THURSDAY, MAY 1
2pm to 4pm Pacific
PITCH WEEK SESSION #8 GUESTS
Marco Gomez
Producer/Director, DOMA Theatre Company
Marco is an award winning director (Broadway World, LA Weekly, NAACP, etc) in Los Angeles for his work with DOMA Theatre Co and his recent Broadway credits include – An Act of God, Matilda, On Your Feet, The Color Purple, Latin History For Morons. He is also a film producer and has developed films in the US, Rio de Janeiro, and Rome. He is also the Chief Financial Officer for Spare Some Change, a California non-profit organization dedicated to preventing and assisting run away youth and other arts based non-profits. Marco has over 20 years of experience in real estate development and construction, asset/project/property management, financing, and production and investment. He maintains professional memberships with the National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Burbank Association of Realtors, Pacific West Realtors, Affordable Housing Management Association and The Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers.
Brian Graden
CEO, Brian Graden Media
Brian served for 13 years as the President of Entertainment, MTV Networks Music Channels and President of Logo until December 2010. As President of Entertainment, Mr. Graden lead and provided programming over- sight to all the MTVN music networks including MTV, VH1, MTV2 and CMT. While there, he developed such cultural phenomenon as The Osbourne’s, P Diddy’s Making The Band, Wild and Out, Run’s House, Pimp My Ride, Newlyweds, Punk’d, and Jackass, to name a few. He also developed and green-lit MTV’s musical flagship, Total Request Live, which helped propel countless artists to stardom. Additionally, he oversaw flagship events like the Video Music Awards. He also green-lit MTV’s biggest hits of recent years, Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant. MTV remained the #1 destination for viewers ages 12-24 throughout Brian’s entire tenure. He similarly engineered a ratings turnaround at Vh1 with programs like I LOVE THE 80’s and Best Week Ever.
His most recent venture is the production company Brian Graden Media. In 2013, Brian Graden Media received significant attention and their first Emmy win for their innovative series HitRECord, a new take on the variety show produced with and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The show is made collaboratively by a community of hundreds of thousands of artists from all over the world via the web, and it features short films, live performances, cartoons and much more. In nine years, BGM has delivered 20 seasons of television, including: two seasons of Instant Influencer for YouTube Originals, two seasons of Create Together for YouTube Originals, Band Together with Logic for YouTube Originals, four seasons of Escape the Night for YouTube Originals, Temmoraland for Lifetime, The Disappearance of Natalie Holloway for Oxygen, The Todrick Show for MTV, Walk of Shame Shuttle for VH1, Finding Prince Charming for LOGO, Animal Crackers for CW, Gnarkatz for Rated Red/Go-90, Men Of The Strip for E!, Lance loves Michael for E!, Buying the Business for CNBC and Secret Genius for Spotify. BGM has also developed and delivered pilots for over 30 networks including Netflix, NBC, Oxygen, Peacock, Lifetime, History, BET, A&E, Disney Channel, Bravo, and POP TV and many others. In 2020, Brian Graden Media snagged its second Emmy win for Create Together with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In 1996, Brian Graden’s first production company was also a success. He commissioned a video Christmas card from two upstart talents Trey Parker and Matt Stone called “The Spirit of Christmas.” The five-minute short quickly became the underground secret vice of Hollywood, and spawned a little series called South Park, which Graden developed and Executive Produced with Parker and Stone. South Park has received Emmy’s in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 for outstanding animated program; a 2007 AFI Award for Program of the Year; 2006 Peabody Award to name just a few. Today, now streaming on HBO Max and celebrating its 25th year, South Park is also one of the biggest financial successes in TV history.
Starting in 1989, Mr. Graden spent his early years in television working at Fox, a new network at the time, rising to SVP of Development and overseeing such venerable franchises as Cops and America’s Most Wanted. He also created the smash syndicated relationship-show hit, STUDS. Mr. Graden has also continued to consult for clients like the NBCUni Cable family and other networks.
Graden’s interest in music dates back to his days performing in his 80’s cover band, Ace Oxygen and The Ozones, during college, which continues to perform today.
Mr. Graden holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Other awards and honors include an EQCA (Equality California) Award for Commitment to Advancing LGBT Equality, GLAAD Media Vito Russo Award for Excellence in Media, and multiple years on the board of the Hollywood Radio & Television Society. He is also a frequent speaker, most recently keynoting The 4th Cellcom Media Conference in Tel Aviv. He’s also been a keynote speaker at the 2008 Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus Annual Commencement, the Reaching Out MBA conference, and as an ambassador for MTV’s Fight For Your Rights: Take a Stand Against violence campaign, which he spearheaded while at the network.
Michael Jackowitz
Founder & President, WitzEnd Productions
Michael started working in the commercial theater in 1995 with The Food Chain, by Nicky Silver at Westside (Arts) Theater. Over the years he has produced many other commercial ventures, non-profit productions and an opera. In 2013, he founded WitzEnd Productions to create and develop new works in the theater.
CURRENT PRODUCTIONS: SMASH (Imperial Theatre) Some Like it HOT ( National Tour), A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond Musical (National tour), 1660 Vine, a digital theater film (Prime Video, Streaming Musicals), Estella Scrooge a modern re-telling of A Christmas Carol by John Caird and Paul Gordon (Streaming Musicals).
UPCOMING (WitzEnd Projects): The Hawaiian Goddess (Honolulu) by Roslyn Catracchia and Patrick Makuakane. Dark of the Moon, by Jonathan Prince, Lindy Robbins and Dave Bassett and Steve Robson, directed by Chris Gattelli. An adaptation of All the Broken Places by John Boyne. Poseidon by Jonathan Prince and Andrew Lippa.
PAST PRODUCTIONS:Harmony, the musical by Barry Manilow (Barrymore Theater), How to Dance in Ohio (Belasco Theater), Once on This Island, 2018 TONY AWARD Best Revival of a Musical (Circle in the Square Theater and National Tour) and Escape to Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett (Broadway and National Tour). Diana (Longacre Theatre and Netflix 2021). Michael was a lead producer on Tuck Everlasting (Broadhurst Theatre April 2016) directed by Casey Nicholaw, and Daddy Long Legs having completed a successful Off-Broadway run at the Davenport Theater in New York after an 18 city tour including Tokyo, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, Manitoba and Seoul, Korea (multiple Best Musical Awards) by John Caird (Les Miserables) and Paul Gordon. It was the first show ever to be live-streamed from New York in 2015 and continues to be a fan favorite on BroadwayHD. He was also the Executive Producer of Séance on a Wet Afternoon the opera by Stephen Schwartz, World Premiere Opera Santa Barbara (2009), New York City Opera/Lincoln Center (2011) with upcoming Chamber version in development. Gettin’ The Band Back Together recently completed run at Belasco Theater. Lifespan of a Fact starring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale recently completed run at Studio 54.
He was a producer of the 50th Anniversary revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway starring Daniel Radcliffe, Darren Criss and Nick Jonas (8 Tony Award Nominations, including BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL 2011), PIPPIN at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London 2011-12 , The Best Is Yet To Come: The Music of Cy Coleman devised and directed by David Zippel, Rubicon Theatre Company/59E59 Off-Broadway (2012 DRAMA DESK AWARD for BEST REVIEW), My Fairytale the Hans Christian Andersen musical by Stephen Schwartz, American Premiere PCPA 2009, My Antonia, an adaptation of the Willa Cather novel by Scott Schwartz at Rubicon Theatre Company and Pacific Resident Theatre Company in Los Angeles (2008 LA Weekly Nominee, Best Production), It’s Only Life (2008 LA Ovation Award: Best Book/Music/Lyrics of an original work), by John Bucchino directed by Daisy Prince (2008 Santa Barbara Independent Award: Best Director), with vocal arrangements by Jason Robert Brown World Premiere at Rubicon Theatre Company, and tick, tick…BOOM!, by Jonathan Larson directed by Scott Schwartz, at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles following its successful run at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, CA (2005). As noted above, Michael started his career in commercial theater with The Food Chain by Nicky Silver directed by Robert Falls and starring Hope Davis and Phyllis Newman followed by AVOW by Bill C. Davis (Mass Appeal) at the Century Theater and I, Do, I Do at Queens Theater in the Park with Donna McKechnie. He produced a regional production of Abyssinia at Lyric Stage in Dallas with Josephine Abady directing in 2000.
Michael served as the Musical Theater Liaison for the Harold Prince Musical Theater Program at The Directors Company in New York in 1993. He is a graduate of the Commercial Theater Institute’s Producing Seminar, class of 1996 and continues to serve as Rubicon Theatre’s Director of New Work in California.
Rebecca Lowrey
CEO, MusicalWriters.Com
Rebecca Lowrey, Owner and CEO of MusicalWriters.com, is passionate about creating new works and has spent the past 17 years as a premier music director, vocal coach, and accompanist in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, New York City and everywhere in between. The impressive ability to play anything put in front of her has gained her entry to elite casting rooms, production meetings, rehearsals, and beyond, resulting in a unique skillset that spans more than just music — simply put, she knows what works for a musical. A director and producer as well, Rebecca is adept at getting new shows up on their feet in record time, all while efficiently coordinating the long list of to-dos required to prepare a show for an audience
Rebecca is a champion of diverse casting and production teams (#WomenDirect) and has the pull and connections to assemble unforgettable, live, onstage bands. In 2017, Rebecca began producing a series of intimate productions known as the Living Room Concerts. Starting with simple piano-only performances in her living room with friends, the series expanded to poolside parties and festive holiday gatherings. Her recent credits include the critically acclaimed production of the rock musical Lizzie at Imprint Theatreworks in Dallas, a lauded run of Gutenberg! The Musical! at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth, and a Rocky Horror Show and 9 to 5 that celebrated the uniqueness of its performers.
You may recognize Rebecca from TikTok, where her popular #DuetWithMe videos encourage thousands of performers to #KeepSinging. Rebecca earned her bachelor of arts degree in music (with a minor in business administration) from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.