Biography
Keida Mascaro is a producer in Los Angeles. He currently produces feature films, comedy shows and comedy specials. His areas of interest and expertise are: narrative and documentary film, music video, magical arts, clown arts, photography, conceptual art, stand-up comedy, dance video, haute cuisine & animal rescue.
After leaving Purchase College in 1995 (graduated in 2007), Keida split his residences between San Francisco and the East Village, NYC to launch his career as a performance artist in underground nightclubs. While in San Francisco, Keida worked as a personal assistant to John Epperson, famed NYC drag performer and creator of Lypsinka, who inspired him to pursue a career in the arts.
In 2002, Keida formed Central Film Group, the production company responsible for the feature film Only In America - The Jay And The Americans Story. Keida co-directed and produced the film with Josh Austin, his bandmate in the Los Angeles punk band The Pinks.
In the mid 2000's, Keida focused on photography and video installation, including the 2004 staging of his first solo photography show The Backroom Series featuring portraits of jugglers, clowns, b-movie icons, and transvestite prostitute friends from his Hollywood neighborhood. His first solo video exhibition Objectification premiered at the Atelier Deluxe Musique Gallery in Los Angeles in 2006. The installation also traveled to San Francisco for a showing at BOCA. At this time, he supported himself as a private chef to Rod Stewart, Quentin Tarantino, Patricia Arquette and Sharon Stone.
In 2008, Keida enrolled in graduate school at The Ohio State University, studying under renowned multi-media installation artist Ann Hamilton. Later that year, he produced Superstar, uniting four Warhol icons (Taylor Mead, John Giorno, Holly Woodlawn and Penny Arcade) in Columbus, Ohio for a performance and panel discussion. Staged on the birthday of Columbus native & Warhol muse Jack Smith's birthday (Columbus, Ohio native), Superstar accompanied Other Voices, Other Rooms, the acclaimed Warhol exhibit, which was housed at The Wexner Center For The Arts. In 2016 Keida produced the feature film Evil Takes Root - The Curse Of The Batibat, which was released in 2020. Keida produced the feature documentary film, Our Dyslexic Children in 2017, which was also released in 2020. Keida produced his fourth feature film Soul To Squeeze which is set to be released in 2024.
Beginning in 2021 Keida began performing and producing stand-up comedy, performing at legendary clubs The Comedy Store and The Hollywood Improv. In December of 2022 Keida produced The Return of Jimmy Shin, his first comedy special which is due to be released in 2023.
Currently Keida is producing Wax Poetics, a premiere stand-up comedy night on a semi-regular basis, along with co-producing I'm A Basshole with Doug Bass. Keida is also studying Clown Arts with renowned acting teacher and Clown Master David Bridel, at The Clown School in Atwater Village, CA.
