PITCH WEEK SESSION #4 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 was one of the founding producers of Sci-Fest LA, the Festival of One Act Science Fiction Plays, which was presented from 2014-2016 and featured plays based on the works of such science fiction icons as Ray Bradbury, Ursula LeGuin, Clive Barker, and Neil Gaiman. Sci-Fest lives on as one of the founders and ongoing sponsors of the Omega Sci-Fi Awards for science fiction-themed short stories.

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

Cate Caplin

Producer/Director/Choreographer

Cate Caplin has produced, directed, and choreographed over 200 productions and her work has been seen on television, in films, music videos, commercials, and in theatrical venues world wide from the Paris Opera House to the Broadwater Stage.

She is a 34 times Regional and International Theatrical Ballroom Dance Champion, a published writer, and an acting and dance coach.

Cate wrote and directed her first feature film, Mating Dance, which won an Accolade Award, and she has been the recipient of a Garland Award, a Women in Theatre Red Carpet Award, multiple LA Stage Alliance, Ovation, Eddon, and Scenie Awards and an Award of Excellence from the LA Film Commission for her work as a writer, director, choreographer, and producer.

Cate is a Directing Member of Actors Studio West, an Associate Member of SDC, and was honored to receive Playwright Arena’s “Lee Melville Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Los Angeles Theatre Community.”

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.

Brad Willcuts

Associate Professor of Musical Theatre, Michigan State University Department of Theatre / New Musical Laboratory

Brad’s credits as a choreographer, movement director, fight director, director and assistant span Broadway, National Tours, International Theaters, Regional Theaters and the Metropolitan Opera. He currently serves as Associate Director/Choreographer for the new Dolly Parton musical entitled Here You Come Again touring the country.

Broadway and National Tour: Amazing Grace (Assistant Fight and Military Movement Director), International: Legende Holmes (Holmes the Legend) at the Karlin Theater in Prague, Czechia (Dance, Movement and Fight Assistant), Met Opera: Porgy and Bess (Assistant Violence Director), Mother Courage and Her Children, starring Kathleen Turner (Assistant Movement Director) at the Tony Award Winning Arena Stage in Washington D.C., Hello, Dolly (Director/Choreographer) at San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre. He recently choreographed the World Premiere of The Fantasticks at Flint Repertory Theatre. Brad is Associate Professor of Musical Theatre and Choreography at Michigan State University where he also oversees the New Musical Laboratory. As a tenured professor, Brad has won multiple awards and grants including the All-University Teacher/Scholar Award, the AT&T Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award, The Fintz Award for Excellence in Teaching and multiple Catalyst Grants to continue working with new media practices for actors and dancers in the classroom.

As a performer, Brad has worked across the country and in England as singer, dancer and actor performing with Bette Midler, Marvin Hamlisch, Christina Aguilera, Emily Skinner, and the international touring group The 12 Irish Tenors to name a few.