A 3rd generation New York City native, Sari now raises her family in an off-grid cabin in the Appalachian woods writing from her shed overlooking the amazing above garden where she inadvertently grows too much squash. Sari's love of chess, acting, writing, and teaching began when she was young and remain her work today. She's passionate about helping others find their voice and realize their visions. She loves spending time with her family, playing music, open mike nights, learning woodwork, being in nature, and volunteering. She was a multiple National Scholastic high school 1st prize award winner for her short stories and read a winning entry in the Library of Congress. She has an MFA in playwriting from Hunter College where she was mentored by Tina Howe, Samuel Hunter (The Whale), and Arthur Kopit. Her undergraduate was at Gallatin School for Individualized Studies/NYU where she majored in Utopias/Dystopias in History & Literature (born from a desire to see how people could take community-building into their own hands and what happened when they did) and minored in Mythology. She's working on a memoir called "Checkmating."
A chess prodigy, she started teaching in her own classroom in New York City when she was just 13. She quickly fell in love with teaching and continues to teach chess to all ages to this day, only now online. For the last ten years before the pandemic she focused on teaching in person at special needs schools.
Her first acting role was for a Dimetapp commercial at age 3, her first off-Broadway play was when she was 5, she sang in a Christmas record with soap stars and walked the runway at a Macy's fashion show when she was 7, and made her first lead role in film opposite Rene Russo and James Belushi when she was 8. She's had the privilege of working with Kate Burton, Allison Janney, and the late and great Kathryn Kates as well as being directed by James Orr and Jonas Cuaron (Gravity). She's traveled the world attending film festivals her movies have appeared in.
As a young adult, she combined her passions of writing and acting and formed her own theater company, critically-acclaimed downtown theater company Slightly Altered States. As the Artistic Director from 2012-2018, she especially loved creating community with other artists of all genres and audience members through events like their Salon Night at Jimmy's No. 23. SAS's shows were book-ended with concerts and work by other artists. Audiences were frequently invited on stage. SAS also offered workshops in acting, drama, and chess. Sari's consulted with and produced over 2 dozen New York City productions, helping them grow from inception to stage. She's consulted with and directed other writer/performers in 1-person shows as well as film scripts and works of fiction and memoir.
Sari was the Artistic Director for New York City performance venue The Arc. A 20,000 sft venue it featured multiple spaces including a media station and concert space. She programmed events from concerts to dance to immersive theater and multimedia events. She created a filmmaker's lab for local filmmakers and helped produce music videos. She brought in Elizabeth Warren's 1000 person rally where she held her now infamous "Break up the tech monopolies" speech and co-produced the first 24/7 reading of The Mueller Report with locals, celebrities, musicians, dancers, artists, and politicians. She created and assisted with hiring, social media, newsletters, sizzle reels, business decks, promotional copies, networking and fundraising while working with the PR team and the Arc's lobbyists. She built relationships with (among others) local businesses, schools, the community board, theaters, and brand sponsorship and was instrumental in helping to land a 6-figure deal with a global ticketing company.
A chess prodigy, she started teaching in her own classroom in New York City when she was just 13. She quickly fell in love with teaching and continues to teach chess to all ages to this day, only now online. For the last ten years before the pandemic she focused on teaching in person at special needs schools.
Her first acting role was for a Dimetapp commercial at age 3, her first off-Broadway play was when she was 5, she sang in a Christmas record with soap stars and walked the runway at a Macy's fashion show when she was 7, and made her first lead role in film opposite Rene Russo and James Belushi when she was 8. She's had the privilege of working with Kate Burton, Allison Janney, and the late and great Kathryn Kates as well as being directed by James Orr and Jonas Cuaron (Gravity). She's traveled the world attending film festivals her movies have appeared in.
As a young adult, she combined her passions of writing and acting and formed her own theater company, critically-acclaimed downtown theater company Slightly Altered States. As the Artistic Director from 2012-2018, she especially loved creating community with other artists of all genres and audience members through events like their Salon Night at Jimmy's No. 23. SAS's shows were book-ended with concerts and work by other artists. Audiences were frequently invited on stage. SAS also offered workshops in acting, drama, and chess. Sari's consulted with and produced over 2 dozen New York City productions, helping them grow from inception to stage. She's consulted with and directed other writer/performers in 1-person shows as well as film scripts and works of fiction and memoir.
Sari was the Artistic Director for New York City performance venue The Arc. A 20,000 sft venue it featured multiple spaces including a media station and concert space. She programmed events from concerts to dance to immersive theater and multimedia events. She created a filmmaker's lab for local filmmakers and helped produce music videos. She brought in Elizabeth Warren's 1000 person rally where she held her now infamous "Break up the tech monopolies" speech and co-produced the first 24/7 reading of The Mueller Report with locals, celebrities, musicians, dancers, artists, and politicians. She created and assisted with hiring, social media, newsletters, sizzle reels, business decks, promotional copies, networking and fundraising while working with the PR team and the Arc's lobbyists. She built relationships with (among others) local businesses, schools, the community board, theaters, and brand sponsorship and was instrumental in helping to land a 6-figure deal with a global ticketing company.