Michael Blaha
An entertainment attorney, law professor, and arbitrator, as well as stage and film producer, Michael Blaha’s Los Angeles stage credits as producer 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).
A Fringe Veteran, Mike has also produced several shows at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, including “Richard Parker” (Best International Production) and “Afghanistan is Not Funny” (Best International Production), “Nigerian Spam Scam Scam” (Encore Award) and “Pick of the Fringe” (Best Cabaret and Variety Nominee). His other U.S. stage credits include “Latina Christmas Special” and “Bard Overboard” at the Soho Playhouse Off Broadway “Bukowsical” in Los Angeles and at the New York Fringe, where it won the Best Musical Award, and “runt” (Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York). 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), and “A Night at the Sans Hotel” (Stage Award Nominee). In London Mike produced the improv duo Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez, better known as 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,” both of which were sold-out runs at the Soho Theater. From there, he continued his relationship with the Soho by producing comedian Will Franken’s hit show “Things We Did Before Reality.” As one of the founding producers of Sci-Fest LA, the Festival of One Act Science Fiction Plays (2014-2016), Mike championed plays based on the works of such science fiction icons as Ray Bradbury, Ursula LeGuin, Clive Barker, and Neil Gaiman. On the celluloid side of performance art, 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) and the short film “The Legend of Beaver Dam” (multiple international Best Short Awards and Honorable Mention, Sundance Film Festival).
Always on the lookout for new and exciting talent, Mike is the on the Board of Directors of New Musicals, Inc., Impro Theatre and Filmmakers’ Alliance.
