FRIDAY, APRIL 26
10AM to 12PM Pacific
PITCH WEEK SESSION #9 GUESTS
Michael Blaha
Producer, Fringe Management
Mike is an entertainment attorney, law professor, arbitrator and stage and film producer. His Los Angeles stage credits include “Bloody Poetry” (Beverly Hills Playhouse) “Cinderella” (UCLA Freud Theater, starring Zsa Zsa Gabor), “Byron” (Odyssey Theater), “Just Loretta,” (The Complex), “Three,” (2100 Square Feet Theater), “Job: The Hip-Hopera” (Stella Adler Theater; Los Angeles Drama Critics and LA Weekly Best Musical nominations), “Hoboken to Hollywood” (Edgemar Theater, LA Weekly Best Musical of the Year), and “Hitler’s Tasters” (Electric Lodge). Mike has also produced several shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, including “Richard Parker” (Best International Production), “Nigerian Spam Scam Scam” (Encore Award), “Pick of the Fringe” (Best Cabaret and Variety Nominee), and “Afghanistan is Not Funny.” (Best International Production). Mike’s other U.S. stage credits include “Bukowsical” in Los Angeles and at the New York Fringe, where it won the Best Musical Award, “runt” (Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York), “Latina Christmas Special” (Off Broadway), and “Bard Overboard” (Off-Broadway)..
Internationally, Mike has produced almost 100 shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as partners with Nigel Miles-Thomas in Fringe Management, including “runt,” (Fringe First; Sony Radio Academy Award winner for Best Drama for BBC World Service production), “Night in November” (Best Actor Award), “Sabotage: In Fine Form” (Perrier Best Newcomer Nominee), “This Is So Not About The Simpsons” (starring Harry Shearer), “A Night at the Sans Hotel” (Stage Award Nominee), “Elvis: Young and Beautiful” (Edinburgh Evening News Top Ten Fringe Shows), and multiple sold out, 5 star shows including “Trickboxing,” “Bad Arm,” “A Very British Lesbian” and “Agatha is Missing.”
In addition, Mike produced the worldwide comedy sensation “The Pajama Men” (The Times Double Act of the Year, Best Comedy Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Time Out Award for Best in Sydney Comedy Festival) in “Versus vs. Versus” and “Last Stand to Reason” in their sold out runs at the Soho Theater in London and continued his relationship with the Soho by producing comedian Will Franken’s hit show “Things We Did Before Reality” there.
Mike’s film producing credits include “Chi Girl,” (Slamdance Grand Jury Prize Winner), “The Dogwalker,” (Cinefest Best New Director), “runt” (Pan African Film Festival Best New Director Nominee), “Tropicalia” (Telluride Film Festival selection), “Applewood” and the short film “The Legend of Beaver Dam” (multiple international Best Short Awards and Honorable Mention, Sundance Film Festival).
Mike is the on the Board of Directors of New Musicals, Inc., Impro Theatre and Filmmakers’ Alliance.
Email: mike@fringemanagement.com
Josh Katzger
Director of Marketing, The Rev Theatre Company
Josh has served The REV in several capacities since 2005. He spent several seasons acting and road managing with The REV on Tour before joining the administrative staff in 2015. As Artistic Associate, Josh developed and administered The REV’s Junior Stars and All Access programs while directing, writing, and providing administrative support for The REV on Tour and coordinating The REV’s new musicals series, The PiTCH. He has also appeared in several REV productions at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. In January of 2022, Josh became the company’s Director of Marketing. He is committed to ensuring the theatre is accessible to all and that The REV continues to touch the hearts and minds of Central New Yorkers, young and old, for many years to come. He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Central Florida and an MFA in Theatre Performance from Arizona State University.
John Mitchell
Independent Producer
John has been a theater producer and director for over thirty years. Over his many years, he has produced shows in Sacramento, Los Angeles and New York. Mr. Mitchell began producing at his own theater company in Sacramento at age 25 and completed two seasons of shows before he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in theater and television writing. John has developed three sitcom pilots which were sold (the shows were not picked up), and currently is working on an animated show called Agro Squirrel. Mr. Michell produced “Bumpersticker” for the Hollywood Fringe in 2016 and working with the same team, Mr. Mitchell produced “Bukowsical!” at the New York Fringe, where it took Best of Fringe 2008. The following year, he brought the one-woman show “Now That She’s Gone” to the NY Fringe. In between Mr. Mitchell has been busy developing new works and has three current musicals in development.
He has been active in the management of theater companies and non-profit organizations for more than 30 years as well and currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors of New Musicals Inc.
Ann-Carol Pence
Co-Founder/Associate Producer, Aurora Theatre
ANN-CAROL PENCE (Co-Founder/Producing Artistic Director) arranged the music for Aurora’s first Christmas Canteen in 1996 and was hired full-time in September of 1998 as Resident Musical Director. An education major at James Madison University, she used her background to develop Learning Library (or L2). As a musician, she created Aurora’s Musicals by Moonlight, and Aurora’s New Musical Initiative. She has performed as pianist and music director both nationally (Goodspeed Opera House, Pasadena Playhouse, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Kennedy Center) and locally (The Alliance, Theatrical Outfit, The Horizon, Georgia Ensemble Theatre,). As a proud citizen of Gwinnett, Ann-Carol is most proud of Aurora Theatre winning the first ever Pinnacle Award for Large Non-Profit, and the first ever Moxie Award (for woman-led businesses) for Aurora Theatre. These distinctions go well with her 5 Suzi Awards for Outstanding Music Direction. She was a participant in the 2016 Atlanta Regional Leadership Institute and member of the “Best Class Ever!”