Black Box Studios to Launch 'Writers & Actors At The Barrymore'

Black Box Studios to Launch 'Writers & Actors At The Barrymore'

Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 11/09/2026

(FORT LEE, NJ) -- Black Box Studios presents 'Writers & Actors At The Barrymore', a unique theatrical event featuring "incubations" of new works for theater and film, takes center stage at The Barrymore Film Center & Museum on Thursday, November 19, 2026 at 7:30pm.

This new series from Black Box Studios, known as Northern New Jersey's incubator for new and under produced plays by world-class artists or their estates, is thus far a quarterly evening of unpublished, brand new scenes and short pieces from writers, with this installment featuring fresh work from Craig Lucas, Neil LaBute, Daniel Handler, Ken Levine, Samuel V. Franco, Michael Gurin, Matt Okin, Glenn Taranto, Tom Cavanaugh, and Lou Martini Jr.

Familiar actors from Broadway, television, and film will perform the pieces in dynamic staged readings, including a majority of NJ-based artists. Scheduled to appear on 11/19 are: Michael Sorvino, Danielle Ferland, Lou Martini Jr., Glenn Taranto, Mattea Backus, Chris Lazzaro, Alex Tavis, Alison Miller, Michael Larson, Nancy Wolfe, and Tom Cavanagh.

Tickets are available for purchase online. The Barrymore Film Center & Museum is located at 1 Park Avenue in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

The Barrymore Film Center is a nonprofit cultural destination rooted in Fort Lee, the birthplace of American cinema, bringing people together through visual media, exhibitions, live events, and education.

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About the Actors:

An actor and aspiring screenwriter, Mattea Backus is a recent graduate of Tufts University where she studied film and acted in several short films. She is now studying Meisner technique at the William Esper Studio as part of their two year acting program. Mattea is also a classically trained dancer and choreographer who specializes in contemporary, modern, and jazz.

Tom Cavanaugh is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker with an MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School and a degree from Seton Hall University. His portfolio includes the Fade In Award and the 2026 Best Screenplay Award at the Garden State Film Festival for Bedbuggers, as well as a 2026 Taste Award nomination for Franny's Cookies. Cavanaugh's stage plays, including Inland Empress and Adam & Yoshi, are published internationally.

Danielle Ferland is an actor, director and teacher who has been performing in theater, film and television since the age of 10. She teaches private acting and song interpretation at her own studio in South Orange, NJ, and recently became an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Theater and Dance at Montclair State University.

Michael Wurl Larson is an actor, director & producer; he holds an MFA in Acting & Directing from UMKC and is a member of AEA & SAG/AFTRA. Roles include Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night @ Baltimore Shakes, Dromio of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors @ KC Rep, Porter in Macbeth @ Hope Summer Rep, Red Dead Redemption 2 for Rockstar Video Games, The Sketch Pad, a comedy pilot w/Fred Willard & Rachel Dratch & a national, Super Bowl commercial for Bud Light. Michael recently directed West Side Story @ SummerStage of Leonia, served as Assistant Director of The Old Man And The Old Moon @ South Coast Rep and also was the Assistant Director/Physical Comedy Consultant for Noises Off @ KC Rep. He was nominated for a 2015, Off-Broadway Alliance Award for The Little Prince.

Chris Lazzaro, an Italian and Greek actor in his 30's, is credited with a plethora of starring film and television roles and has been seen on countless stages in drama and comedy.

Lou Martini Jr. has been in the business for over 60 years now, ranging from classic films like The Godfather to classic television shows like The Sopranos. Numerous stage credits including off broadway from some of the finest playrights of the day. Latest credits include the film VERITY with Ann Hathaway, along with guest spots on CBS hit Elsbeth.

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Alison Miller is the founder of Liberty Arts Theatre in Leonia, NJ where she works intensively as a creator, producer, and performer. She is also a popular teacher of yoga and aquatics. Trained as a ballet dancer, her favorite roles and productions include Damn Yankees (Lola), Sweet Charity (Helene), Cabaret (Sally), The Glass Menagerie (Laura), and Guys and Dolls, (Adelaide).

Michael Sorvino is a producer, writer, actor, & an occasional director. BFA in Acting - Mason Gross School of The Arts, Rutgers University. Stage work includes: Matt Okin's "Cherry Hill" & "One Innocent Woman" - Theater for the New City, "The Jackie Mason Musical - A Comedy!" - The Actor's Temple Theatre, in NYC; formerly Princeton Repertory Company's "The Merry Wives Of Windsor" & Liberty Arts Theatre's "America 250 USO Tour" in NJ; various pieces across known L.A. venues. Film & television include: Almost Paris (2016 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection), The Depths, Once Upon A Time In Queens, Lifetime's Human Trafficking, Lions Gate's Perfume, Ron Maxwell's Gods and Generals, & Spike Lee's Summer of Sam. Voiced the main character of 'Tommy' in classic video games Mafia & Mafia II, 'James O'Hanlon' in 100.7 FM WHUD's radio play, "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus", amongst others.

Glenn Taranto is an actor and writer. He is known primarily for playing a variety of cops (Law & Order), mob bosses (Tulsa King) and Gomez Addams in The New Addams Family. With over one hundred stage and screen credits, Glenn's career has seen him bounce around from NYC to Europe, Los Angeles and back to the East Coast. Remarkably, his very first screenplay was made into a film starring Jon Hamm and Jessica Chastain.

Alex Tavis's recent TV: Series Reg HULU Diddy On Trial As It Happened. Recent Film: Rock N Rolled(Best Actor NY Film Awards), IIFC Best Actor Nominee. Recent Off Broadway-Lead: Not About The Money- Players Theatre. Lots more TV, Theatre and Film. Also, Weekly Columnist-amNewYork. IG@AlexTavis.

Nancy Wolfe is a Resident Actor at The White Horse Theater Company. WHTC credits include DIRTY LAUNDRY written & directed by Cyndy A. Marion for the Inaugural Woodstock Short Play Festival, THE LADY OF LARKSPUR LOTION & I CAN'T IMAGINE TOMORROW by Tennessee Williams and the world-premiere of YOU ARE PERFECT by Cyndy A. Marion. A student of Sandy Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse, Nancy is best known for her portrayal of Susan Atkins in Tom Gries TV Special HELTER SKELTER. She guest starred in 70's TV series Baretta and Barnaby Jones and independent films such as The Intruder. Other stage work includes leads in COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA and THE GIN GAME. Supporting roles include: CLARENDON ROAD and HORSE by Jan Bentley which garnered supporting actress nominations. Nancy also appeared in RABBIT HOLE by David Lindsay Abaire, directed by John DeSotelle and most recently in THINGS REMEMBERED written & directed by Emily Rosamine at the Nu Works summer festival which garnered her an Outstanding Actor Award.

Nina Larson, Executive Director of The BFC elaborates: "The Barrymore Film Center is all about bringing people together through the magic of the performing arts and visual storytelling. We're delighted to welcome this November theatrical event to Fort Lee, a community with a remarkable entertainment legacy, and to give audiences another opportunity to enjoy the excitement of live performance."

Black Box Studios, in residence at Teaneck's Debonair Music Hall, creates professional theater, presents unique special events in Bergen County and NYC, and remains the area's original collaborative performing arts school est. 2008. BBS is a noted 'incubator' for new and under produced works alongside world-class writers including Eric Bogosian, Paul Schrader, Beth Henley, John Patrick Shanley, as well the Estates of Edward Albee, of Sam Shepard, and of I.B. Singer.