Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m thrilled to share that The Desiring will premiere on March 1st! This is my first leading role in a feature film and I’m so grateful to be able to share our work. You’ll be able to find the film pretty much anywhere you rent or buy movies. Check out the trailer below, and the news announcement from The Wrap can be found here.
2023 End of Year Wrap Up
There are lots of things to be grateful for in 2023! The strikes being officially over is definitely one of them. Here’s a short list of projects I’m proud to be a part of this year and what I’m looking forward to in 2024.
Every Man For Himself
The feature film I produced and played a supporting role in, Every Man For Himself, played the film festival circuit this year, including Cinequest & RiverRun. Check out this sneak peek of my part as the gusty, no-nonsense ex, opposite star Daniel Sharman here.
Missed Connections
I recently shot a film, Missed Connections, which follows two people as they navigate the hardships of life and keep re-discovering their genuine bond. Here’s a still from the film which is now in post-production.
Two Women on a Bridge
The short film I produced and star in, Two Women on a Bridge, has premiered for all to see on Vimeo! Check it out here.
Along with acting, I’ve been writing as well! I have a new short film, Pencils Down, which will go into production in the new year. The film follows a woman (played by me) who discovers her co-worker dead at the office. She must find her replacement immediately or risk losing her own job. You can check out our look book for the upcoming production here.
I’m also expanding my short film Christmas Eve Eve into a feature! I'm currently in the stages of finishing the first draft. If you haven’t seen the short yet, check it out here.
Review for Two Women on a Bridge
We received a lovely review of Two Women on a Bridge which is linked here and pasted below:
Exceptionally directed, written, and edited by Tom Bean, Two Women on a Bridge is a thought provoking journey over the Williamsburg Bridge in May 2020 in a captivating display of black and white cinematography. Starring Karen Maine and Suzanne Lenz to Chris Bordeaux and Michael Abiuso’s gentle score, Two Women on a Bridge delves into a fractured friendship and reflects on the overwhelming changes in the world while engaging and hypothetical popup endings instill light humor to some serious themes.
Every Man For Himself - World Premiere
I’m really excited to announce the film I’ve been producing Every Man For Himself will have its world premiere at Cinequest Film Festival. First up is the virtual festival happening March 1st-12th. Then, in August there will be an in person festival in San Jose, California. Here’s a link to our website which has information on the tickets for the virtual festival:
https://www.everymanforhimselfmovie.com/
I’m looking forward to sharing our work on this film! Below is our official poster as well as a still of me as the character of “Ex”.
Two Women on a Bridge Screening in NY
Two Women on a Bridge premieres at SENE Film Festival
Our short film Two Women on a Bridge will be making its world premiere at the SENE Film Festival in Cranston, Rhode Island on October 15th. We’re very excited to be included in this year’s lineup. A link with more info about the screening can be found here.
The Refugees Reviews
We finished our run of The Refugees at the end of June. It was a beautiful production and I’m so grateful to have been a part of it. On one of our last performances the organization Women for Afghan Women led us in a powerful discussion after the show about the refugee crisis here in America and what we can do to help. You can check out their website and volunteer with them here. You can also see some lovely reviews we got as well as some production photos below.
Link to Reviews: HERE
The Refugees NYC Premiere
The Refugees is opening tomorrow night in NYC! I’m so thrilled to be a part of this incredible show again. It's a moving and exciting piece filled with heart, humanity, and humor. We’ll be playing at A.R.T./New York Theatres through June 26th. More about the show below:
Who do we let in? This simple question resonates across the entirety of our lives today, ranging in scale from family feuds to geopolitical crises. In The Refugees, written and directed by Stephen Kaliski, a jaded queen and her activist children struggle to answer it, each side fiercely opposed over whether their prosperous realm should offer asylum to masses of immigrants displaced by climate change.
Set in an imagined world that blends Ancient Greek myth with the realities of today, The Refugees electrifies one of the most urgent issues of our time with humor, humanity, and a passionate appeal to the power of civic engagement.
Throughout the run, Adjusted Realists is partnering with Women for Afghan Women (WAW), a local NYC refugee organization, to include ancillary educational programming along with action-oriented steps audience members can take coupled with the live viewing experience.
I hope you’ll join us! Link to more info here.
Interview on podcast about filmmaking
Recently, I was invited to be a guest on the podcast Filmmaking Conversations with Damien Swaby. We talk about creating a film community, sharing your story, and working through doubts and fears— it was a fun chat! You can listen to a short clip below or go to this link to listen to the full episode. Thanks for having me, Damien!
Best Actress for I Am You from the IAWTV Awards
Recently I won a best actress award from the International Academy of Web Television for my work in the hit web series I Am You which has over a million views online. I was also nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Drama by the Indie Series Awards. I loved playing these duel characters in this cyber/thriller series created by Daryn Strauss. You can check out the whole series here!
Christmas Eve Eve Premieres on Omeleto!
On the eve of Christmas Eve, aka Christmas Eve Eve, I’m so thrilled to share with you that our short film Christmas Eve Eve Or: The Things I Can’t Remember is making its debut online for all to see! You can find the movie here on Omeleto, one of the premiere hubs for high-quality short filmmaking on the internet.
We hope you can watch it and if you can help us spread the word by sharing it. Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful, safe, and joyful holiday season.
Christmas Eve Eve's Film Festival Run!
This past year we've had a chance to play Christmas Eve Eve at several film festivals in person and online all across the country. To see the film in real movie theaters has been absolutely thrilling! We premiered the film to a sold out house at the Greenpoint Film Festival in our local neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. There was a write up ahead of the film's premiere that you can read here. Then we did a little tour that included the 44th Mill Valley Film Festival in California, SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival in Rhode Island, where we won an honorable mention award for Best Screenplay, and the Women’s Film Festival in Philadelphia, PA. Our online festivals included Imagine This Women’s Film Festival, Brooklyn Women’s Film Festival and Louisville’s International Festival of Film.
Next up is our online world premiere which will be in December on a platform for short films called Omeleto. I’ll post the link once it’s live and hope you’ll consider watching and sharing it with folks that you think might enjoy it.
Pic to the right is from after our screening at Mill Valley Film Festival. We played the same night as Jane Campion’s new film The Power of the Dog!
First press for our short film ahead of our debut
Our short film Christmas Eve Eve Or: The Things I Can’t Remember is premiering this Friday, September 3rd at 8pm at Stuart Cinema. Ahead of our premiere our local Brooklyn publication Greenpointers interviewed me about the process of making the film and its connections to our local neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Tickets are available here under the “Group Hug” block. There are only a few left!
Check out the full article here!
The Refugees World Premiere
I had the honor of performing in the world premiere of the new play The Refugees presented by NYC’s Adjusted Realists in association with my alma mater Davidson College. It was amazing to be back safely in person performing live after all of this time. To be able to engage with this urgent subject matter was an honor. More info and pictures from the production below:
Who do we let in? This simple question resonates across the entirety of our lives today, ranging in scale from family feuds to geopolitical crises. In The Refugees, written and directed by Stephen Kaliski, a jaded queen and her activist children struggle to answer it, each side fiercely opposed over whether their prosperous realm should offer asylum to masses of immigrants displaced by climate change. Set in an imagined world that blends Ancient Greek myth with the realities of today, The Refugees electrifies one of the most urgent issues of our time with humor, humanity, and a passionate appeal to the power of civic engagement. This world premiere production in Charlotte, North Carolina, originally postponed by COVID-19, features an ensemble of professional and student actors and is presented by New York City's Adjusted Realists in association with Davidson College.
New Review for The Desiring
The Desiring just played at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival this June and we got a really lovely write up by One Film Fan. Here’s an excerpt:
Lenz is a beautiful picture of poise and grace while likewise shining with a level of calm, muted intentionality that oozes both strength and vulnerability in her performance as Claire, Richard’s apparently dissatisfied wife who makes the choice to seek out what she needs through another man. Yet, it is this choice that makes her own inner questioning come to light, even as she confides more in her new man rather than in Richard and despite the latter’s attempts to regain what they’ve seriously lost sight of. It’s a nuanced performance throughout, and Lenz does an amazing job at making us feel for Claire despite her indiscretion.
Check out the full review here.
My first leading role in a feature film!
I’m thrilled to announce that my first leading role in a feature film will debut next month. The Desiring will have its world premiere at the 2021 RiverRun International Film Festival. There will be an in-person, outdoor screening on May 11th, and virtual screenings starting May 12th. You can find more info on the film and how to get tickets here.
Watch the teaser trailer below!
New Digital Series I AM YOU
I’m happy to share a new digital series I had the honor of starring in called I Am You. This series was written and directed by Daryn Strauss and was produced 100% remotely. In this cyber thriller series a young woman is contacted by her "digital twin" (an AI version of her created using the data collected on her) with a warning that something terrible will happen to her in the future and how she must save herself. It was a really fun challenge to play these two roles. You can check out the series on the Rizzle App here.
Female Voices Rock Film Festival
I’m really psyched to be a part of this year’s Female Voices Rock Film Festival as a panelist. I will be speaking along with stellar casting director Adrienne Stern about what it is like to produce and cast films during the pandemic. Our panel will be on Monday, December 7th at 1PM PST/4PM EST. The festival has a lot of other great events happening as well. To see the rest of the schedule and sign up check out the link here. I hope you’ll join us!
Two Short Films & A Feature Film
I hope you all have been safe and healthy (and staying sane!) during this strange and difficult time. It’s been a while since I’ve posted any updates here, because like most of the world, I’ve been on a pause. I feel very fortunate that we were able to film Christmas Eve Eve Or: The Things I Can’t Remember in February before everything shut down. We’ve been able to edit the film and completely finish post-production remotely and now we’re submitting it to film festivals for the 2021 circuit. We don’t yet know where we’ll premiere, but you can take a look at some stills and the poster on the website here.
Despite the pandemic I also had the opportunity to produce and act in two other films this year with rigorous Covid precautions in place. The first is an experimental short film set during the pandemic called Two Women on a Bridge. It was shot in black and white overnight on the Williamsburg Bridge with two actors, a director and DP. We’re still in post-production on that project but you can see some stills here. The second film is a feature written and directed by Gary Gardner (The Nymphets). The film was a SAG-AFTRA approved shoot for 3 weeks out west in August of 2020. Our epic road movie took us through Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. In addition to producing, I had the honor of playing the female lead. The film is now in post-production. Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!
Still from Two Women on a Bridge
That's A Wrap on Christmas Eve Eve!
I’m so excited to let you know that we have officially wrapped production on our short! Over Valentine’s Day weekend, we shot the film with an extremely talented cast and crew. It was thrilling to see the story come to life, and I’m so grateful for the team that made this possible. I can’t wait to dive into the edit! There are more behind the scenes photos on our Seed & Spark page here.