#ONEINNOCENTWOMAN to Open at Dream Up Festival at Theater For The New City

The Dream Up Festival at Theater For The New City will present #ONEINNOCENTWOMAN, a play written and directed by Matt Okin. 

Featuring Haia R'nana Bchiri, Diana Zee Chandler, Chris Lazzaro, Alison Miller and Michael Sorvino, the show will be performed from August 31st - September 9th in The Johnson Theaer at Theater For The New City, 155 1st Avenue (between 9th and 10th Street) New York, NY 10003. 

#ONEINNOCENTWOMAN's six Dream Up Festival performances are as follows:

• Mon 8/31 @ 6:30PM
• Wed 9/2 @ 6:30PM
• Thurs 9/3 @ 9:00PM
• Sun 9/6 @ 2:00PM
• Mon 9/7 @ 6:30PM
• Wed 9/9 @ 9:00PM

A rhythmic burst of comedic, melodramatic, tragic, and highly theatrical energy, #ONEINNOCENTWOMAN features five actors portraying forty+ characters in the challenging life of one American female as she ages from seventeen into her forties. A modern-era "period" piece, moving from the late 1980's through the very early 2000's, the stylized nature of the play allows for an ultimately poignant reflection on what gender roles mean today.

Matt Okin (playwright/director) is curating the new Writers & Actors series in NYC and NJ, will soon direct John Buffalo Mailer's play Crazy Eyes, and recently developed Miranda's Rights by George Kolber, the writer/producer of the 2023 feature film 'Miranda's Victim'. Notable theatrical directing credits include the U.S. Premiere of Sam Shepard's Little Ocean; each monthly installment of 'From A To Zoo: An Exclusive Staged Reading Series of Edward Albee's Plays' in New Jersey; the initial workshop of The Lost Years by John Patrick Shanley; 1+1 by Eric Bogosian (Off-Broadway); Imaginary Comforts by Daniel Handler a.k.a. Lemony Snicket; The Cleopatra Club by Paul Schrader; Exposed by Beth Henley; and Edward Albee's The Play About The Baby. His original plays include Cherry Hill; Beltsville/Rockville, Part One: Rise Of The Goatman; and Walter Liked To Sit In His Big Backyard. Original musicals include Soul Searching -- which is currently being redeveloped and revived for NYC -- and the long-running A Match Made In Manhattan: The Interactive Jewish Wedding Experience. Matt received a BFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University's Tisch School of The Arts where he studied with the likes of Maria Irene Fornes, Len Jenkin, Martin Epstein, Jan Hartman, Leslie Lee, Charlie Purpura, and Gary Garrison; he is the founder of Black Box Studios and a long-time teaching artist of proprietary theater programs for teens and adults in Bergen County NJ. Matt's new comedy screenplay, 'Issues' co-written with Craig Cherashore, is in active development.

Haia R'nana Bchiri (Terri, etc.) is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist and educator. Haia has been involved in theatre on and off stage for about 20 years, working as a director, AD, stage manager, performer, playwright, fight/intimacy director, dramaturg, lecturer, and more. She was a student at Black Box Studios for several years, training through and performing in student productions, and subsequently joined the BBPAC team as the professional theatre branch of the company was established. Frequently working with the likes of AJT, JPP, and SD JFest, Haia has become an enthusiastic "accidental specialist" in new play development. Selected directing credits: Twist of Faith (AD), Soul Searching (AD), The Pillowman (AD/fight and SFX), Sweeney Todd (AD/fight and SFX), The Curious Savage (Director/Producer) with Black Box; Eurydice, Queering the Cape, The Van Play, Cymbeline, Julius Caesar, and interactive productions of Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. By the time this play hits the TNC stage, Haia will have a PhD from the department of Theatre & Dance at UC San Diego, and has been developing theatrical translations/adaptations of The Megillah Cycle, working with the JTS Library and the Katzin and Gumpel Judaic Studies Fellowships.

Diana Zee Chandler (Kate, Cynthia, etc.) is a NYC based actor who has appeared at The Flea (The Gothic Hour), La MaMA (Normalcy), TBG Theater (Lives and Loves) and most recently in Michael Roberts' new musical London Swings.  She can often be found singing at Don't Tell Mama or The Green Room 42 and holds a BA in Theater and Dance from Trinity College. 

Chris Lazzaro (Peter, Dennis, etc.) has trained at UCB, Stella Adler, and with Bob Krakower. Theatre credits include Tony and Tina's Wedding, Trial on the Potomac (alongside legend Rich Little) and Married By the Mob (current). Chris has filmed national commercials including one for Jiffy Lube. Television productions include starring roles on CBS's 'Blue Bloods', NetFlix's 'Luke Cage', soap 'Days of Our Lives', and Hulu's 'Ramy'. Chris has also been a frequent face on CollegeHumor.com and has had starring roles in award winning films including 'Art Thief' (6 time best Actor Award), Michael Cera's 'Christmas Eve in Miller's Point' and recently 'Krazy Klowny' as (you guessed it) Krazy Klowny himself. Chris has starred in Rik Cordero's video 'Start It Again' as the lead (currently at 20 Million Youtube Views) which was nominated for Best Hip Hop Music Video at the MTV Music Awards in Japan. Chris writes and performs for multiple ongoing sketch comedy shows at THE PIT and UCB. He taught acting at "La Creme" and has written numerous plays and scripts for theater and film festivals.

Alison Miller (Shelly Bisser) is the founder of Liberty Arts Theatre in Leonia, NJ where she works intensively as a writer, producer, and performer. She is a trained ballet dancer as well as an established teacher of yoga and aquatics.  Favorite roles and productions include Damn Yankees (Lola), Sweet Charity (Helene), Cabaret (Sally), The Glass Menagerie (Laura), Guys and Dolls (Adelaide), Cats, Quilters, The Miracle Worker, and I Remember Mama. 

An active producer, writer, director, and actor, Michael Sorvino (Harold, Richard, etc.) received a BFA in Acting from Mason Gross School of The Arts at Rutgers University.  His work indeed stretches from Theater for the New City here in NY, originating the role of 'Judd' in none other than Matt Okin's own Cherry Hill here many years ago, to 'Claude' in Stuck at Center Stages, 'Fenton' in The Princeton Repertory Company's production of The Merry Wives of Windsor in NJ, and he just finished up being 'Abe Lincoln' and 'Samuel Adams' in Liberty Arts Theatre's “America 250 USO Tour” production in Leonia, right before playing 'Nelson Zee' in The Jackie Mason Musical - A Comedy! Off-Broadway at The Actor's Temple Theatre.  Film and television credits include features like 'Almost Paris' (Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection, 2016), 'The Depths', 'Once Upon A Time In Queens', 'Human Trafficking', 'Perfume', 'Gods and Generals', and 'Summer of Sam', among others.  He voiced the main character of 'Tommy' in the classic video game Mafia, and then reprised it for a brief stint in Mafia II as well as that of 'James O'Hanlon' & multiple other characters in 100.7 FM WHUD's radio play production of Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus. Michael is currently producing 'Big Enzo's Wedding' a feature film project he is also acting in, which is now concurrently being adapted for the New York stage.

Off-stage for #ONEINNOCENTWOMAN at The Dream Up, the production stage manager is Joey Liberti, the co-stage manager is Sofia Maravillas, the production coordinator is Sam Reinhard, and the company manager is Mandy Decker.

For further information about #ONEINNOCENTWOMAN, please email Matt Okin's NJ-based company Black Box Studios at eventsatblackbox@gmail.com.

Don't Miss a Off-Broadway News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...