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STAFF
Matt Okin (Artistic Director) is the founder of Black Box Studios.  Before opening BBS, he taught musical theater for five seasons in the Performing Arts Department at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly, New Jersey, as well as drama and improv at the Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies in Hackensack, New Jersey. Matt received a BFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He has two teenage daughters, Rachel and Arielle.
As an author, Matt's plays include The Ugly Wife (off-Broadway at the Riverwest Theater), Second Chances (also director; national tours and NYC premiere at Theater For The New City), Walter Liked To Sit In His Big Backyard (staged readings at First Stage of Los Angeles, the Zipper Theater and 92Y Tribeca in NYC), One Innocent Woman (Theater For The New City) and Cherry Hill (also director; 2008 Midtown International Theater Festival).
Matt's rock musicals, written with composer-lyricist Avi Kunstler, include Generations (also director; various NYC venues and 2008 New York Musical Theater Festival) and Soul Searching (also director; 45th Street Theater, various NYC venues, and 2008 New York Musical Theater Festival). He also directed and contributed music to Out Of Whack: The All-Kids Rock Musical Workshop throughout 2008-09.
Matt created and directed the long-running improvisational comedy show, A Match Made In Manhattan: The Interactive Jewish Wedding Experience (NYC and national tours), and he was an Associate Producer on the September 2009 off-Broadway premiere of The Quarrel at the DR2 Theatre.
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Giselle D'Souza (Actress-Director, Teaching Artist) is a  professional actress, director, and teaching artist in New York City and New Jersey. Some recent acting credits include: Click Clack Moo (Manhattan Children's Theatre), James and the Giant Peach (National Tour - TheaterworksUSA), and Soul Searching (2008 New York Musical Theater Festival). Giselle is also a resident actor/educator with Wildlife Theater at The Central Park Zoo, which tours local schools and libraries to present interactive theater programs to help educate children about wildlife and conservation.
Her directing credits include Generations (2008 New York Musical Theater Festival), and Out of Whack:The All-Kids Rock Musical Workshop (Theater for the New City). In New York, Giselle teaches musical theater classes with Broadway Bound Kids and film acting classes with The Actor's Garage at numerous private and public schools. Giselle is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and received her BFA in Musical Theater from The New School.
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Mandy Decker (Director & Production Stage Manager, Teaching Artist)  has worked with young people since 1997. She also teaches technical theater and basic lighting design. In New York, her recent credits include Indiosyncrasy (Teatro La Tea), Out of Control (Midtown International Theatre Festival), and Woody and the Heeb (Manhattan Repertory Theatre).
Mandy's tours include Pippi Longstocking (American Family Theatre), R.E.S.P.E.C.T (Dr. Dorothy Productions), and A Match Made In Manhattan (Black Box Entertainment). She is married to Tim Decker, a published author/illustrator of books for young people and an accomplished guitarist. They live happily in Jersey City and have several fish.
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Tom Decker (Writer, Teaching Artist) is a writer,  producer, stage manager, blogger, jogger, and stroller valet. As writer/producer: King of the Mountain (NY Amazing Play Festival presented by Manhattan Repertory) and The Concert (The Third Annual 20/20 One-Act Competition presented by Aery Theatre Company). As writer: Saltlick and the Robot and Saltlick and the Twister (for Black Box Studios' special needs drama classes), and Channel Surfing (for Black Box's drama class at the Elisabeth Morrow School).
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Danny Hoffman (Actor, Teaching Artist) is a Graduate of  Yeshiva University with a Bachelors degree in Drama. He has acted in both musicals and straight plays in the Yeshiva College Dramatic Society, where he also won three acting awards. He has also been in a number of short films and one feature-length film.
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Jana Jillio (Singer, Musician, Vocal Coach) has been  involved in show business since being cast, at the age of two, as a regular cast member on CBS' The Children's Hour, where she performed every week for three years. She currently performs on Broadway with her husband, Anthony, in Jersey Boys.
Jana attended Ithaca College, majoring in both Music Composition and Theatre. One year later, she was selected to sing back-up for the rock band Grand Funk Railroad and recorded three albums with them. Jana was later signed to Polydor Records as a solo artist, where they released her first single entitled, "Your Boyfriend's Got His Eye On Me," which hit Billboard's Top 100 Pop Chart.
As a teacher, Jana has coached Lea Michele from the hit TV show Glee as well as Ben Jorgensen, the lead singer of the band Armor For Sleep. Read a recent article about her.
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Jonathan Kaplan (Resident Musical Director, Teaching Artist)  holds a B.A. in Music from Brandeis University ('89). He has been teaching piano since his high school years, and has been involved in professional music education ever since. Jonathan has also been performing in, and directing, musical theater since childhood, most recently as the Musical Director for several Black Box Studios Educational productions. Jonathan is fortunate to have the amazing Sariva Goetz (Les Miserables - Broadway) as a friend and teacher.
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David Meyers (Actor-Director, Teaching Artist) has taught musical theater  at the Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland, been a music director for Rutgers University's Livingston Theatre Company, and served as an audition coach and accompanist for students and professional actors. David studied voice and acting in high school and college and performed in local professional and community productions before moving to Washington to pursue a career in politics. Having returned to New York, David is thrilled to once again be teaching theater.
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Robbie Rosman (Writer, Teaching Artist, Webmaster) optioned the first screenplay he wrote at the age of 19. He has also written short stories, comedy skits, and a children's theatrical production. He worked behind the scenes on two independent films and has consulted professionally with many agents, managers, and producers in Los Angeles. Along with a stint reading scripts at a production company, his status as a Top-50 Reviewer (out of hundreds) on the Zoetrope Screenwriting Forum helped formulate his knack for assisting other writers in improving their screenplays and craft. He lives in Montreal.
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Randolph B. Houston, Esq. (Legal Representation).
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Jen Rudin, CSA is Black Box Studios' prime casting contact in New York City. She has guided our students to auditions for feature films, voice overs, Broadway, and more. www.jenrudin.com
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