Our Creative Team
Leo Garcia
Lead Producer
Leo Garcia was born in Los Angeles and earned a Posse Scholarship to attend Dickinson College. He is the first in his family to receive his BA. Since graduating, he has worked in real estate for CBRE and currently for another large real estate firm, in development, sales, and brokerage. Leo has always loved theater and film and became involved with Blue Knight after reading the book and listening to the songs. “This show empowers my community and connects to people, young and old. It smashes boundaries and tells a story of redemption that is truly unique.”
James Slocum
Lead Producer – Music Video Director
James Slocum attended film school at the University of Southern California, where his student films won numerous awards and his thesis film was the only film the year he graduated to win a distribution deal. He has written, directed, and produced two feature films: An American Summer starring Brian Austin Green, Michael Landes, and Joanna Kerns; and The Last Place On Earth starring Tisha Campbell Martin, Dana Ashbrook, Billy Dee Williams, and Phyllis Diller. He has also directed numerous prime-time dramas for Fox TV including Fashion House starring Bo Derek and Morgan Fairchild and American Heiress starring Theresa Russell, John Aprea, and Joe Manganiello. Recently his first novel, Shadow of War, was published by GM Publishing.
James Anthony Kidd
Book, Lyrics, Music Co-Writer
Born and raised in Chicago, James Anthony Kidd attended Northwestern University majoring in literature and marketing. He acted in six student productions, including two musicals, and wrote a musical that was fully staged. He also wrote and performed in the annual student musical revue. Since graduating, he worked in film distribution at Castle Hill Productions and in TV production at Gone Fission. He has written numerous screenplays, four of which have been optioned. He has always loved live theater, especially musicals, and Blue Knight is his auspicious professional debut in this area.
Eric Swanson
Music Co-Writer and Music Producer
Born in South Dakota and raised in Montana, Eric Swanson attended the renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA as a trumpet major. After playing bass in several popular rock bands on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, he enrolled in UCLA’s Film Scoring Program where he distinguished himself with remarkable natural ability for rich orchestrations and compelling melodies. He began his career as a film composer by scoring several documentary films, television pilots, and an animated short subject. His first feature film was The Last Place on Earth, which premiered at the Independent Film Market in New York. He won the award for Best Original Music in a Feature Film at the 2001 Marco Island Film Festival. He has scored video games as well as other feature films and still plays bass guitar in a rock band.
John Torres
Music Producer
John Torres is a songwriter and recording artist from Los Angeles. As a songwriter, John has received numerous honors including a John Lennon Songwriting Award, an LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award, and nominations by the American Independent Music Awards and Stage Raw Theater Awards. His collaboration on the song “You Don’t Have To Be A Star” for the documentary “Fame High” was shortlisted for an Academy Award. He’s a founding member of the indie folk band, Towers of Temple City. Most recently Torres co-composed the music and lyrics to the award-winning musical theater adaptation of the 1980 Warner Bros film “Bronco Billy”, which won 2 Ovation Awards (Including Lyrics/Composition for an Original Musical).
John proudly serves on the Board of Directors for Bresee, a non-profit organization in the heart of Los Angeles, dedicated to fighting poverty by empowering youth and families with the skills, resources, and relationships necessary to thrive.
Miguel Cervantes
Writer- Inspiration
Don Quixote is the biggest-selling work of fiction in the world. Its sales (adjusted for inflation) are estimated to be over $12 billion. It is believed Cervantes wrote the book over four years from 1601-1605. It has been translated into more than 80 languages. The only book that has sold more copies or been translated more often is The Bible, which is not considered fiction. While one of the first novels ever written, Don Quixote is still considered one of the finest examples of the art that exists and remains a true classic. While The Last Case of the Blue Knight is a modern-day update of Don Quixote, like West Side Story is a modern-day update of Romeo and Juliet, an audience member need not be familiar with the original work to enjoy our show; yet those who do know the background material should find the theatrical experience even more enriching.
An Artistic Director at a major American theater said our team’s “pedigree” wasn’t good enough for his audience. This was particularly hurtful to Cervantes. When West Side Story was first trying to be staged, investors said newcomers Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim lacked the pedigree for a Broadway show. The investors who paid no attention to that nonsense were astoundingly rewarded.