Michael Leoni - Director, Writer, Producer
Michael Leoni, founder of An 11:11 Experiment, has always
committed himself to creating exciting material that reaches beyond the scope of
traditional entertainment, challenges an audience’s beliefs, and motivates
movement for positive change. Starting his career in Boston, Michael directed
Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, Falsettos, and wrote and directed, Wanted, City of
Dreams, and Omerta. He was accepted to The Hartt Conservatory on a talent
scholarship, left at 19 and relocated to New York City, where he wrote, directed,
and produced Enigma and Deviants. Michael also directed This is Our Youth and
the Off-Broadway run of LOUD, an original rock musical, which received local
acclaim and gained several nominations at the NYC Fringe Festival.
Michael made the move to Los Angeles and produced The Playground, a Rock
Music-infused piece inspired by the lives of homeless kids and teenage
runaways. Written and directed by Leoni, The Playground debuted on stage in
Los Angeles and continued to run at least once a year for the next five
consecutive years. It is now a feature film currently in development. To learn
more about The Playground visit: www.theplaygroundmovie.com
Michael most recently directed New York actress, Gloria Rosen in her one-woman
show, Listen, Can you Hear Me Now, at the Electric Lodge in the Los Angeles
Women's Theatre Festival. He also wrote and directed the short films; Radford
Rd., Deliver Us, Spare Some Change and Someplace In Between, an Official
Selection in the 2009 LA Shorts Film Festival. He is currently in post-production
on American Street Kid, a powerful, feature-length documentary that takes us
onto the streets and into the real lives of America’s homeless youth. Currently in
development, Michael has two feature films, a television series and two stage
musicals.
Founder of the organization Spare Some Change, Michael created and launched
an Artistic Mentoring Program, which exposes street youth to the arts and
motivates them to create change in their lives.
