Out Of The Box Theatrics Hosts Intimate WOMEN IN THEATER Panel And Reception April 30

Out of the Box Theatrics (OOTB) will host a special forum on Monday, April 30 to support the theater's commitment to providing a platform for up and coming artists.

Moderated by Love Your Bodd Podcast host Heather Boddy, OOTB Producing Artistic Director, Elizabeth Flemming, OOTB Nocturne director Amiee Turner, Broadway's Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812's Associate Director Sammi Cannold, Actor/Writer/Producer and HAPA Magazine Founder Alex Chester, and Atlantic Theatre Company Director Awoye Timpo will discuss the importance and relevance of immersive theatre and how you can use it to create your own platform for your unique voice.

This intimate event begins at 8pm with a panel discussion and Q&A, followed by a mix and mingle reception for patrons and panelists featuring drinks and heavy hors d'oeuvres .

Heather Boddy an actress, podcast host, and group exercise instructor with a B.A. in Theatre and Arts Management from Miami University of Ohio. She is the creator of the Love Your Bodd podcast where she interviews artists, activists, and fitness professionals about their struggles with body image. Heather specializes in music-driven fitness formats such as CIZE, PiYo, Pop Pilates, and barre. Heather 's main goal is to promote body positivity, diversity and inclusivity whether it be in fitness, theatre, or the media.

Sammi Cannold is a theater director whose recent credits include Ragtime on Ellis Island and Violet on a moving bus at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.). Sammi recently served as the associate director on the Broadway production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (dir. Rachel Chavkin) and is currently the associate director on In the Body of the World (dir. Diane Paulus/MTC) as well as Lempicka (dir. Rachel Chavkin/Williamstown). Sammi has directed numerous concerts, workshops, and readings at A.R.T., 54 Below, Playwrights Realm, The Montalban Theater, New York Theatre Barn, (Le) Poisson Rouge, Don't Tell Mama, and Primary Stages. She has also served as an Artistic Fellow at the A.R.T. and a Sundance Institute Fellow (for which she directed a developmental workshop of a new musical by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire). She holds a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.A. from Harvard University. www.sammicannold.com .

Alex Chester is a proud member of Broadway Diversity Project. She is a former contributor to HuffPo and currently writes for Onstage Blog and Manhattan Digest. She is the creator of Hapa Mag - an online magazine by Hapas for Everyone, and is the founder/producer of WeSoHapa, a multiracial inclusive theatre company. Alex is also part of the podcast "We're Not All Ninjas." Theatre credits include: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - Madison Square Garden (NYC), Minnie Fay in "Hello Dolly" directed by Lee Roy Reams at NAAP(Off-Broadway), "Bubble Boy" at 54 Below (NYC/Original Cast Recording), "Brass Heart" - Royal Family Productions (NYC). Her resume of commercial work includes campaigns for companies including UPS, H&M, AT&T and Major League Baseball. Follow her on Twitter/Insta @AlexFChester @WeSoHapa @TheHapaMag www.WeSoHapa.com www.HapaMag.com www.AlexChester.com

Liz Flemming is the Founding Producing Artistic Director of Out of the Box Theatrics, an Actor's Equity Non Profit Off-Broadway Theater here in NYC. After several years touring and working in the regional circuit as a professional actor, Liz shifted focus to make a difference within our theatre community taking on inclusivity on the stage with the creation of OOTB. With OOTB she produced site-specific immersive productions of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , "Master Harold"...and the Boys , The Owl and the Pussycat , and Songs for a New World . Along with her completion of two sold out seasons, she produced Alice at Alice's starring Alice Ripley, a series of Open Mics, and several cabarets and special events for OOTB. Independently she was asked to produce the new musical Mommie Dearest written by Christina Crawford with music by David Nehls, and Sam's Room with New York Theater Barn. This year she will join The Cell Theater as Lead Producer along with her development of Out of the Box Theatrics. She hopes to #changethestage one show at a time.

Awoye Timpo 's directing credits include: The Homecoming Queen (Atlantic Theater), Skeleton Crew (Chester Theater), Sister Son/ji (Billie Holiday Theater), Carnaval (National Black Theatre), Ndebele Funeral (59E59, South African tour, Edinburgh Festival); The Libation Bearers (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ), Araby (La MaMa), In the Continuum(Juilliard); Clybourne Park (Farmers Alley), The Vanished (Novisi). Producer: CLASSIX, a reading series exploring classic plays by Black playwrights. Broadway: Associate Director, Jitney ; Assistant Director, Shuffle Along . Other: ABC/Disney, Cherry Lane, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Ma-Yi, New Dramatists, NOW Africa, Page 73, PEN World Voices, Rising Circle, Royal Shakespeare Company, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab and WNYC.

Amiee Turner began her career at a very young age and never stopped blazing a unique trail. While still a teenager Amiee had already toured as Kristine in A Chorus Line and Cassandra in CATS and made her Broadway debut in David Merrick's 42nd Street . She quickly established herself as a NYC actress and added another five Broadway shows to her list of credits. As an actress, Amiee is a proud member of AEA. She has toured the USA and Europe and played many regional theatres including The Huntington and Goodspeed. Her work as a director began in Connecticut and has taken her up and down the East Coast. As a producer she oversaw 23 productions at Theatre By The Sea, 42 productions at Ocean State Theatre, founded A.I.S.O.P. Theatre Co. in NYC, and produced and starred in the award winning independent film "Sunday on the Rocks" with Tony Award winners Cady Huffman and Julie White. Amiee currently travels across the country as an actor and director and teaches audition workshops at the university level. Other job titles Amiee has held include restaurant manager, Director of Entertainment for an NBA-D League team, Development Director for a major regional theatre, choreographer, and mother of two college age kids.

The event will be held Monday, April 30 at 8pm at Pork Pie Hatters (440 East 9th Street).

Due to the intimate space doors will open at 7:45 PM

$15 tax-deductible tickets can be purchased here:

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10270520

Women in Theater is sponsored by Alice's Tea Cup, Confectionery!, Jefferson Market Library, Papa's Pilar, The Singing Baker, S'MAC, Theatre for the New City, wineshop.

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