Matt Okin 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'sRights 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; #OneInnocentWoman; 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 and a long-time Teaching Artist for select theater programs for teens and adults in Bergen County NJ. Matt's new comedy screenplay, 'Issues', is in active development. He has two adult daughters, one son-in-law, and a young granddaughter.