Meet Michelle F. Solomon | Arts Writer & Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle F. Solomon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle F., where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., three hours from New York City and two hours from Philadelphia. I was a child performer and started singing professionally at the age of about 5. My mother was a teacher but had a passion for theater, so she would wake me up at 5 a.m. and we would hop on a bus to see show after show on Broadway. I studied theater and believed I would be a Broadway actress or work in television when I grew up. I went to Emerson College in Boston to study theater. When I went to New York City the summer of my junior year before becoming a senior in college, I auditioned for Broadway shows and worked as a waitress. I was the most talented kid in my high school, was admitted to all kinds of summer theater scholarship programs in high school, won competitions, and was one of the best in my college, but when I got to New York, there were a million people like me. I went back to Wilkes-Barre and met my mentor who was the editor of the largest newspaper in town which was owned by a huge corporation. She took me under her wing and taught me everything I know about being a writer and editor. I ended up getting my master’s degree in writing from SUNY-Albany.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I began as an arts writer when my mentor Allison Walzer-Danoff saw something in me. With my background in the arts, she knew I could review any show and sent me out to cover everything — theater, ballet, classical music, even rock ‘n’ roll acts. It was like getting tossed into the fire. I worked for a daily newspaper and I’d go see a show and run back to the newsroom and write the story in about 30 minutes so it could make it into the next day’s paper. I learned how to write fast. I worked as an arts and entertainment editor and writer and got noticed. I got recruited to go to other large newspapers — Albany (NY) Times Union as the Executive Arts Editor and then the Detroit Free Press as an Assistant Features Editor/Entertainment. While in Detroit, I started doing a television segment for the NBC affiliate station. The news director there asked me if I’d want to work at the TV station, so I left newspaper and was in television for the last two decades of my career. Recently, I’ve gone back to devoting my life to writing about the arts as a theater and movie critic and as editor of three arts websites, one run by the Miami Beach Arts Trust and two run by counties — Miami Dade County and Broward County. How I got to where I am today professionally is having dedication and confidence to know that anything anyone gives to me, I can do. The lessons I’ve learned along the way is that hard work does pay off, stick to your commitments, become the best in your field, and make sure that your work every day feels like you are getting paid for something you love to do.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely Broward County and Miami-Dade County’s art scenes.

There is some great theater in both counties and it isn’t the touring groups that come into the area. We have some of the best regional theater anywhere. Theater in Broward County in Wilton Manors on Dixie Highway at Island City Stage and The Foundry has become Fort Lauderdale’s theater row and also presents sometimes original LGBTQ+ plays. In Miami-Dade, companies like GableStage and Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables produce shows that are as good as off-Broadway. The Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places has a world-class collection of art that extends throughout the county. Also, Miami’s neighborhood of Allapattah is whereto see some great art. Private collectors in Miami have gathered their art in repurposed warehouses: the Rubell Collection, Jorge M. Perez’s El Espacio 23, Margulies Collection, while Bakehouse Art Complex is a place to watch artists at work. In Little River, Locust Projects is an incubator for some great art. This is what the Miami Art scene is about. To hear some great music of all types, we’d go to the Miami Beach Bandshell, or for classical music that isn’t stuffy, there’s the New World Symphony and New World Center by architect Frank Gehry is a work of art in itself. Lunch or dinner would be on Calle Ocho in Little Havana, where people-watching is an art.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mother, Mabel-Faye, a teacher and mentor who was always my biggest fan and introduced me to the arts. My professional mentor Allison Walzer-Danoff who taught me everything I know about being a great editor and leader. Deborah Collura who saw that I could be on TV and be in charge of a digital newsroom. Bill Pohovey who always encouraged by creativity and allowed me to create an original True Crime podcast for the ABC station in Miami. Harvey J. Burstein, the editor of miamiartzine.com who has trusted me as his editor for almost a decade. Laura Bruney at the Arts & Business Council for letting me lead ArtburstMiami.com and Phillip Dunlap who had faith in me to start a program from the ground up for the Broward Cultural Division. I’m sure I’ve missed someone. There have been many people who have helped me grow as a professional and a person. Everyone should have mentors along the way.

Website: https://michellesolomon.journoportfolio.com/

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