Full Cast Announced for INSIDE THE BOX at Planet Connections Festivity Today

INSIDE THE BOX by Cecilia Copeland is set for its first public presentation in the Planet Connections Festivity, with proceeds to benefit Planned Parenthood.

"Baby Boomer meets Millennial, privilege, marriage, feminism and legacy."

This will be the first time this bold new play is read in public.

Emmy nominee Colleen Zenk will play the lead role of Olivia Springer and she is joined by William Oliver Watkins, directed by Giovanna Sardelli.

In INSIDE THE BOX, Olivia kept the past hidden, but when the death of an old lover brings his son to her doorstep she must choose whether to keep the truth contained or set it free. The two square off over the right and wrong way to live, make money, love and grieve.

One more cast member will be announced.

Colleen Zenk was a three-time Emmy nominee during her 32-year run as "Barbara Ryan" on "AS THE WORLD TURNS." Other selected credits: Broadway, "BRING BACK BIRDIE"; Off-Broadway, "MARRYING GEORGE CLOONEY", "ODYSSEY, THE MUSICAL"; Regional, "FAMILY SHOTS" (World Premiere), "LOOPED" (as Tallulah Bankhead in only Regional Premiere), "OTHER DESERT CITIES", "FOLLIES", "HELLO DOLLY!"; Film: "Annie" (original w/dir. John Huston, "LIBBY" (title role, L.A. Film Fest Best Comedy nominee), much more... AEA since '72.

William Oliver Watkins. Plays by Cecilia Copeland: We Belong Here, BioLife, Courting; Other Stage: Act One (Good Theater, Portland); As You Like It, One Night In Miami, Jackie & Me, Ruined (Denver Center), Merchant of Venice, Merry Wives of Windsor(HipToHip Shakes); Lombardi (Cleveland Play House/AZ Theatre Co.), Nursery Rhymes at the 99 (Artistic New Directions), I Knew King...(Abingdon), Snakeskin Suit, Nodding Off (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Happy New Year! (Barrow Group); Camp Logan (Harlem Nat'l Black Theater), A Raisin in the Sun (Studio Arena), To Kill A Mockingbird (Great Plains Theater Festival); Blues for an Alabama Sky, Train is Comin' (STL Black Rep). Film/TV (TV in quotes): I Don't Make The Rules, "Forever," Nasty Baby, "NY 22," "Nurse Jackie," Happy New Year!, "Law & Order" (Original Series & SVU), "Rescue Me," "Canterbury's Law." Training: BFA - Webster University; Wynn Handman Studio. Will grew up in Cincinnati, OH.

Giovanna Sardelli directed the world premieres of DEAD ACCOUNTS by Theresa Rebeck atCincinnati Playhouse in the Park; SOMEWHERE by Matthew Lopez and the West Coast premiere of his play THE WHIPPING MAN (NAACP nomination Best Director), both at The Old Globe Theatre; world premieres of Rajiv Joseph's plays THE NORTH POOL, TheatreWorks; and ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER (Joe A.. Callaway Award for Outstanding Director) and ALL THIS INTIMACY, both at Second Stage Theatre; THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX, AlterEgo Theatre Company; and HUCK & HOLDEN, Cherry Lane Theatre.

Cecilia Copeland is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women, an inductee into the Indie Theater Hall of Fame, winner of the Lennis J. Holm Scholarship at the Writers Workshop, recipient of a Special Effects Grant from Metro Screen Australia, and the Founding Artistic Director of New York Madness. She is a Kilroy's List Nominee and Honorable mention for her plays, LIGHT OF NIGHT and "R Culture." Her plays have been presented in New York at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Culture Project, Ensemble Studios Theatre, and HERE Arts Center among others.

Planet Connections Festivity is a Green Festival where each of the works nominate a charity that benefits from any proceeds. The play, INSIDE THE BOX deals with the importance of reproductive rights for women and references Planned Parenthood in the script. This pairing of cause to play was a perfect match in this collaboration. For a full list of productions and charities check the Planet Connections Festivity Page.

Reservations for INSIDE THE BOX are available here: planetconnections.org/2016-staged-readings/inside-the-box. Performance is June 16th at 3 p.m. at Paradise Factory Theater, 64 East 4th Street, NYC. Upstairs Theater.