PITCH WEEK SESSION #5 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

Jane Dubin

Producer, Double Play Connections

DOUBLE PLAY CONNECTIONS is a theatrical production and management company committed to creating and developing new work.

President JANE DUBIN is a TONY Award-winning producer and the President of Double Play Connections, a theatrical production and management company committed to supporting emerging artists and playwrights in the creation and development of new works. Jane is a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute’s 14-week (NYC) and O’Neill Center Intensive (CT) Producing Workshops and Director of Theater Resources Unlimited’s Producer Development Program Master Class.

Ms. Dubin is Chair of the Board of Directors of Houses on the Moon Theater Company and a recent Board member of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a member of the Broadway Women’s Alliance, the Off-Broadawy Alliance, and the Off-Broadway League. For two years she was co-curator of the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center New Play Reading Series. She co-produced Hudson River Rising, presenting events in Westchester for One Billion Rising (V-Day) 2013 and 2014. She was a strategic consultant to SPACE on Ryder Farm, an artists’ residency in Brewster, NY and a member of the Grand Jury for New York Musical Festival’s 2015 – 2019 seasons. She served as an evaluator for a NAMT innovation grant panel and for Bethany Arts Community’s residency program. She is a frequent panelist and guest lecturer on theater-related matters. Jane serves on the advisory boards of Elizabeth Mascia Child Care Center (Westchester), Axial Theatre and Dirty Laundry Theatre.

Productions: Current Broadway: Is This A Room, Dana H. Upcoming: The Village of Vale. Previously: The Prom (Drama Desk Award Best Musical), Farinelli and the King (starring Mark Rylance, nominated for 5 Tony Awards), An American in Paris (4 TONY Awards, plus London and National Tour), Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Westside Theater and on Tour), Ann, starring Holland Taylor (Lincoln Center); Bandstand (Broadway), Beebo Brinker Chronicles (2008 GLAAD Media Award for Theatre); Groundswell (the New Group), Peter and the Starcatcher (Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tour), winner of 5 TONY Awards; The Norman Conquests (TONY Award, Best Play Revival), The 39 Steps (OB, Tour); The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (London) and the one-woman show that started it all, MentalPause by Margaret Liston. Film: Radium Girls.

Cody Lassen

Producer, Cody Lassen & Associates

Cody Lassen is an American Tony Award-winning and Grammy nominated theater producer and consultant. He is best known for producing the revival of Spring Awakening, which won him an Ovation Award and a Tony nomination.

Lassen was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame and graduated from DePaul University.

He held live entertainment management positions with Nielsen and NBCUniversal. While at NBCUniversal, Lassen was active in their corporate diversity initiatives and was part of the team that led the company to be named one of the best places to work for LGBT employees. In addition to producing his own projects, Lassen consulted for major studios, producers, theatres and agencies. He oversaw marketing efforts for Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group and was a production assistant for several films and TV series.

His Broadway productions include Indecent and revival of Spring Awakening and co-productions include Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, “Significant Other“, The Band’s Visit, and Torch Song.

When Lassen joined the production of the Deaf West Theatre revival of Spring Awakening in 2015, it premiered at Inner-City Arts’ Rosenthal Theater in L.A. Under his production management, the show went on to win six Ovation Awards (with 15 nominations), including best musical in two categories, intimate theater and large theater. The latter was won by Lassen together with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Deaf West Theatre.

Lassen teamed up with producers Ken Davenport and the Deaf West Theatre, and transferred the show from the 99-seat Los Angeles production to Broadway in just 366 days, an unprecedented feat. The production opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in September 2015. For the show, performed in both American Sign Language and spoken English, the producers were honored with the Champion of Change Award by the New York Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities for their “efforts to increase diversity and inclusivity on Broadway.” The show was a success on Broadway and was even performed at the White House.

He partnered with Daryl Roth to transfer the critically acclaimed Paula Vogel play Indecent to Broadway in the 2016/17 season where it was honored with two Tony Awards for Best Direction and Best Lighting, and nominated for Best Play.

Lassen’s upcoming projects include How I Learned To Drive, a Pulitzer-winning play by Paula Vogel opening on Broadway in 2021, with much of the original cast and creative team from its off-Broadway debut 23 years prior, Alice By Heart, a new musical by Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson, premiering at MCC Theater in February 2019; and Some Lovers, a new musical by Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater opening at the Adirondacks Theatre Festival in June 2018.

Sara Skolnick

Director, Acquisitions & New Work, Broadway Licensing

Sara Skolnick is the Director of Acquisitions and New Work for Broadway Licensing Group and heads International & Touring Licensing, as well. She also recently served, with Tom Casserly, as Director of the Grove/Whitman Commissioning Program, which developed ten new musicals under commission. She previously spent five years as the Executive Producer at Grove Entertainment and, prior to that, worked for over eleven years at Broadway Across America (formerly Live Nation and Clear Channel Entertainment), ultimately serving as Vice President – Production/Director of Development. At Broadway Across America, she also oversaw a commissioning program for the development of new musicals. Sara is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Comparative Literature and Theatre & Drama.