Michael LaFata (aka Michael Lacey) is a writer and producer with a background in business, blending creativity with strategy in an improbable yet successful fusion.
From making his first short film at 12 to performing improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy in San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles throughout his 20s and 30s, comedy has always been his lodestar, whether writing or performing. At the same time, he thrived in the corporate world, eventually leading the London office of a major U.S. company.
Even during his suit-and-tie days, he kept a foot in the creative world—founding his production company, laceyface productions, inc., in 2005 and, in 2006, producing his film noir short, ‘F’, a 1940s dark comedy about a man with a foot fetish. By 2010, he began adapting ‘F’ into a romantic comedy musical, and in 2011, listening to his calling, he left the corporate world, returned to Los Angeles, and fully committed to storytelling.
Since then—and with a 15-song soundtrack—his musical Love Is Afoot! has won multiple Best Script and Best Score awards, recently securing Semi-Finalist status at the prestigious 47th Annual Eugene O’Neill National Music Theater Conference for 2025. LaFata continues to develop the show while working on several other projects, including his first thriller.