Michael Arata

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Michael Arata
Michael Arata in 2008
Born	(1966-02-23) February 23, 1966 (age 58)
Occupation(s)	Film, stage actor
Years active	1970 - present

Michael Arata (born February 23, 1966) is an American actor and film producer. He began his acting career at age four and has since appeared on stage, in feature films and television programs.

Arata was born in

.

In addition to his film history, Arata has extensive theater experience, including acting and producing the works of

A Streetcar Named Desire

as "unhinged and electrifying", and reviewer Dalt Wonk called the performance "a Stanley for our times".

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Arata produced Shakespeare in City Park in New Orleans, the city's only outdoor theater, as well as several productions in conjunction with the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival.

Movie producing

In 1989, Michael Arata began producing films, starting with his first short film "Looking For Someone". The film won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Utah Short Film Festival.

Since then, Arata has produced documentaries ("The People's Story" on the devastation caused by

.

In 2006, following the devastation in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, Arata produced the first independent feature film ("Deal") in the city, and thereafter produced "New Orleans Mon Amour" (written and directed by

National Lampoon

's "Dirty Movie" and "The Legend of Awesomest Maximus".

He got his producing start in theater, and had a successful run as chairman of Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, the oldest operating theater in North America, which he returned to relevance and profitability in his three-year tenure.

Filmography

Hurricane Katrina

Michael Arata lives and works in New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina he was appointed chairman of the Bring Back New Orleans Commission Film/Entertainment subcommittee, and drafted the City of New Orleans' request for federal assistance related to the area's film and entertainment industry. In 2002, he help draft the successful Louisiana Motion Picture Incentive Act, and was asked by Governor

to testify before the Louisiana House and Senate in support of the legislation.

Law career

He holds a J.D. degree from Tulane University, and regularly conducts seminars on entertainment law at Loyola University and Tulane University in New Orleans, as well as continuing legal education seminars for practicing lawyers.

Criminal History

He was convicted of conspiracy, 7 counts of wire fraud, 1 count of mail fraud, and 3 counts of making false statements to the FBI as part of a scheme to cheat Louisiana's film tax credit program. ^[1][2]

Theatre

He was the youngest chairman of the Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, a community theatre.

He formed Art A La Carte, Louisiana's only theatre for the disabled, and one of the nation's only fully accessible creative arts programs.

References

External links

• Michael Arata at
  IMDb
• Michael Arata at AllMovie