About the Lead Artist

Avi Kunstler (Music & Lyrics) is a long time singer-songwriter who has composed the music and lyrics to many Black Box productions, including the original Twist Of Faith, Second Chances, Destinations, and A Match Made In Manhattan: The Interactive Jewish Wedding Experience. At times, he has joined the band in performance of select shows. Avi has performed across the United States as well as in London and Israel. He and his wife Mimi split their time between their homes in New York and Jerusalem.

Matt Okin (Book, Additional Music & Lyrics/Director) is currently directing Annabel's Sister by George Kolber, the writer/producer of the 2023 feature film 'Miranda's Victim'. Recent theatrical directing credits include Sam Shepard's Action, the U.S. Premiere of Little Ocean, and The Unseen Hand; 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; 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 showcased in NYC, NJ, and on tours include Cherry Hill; Beltsville/Rockville, Part One: Rise Of The Goatman; #OneInnocentWoman; Twist Of Faith; 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.

Ben Shanblatt (New Vocal & Musical Arrangements/Music Director) is a guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator based in NYC. Quickly becoming a sought-after musician in New York, he has served as a sideman, session musician, and bandleader in virtually all styles of contemporary music. Venues Ben has played include Smalls Jazz Club, The Knitting Factory, The Cutting Room, and The Bitter End among many others. In May 2022 Ben graduated with honors from The New School for Jazz with a BFA in jazz guitar. Outside of performing, he has been a music educator in the New York Metro area since 2014, working with students aged 5 up to 70. Ben has also worked frequently as a composer, being nominated for two awards on broadwayworld.com for his work on BBPAC’s productions of 12th Night and Romeo and Juliet. Ben has composed incidental music for BBPAC productions of Neil Labute’s Woyzeck and Matt Okin’s Cherry Hill. Most recently, Ben’s compositions have been featured on the off-broadway run of Eric Bogosian’s 1+1 at Soho Playhouse. Ben continues to maintain a busy touring, performing, and teaching schedule. To stay connected, follow Ben on Instagram: @ben.shanblatt.music

Jon Taub (Producer/Original Bandleader) was involved in the genesis of Soul Searching in 2005, starting out in the bass chair and eventually progressing to bandleader and arranger, throughout the show's original runs from 2005-8 and its revivals of the past decade. He also had acting stints in Black Box revival productions of Twist of Faith (2006) and A Match Made In Manhattan (2007), as the bassist in the original runs of Generations (2007) and Out Of Whack (2009), and in the 2013 production of Tommy. He also was bassist and vocalist for [sic] in the late 90's, recording the 1999 LP "Poor Conductor" at Pyramid Studios with Chard Haynes in the producer's chair, as well as a stint at the bassist for The Mick Lewis from 2002-5, bassist/guitarist with The Night Brigade from 2005-2016, and with the Midlife Band since 2018. He also is putting the finishing touches on his self-produced first solo LP "Adhomnous" at Lounge Studios with Grammy winning mixer Mikhael "Blue" Bluespruce, having surpassed the "Third Stage" benchmark for studio time but not quite having reached the records set by "Chinese Democracy".

Haia R'nana Bchiri (Assistant Director/Producer) is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist and educator. Once a student at Black Box Studios, she subsequently joined the BBS team as the professional theatre branch of the company was established. Selected credits: The Pillowman, Sweeney Todd (AD/fight and SFX), The Curious Savage (Director/Producer) with Black Box; Dramaturg and Associate Fight/Intimacy Director for Cancelina, Romeo and Juliet, The Promise, Boxed, Winter's Tale, Trojan Women, Uncle Vanya at UCSD; Chagall, Variations on Crossing the Alps, and Hereville (Dramaturg) at the Old Globe; These and Those (Ayala/Dramaturg), In Every Generation (Dramaturg/Costume Designer), and Women of Valor (Rabbi Yael Ridberg/Translator) with SD JFest; Jewish Weddings: A Field Guide and Family Therapy (Playwright) at the REGENERATE new play festival; Eurydice (Director), Fefu and Her Friends (Emma), Circle Mirror Transformation (Theresa), Peer Gynt (Solveig/Aase) at Brandeis; interactive Hamlet (Director), Midsummer (Puck/Director), Taming of the Shrew (Kate), and more with CYSAP. As she develops her dissertation and associated Megillah Cycle of adaptations, she has been engaged to speak in schools and conferences on history, theatre, and the importance of Jewish dramaturgy.

Michael Gurin (Dramaturg) is the author of “Second Chances” and “Destinations,” sequels to “Twist of Faith,” produced by New York's landmark Theater for the New City; the writer of Black Box's long-running “A Match Made In Manhattan”; and the dramaturg on the revival of The Rock Musical “Soul Searching.” He is currently working with the Isaac Bashevis Singer Literary Trust on an original play based on selected works by the Nobel Laureate entitled “Life After Warsaw.” Michael's short stories have appeared in Midstream: A Monthly Jewish Journal, The Journal of African Travel Writing, Paris Transcontinental, and the Cimarron Review. He is a Professor of English at Lander College in Queens.