Michael Masucci

Series Creator

Michael was born on December 16, 1969 in Rochester, NY. He attended Webster High school and later received a Bachelors of Arts, with a double Major in communications and English from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. After graduation, Michael spent 4 years studying Acting and Directing at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in NYC, with acclaimed acting teachers George Loros and Elizabeth Kemp.

Michael is an award winning filmmaker and CEO of MJM Productions, Inc., (an Entertainment Company) focusing on Film and TV Production and script writing. Michael directorial debut, the feature film “The Hostage Game” a.k.a. “American Sunset”, which stars Corey Haim (Lost Boys, Lucas) and Frank Molina has been released theatrically in the USA, and enjoyed Major int’l broadcast sales.

Michael has worked as a director, actor, writer, editor and producer in every venue including film, television, music video, commercials, corporate video and live theatre. He co-wrote and produced “Red Passport”, winner of the Audience Award at the LaCinemaFe Film festival and released by Maverick Entertainment.

A few other notable credits include: “LBS”; Distributed theatrically in the USA by Truly Indie, and was an official Sundance selection, “Unsavory Characters” released by Maverick Entertainment, “Sad Spanish Song”, “Alfin y Alvo”, with Dominican director Alphonso Rodrigez, “The Vicious Circle”, (unaccredited) Winner Best Picture, Puerto Rican Int’l Film Festival, and “Stone Cold Killers” (unaccredited).

As a writer, Michael has written 10 screen- plays and 4 TV Pilots. He sold the screenplay “La Soga – The Butcher Son”, an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival and released theatrically in the USA. The Corporate Video side of MJM has produced marketing campaigns for Tremont Capital; a subsidiary of Oppenheimer Funds, Madame Tussauds, The Bacque Group, Hirefone USA, Promotions.com and Directional Sign Services. Michael played on the U-16 New York State Team, and has a pilot’s license.

Dara Padwo-Audick

M.A., CPC, Producers Guild of America

Series Producer

Dara is a seasoned media professional with over twenty-five years of experience across a variety of genres in the media landscape. As President of Creative Strategies Media LLC, a media consulting company, and Enlightened Media LLC, a film production company, Dara’s genuine passion for telling impactful stories has taken her around the globe. Her journey to understand and share the serenity of Himalayan culture took her to Bhutan in 2008 and led her to initiate the production of the documentary, Bhutan: A Kingdom of Happiness. She is the series creator of two nonfiction series, She’s Got Grit and 650,000 Hours, and series producer of the fiction series, Cathedral of Rock.

As a veteran filmmaker, Dara has written, produced and directed many programs and series for such networks as Animal Planet, CBS, Discovery Channel, Discovery HD-Theater, Discovery Kids, ESPN, Fox, Home and Garden Television, Lifetime Television, Military Channel, National Geographic Channel, Outdoor Life Channel, PBS and Science Channel.

As an educator, mentor and dedicated life-long learner, Dara has embraced her work as adjunct professor in the School of Communication at American University since 2004 and is a devoted teacher to young people and adults in a variety of non-university classrooms.

Dara earned her B.A. in Individual Studies from the University of Maryland and her M.A. in Film and Video from American University. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America and serves on the Board of Representatives to the PGA East and Chair to the PGA National Capital Chapter.

“Dara is a delight to work with. She enables, she is supportive and she has an actor’s understanding of performance. Dara builds a team around her and gets the best from everyone. She leads. She is a great collaborator with a writer’s instinct for story, pulling together all the strands from everyone on the team and weaving them into an elegant narrative. Directing a crew, she brings an artist’s eye to composition and frame and in the edit suite she ensures that the pictures stand alone to tell the story and that they are assembled with attention-holding rhythm and punctuation.”

Mike Loades, Actor/Director/Author

“Dara is one of a rare breed of story tellers. Her uncanny ability to understand and embrace her audience, her subjects and her talent for knowing the precise way to weave an imaginative, meaningful and impactful narrative are unsurpassed. Dara also possesses a keen eye for talent, an instinctive skill set as a leader and manager and a highly developed ability to inspire, motivate and organize a creative team. Having Dara connected to any media project is a recipe for success. Her track record is impeccable, her relationships are deep and cross a multitude of genres and her positive, proactive and goal oriented nature make her a most valuable asset on any creative venture. Throughout our decades long working relationship it has been an honor and a pleasure to call Dara a colleague, a consummate professional and a true friend."

- Warren Pick, Producer/Director,
President-WAVE, LLC

Michael was born in Rochester, NY. He attended Webster High school and later received a Bachelors of Arts, with a double Major in communications and English from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. After graduation, Michael spent 4 years studying Acting and Directing at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in NYC, with acclaimed acting teacher George Loros.

Michael is an award winning filmmaker and CEO of MJM Productions, Inc., (an Entertainment Company) focusing on Film and TV Production and script writing. Michael directorial debut, the feature film “The Hostage Game” a.k.a. “American Sunset”, which stars Corey Haim (Lost Boys, Lucas) and Frank Molina has been released theatrically in the USA, and enjoyed Major int’l broadcast sales.

Michael has worked as a Director, actor, writer and producer in every venue including film, television, commercials and live theatre. He co-wrote and produced “Red Passport”, winner of the Audience Award at the LaCinemaFe Film festival and released by Maverick Entertainment.

A few other notable credits include: “LBS”; Distributed theatrically in the USA by Truly Indie, and was an official Sundance selection, “Unsavory Characters” released by Maverick Entertainment, “Sad Spanish Song”, “Alfin y Alvo”, with Dominican director Alphonso Rodrigez, “The Vicious Circle”, (unaccredited) Winner Best Picture, Puerto Rican Int’l Film Festival, and “Stone Cold Killers” (unaccredited).

As a writer, Michael has written 10 screenplays and 4 TV Pilots. He sold the screenplay “La Soga – The Butcher Son”, an official selection of the Toronto Film Festival and released theatrically in the USA. The Corporate Video side of MJM has produced marketing campaigns for Tremont Capital; a subsidiary of Oppenheimer Funds, Madame Tussauds, The Bacque Group, Promotions.com, Hirefone USA and Directional Sign Services. Michael was an All-American candidate as a soccer player, and has a pilot’s license.

Dara is a seasoned media professional with over twenty-five years of experience across a variety of genres in the media landscape. As President of Creative Strategies Media LLC, a media consulting company, and Enlightened Media LLC, a film production company, Dara’s genuine passion for telling impactful stories has taken her around the globe. Her journey to understand and share the serenity of Himalayan culture took her to Bhutan in 2008 and led her to initiate the production of the documentary, Bhutan: A Kingdom of Happiness.

As a veteran filmmaker, Dara has written, produced and directed many programs and series for such networks as Animal Planet, CBS, Discovery Channel, Discovery HD-Theater, Discovery Kids, ESPN, Fox, Home and Garden Television, Lifetime Television, Military Channel, National Geographic Channel, Outdoor Life Channel, PBS and Science Channel. In her work as media strategist, Dara has developed and executed numerous award-winning multi-media projects for academic institutions, associations, corporations and government agencies, including: AARP, the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, the Center for Children of Separation and Divorce, Discovery Retreats and Gateway Canyons Resort, the JCC of Greater Washington, The National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The U.S. Department of Labor, and the VIA Institute on Character.

As an educator, mentor and dedicated life-long learner, Dara has embraced her work as adjunct professor in the School of Communication at American University since 2004 and is a devoted teacher to young people and adults in a variety of non-university classrooms. She is also co-founder of the Foundation for Global Inspiration.

Dara earned her B.A. in Individual Studies from the University of Maryland and her M.A. in Film and Video from American University. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America.