 Fifteen years ago I developed a publicity service primarily for artists associated with the theatre that could offer exposure and opportunity in a highly competitive market. I devised a unique system that encouraged the largest amount of industry professionals to attend my clients’ shows. The results of my work and my approach made my business grow and sustain by word of mouth. Ten years ago, I broadened the base of my business to include press representation, coordination of film screenings and acting as an American representative to European artists (in both the performing and fine arts categories) whose work I believed in. Since I began my business I have worked with actors and playwrights attached to formidable theatres, both traditional and avant-garde. As a theatre publicist, I have worked for the Jean Cocteau Repertory, The American Globe Theatre, Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theatre, Theatre for the New City, HERE, The New York Fringe Festival and the Belmont Italian American Playhouse, among others. As a press representative, I worked for playwright-screenwriter, Murray Schisgal on his production, Slouching Toward the Millennium at The 42nd Street Workshop which received rave reviews from The New York Times and Time Out New York. I worked again for the 42nd Street Workshop on The Man who was Peter Pan by Broadway playwright, Allen Knee. This play, based on the life of Sir James Barrie got excellent notices in both the New York Times and Backstage. It was also the source of inspiration for the hit film, Finding Neverland. I was the press representative for the T. Schreiber Studio for their 2004/5 season working on successful revivals of Landscape of the Body, Hurlyburly, Crimes of the Heart and A Taste of Honey. For nearly a year, I worked on garnering special publicity for writer, librettist, Dale Wasserman, the creator of Man of La Mancha and the stage adaptation One Flew over the Cookoo’s Nest. I also worked on Mr. Wasserman’s revival of the only Duke Ellington musical ever written, Beggar’s Holiday, for which he wrote a revised libretto. This show was presented by the prestigious York Theatre Company. In the film realm, I coordinated New York screenings for Sal Stabile’s Gravesend , sponsored for domestic release by Oliver Stone. I also organized screenings of Tom Donohue’s The Wake in both New York and Los Angeles later distributed by Tapestry International. As the North American representative for Silvana Barbarini’s Rome-based, Compagnia Vera Stasi, I wrote press releases, sponsorship letters and performance announcements describing and promoting the artistic mission of the company to theatres, dance festivals, universities and cultural institutions in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. I’ve worked on shows at the New York International Fringe Festival since its inception including Live! with Pascal and Chantal mentioned in the New York Times, Wrong Barbarians and Choking on Happiness (both from award winning director Vincent Morano) at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Moonchild featuring Broadway actress, Heather Tom, and this season’s FringeNYC hit, Broken Hands by Moby Pomerance directed be Marc Weitz which won awards for Best Play and Best Performance by an Actor. Theatre/Film Publicist In 1992 I invented and developed a concept to promote both known and unknown actors, playwrights and filmmakers to industry professionals who can advance their careers or creative projects. Taking a play or film as the vehicle for publicity, I create a network of industry to watch the work of dramatic and creative artists. I have also coordinated industry screenings for filmmakers targeting distribution and production companies. Offering a convincing sketch of each project I work on, I schedule industry—agents, artistic directors of theatre companies, casting directors, producing organizations, etc., solidify their commitments and finally obtain feedback on artists’ work, recording reactions in depth. Clients have received direct work and significant awareness of their capabilities from this process. In this capacity I have worked on as many as fifty projects a year. Press Representative Working directly for theatre companies as a press liaison, I write releases, coordinate media distribution and encourage reviews, articles and listings for shows in newspapers, magazines and on-line publications. I arrange interviews for clients involved in productions of public interest on radio and television. North America Representative/Compagnia Veri StasiIn 1996, acting as the publicity contact between this prestigious Rome-based modern dance company and performance venues in America, I wrote press releases, sponsorship letters and performance announcements describing and promoting the artistic mission of the company and their repertoire as well as coordinated the translation of their own press kit materials including reviews, artist biographies and company history. I submitted the promotional materials to theatres, festivals and universities across the United States and interacted with executives of Italian companies and cultural institutions to determine financial participation in the creation of an American tour. Personal Publicist In 2005, I worked on behalf of actress Sanaz Alexander who was cast in as the female lead in the film “Sons of Italy” that was shot on location near Capri. I made introductions for her to agents, managers, producers and casting directors in Rome. Creating bi-lingual biographical material and letters of introduction to Rome based industry professionals, I scheduled as many as twenty meetings for Sanaz that were coordinated inside her month long shooting schedule. Due to my efforts she signed with a well-known talent agency in Rome and was offered the lead in another international film. Education: Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts University of California Berkeley Honor Student |
