looks forward to experience East Coast theatre and share those experiences with Making the American Man readers.

Clara Encarnacion – Contributing Critic

Clara Encarnacion is an arts writer who has been reviewing theater since 2007. A member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a past fellow of the National Endowment for the Arts Journalism Institute for Theater and Musical Theater, Clara has reviewed theater productions. She is passionate about theater whether it is Shakespeare or innovative new works.