Since shortly after the start of the pandemic in 2020, Director/Producer Kaz Matamura has been guiding a weekly gathering on Zoom of many of her creative associates to form The Decameron Project – Hollywood. Writers, actors and directors have been collaborating on short plays and films, which find a home on the Decameron Project Hollywood’s YouTube Channel. Kaz’s simple yet profound idea was to help her creative friends stay active, productive and engaged during the very uncertain months, and eventually years, of the pandemic.
The Decameron Project accepts submissions from around the globe. Facebook profile Meet Up Group: Hawaii -Japan-LA
AI IRISAWA (Actor / Producer – Tokyo) During Ai’s 8 years in LA, she learned theater play at Theater of Arts and from David Hall. After coming back to Japan, she was with Unique Point (theater company) and experienced many plays. Now with Tokyo Engeki Ensemble (currently taking time off), she has been working as an actress for more than 20 years. Ai is a multi-talented person who is a career consultant (national qualification), and also a psychologist. She conducts “Bwing workshop” which uses theater elements to feel and increase self-acceptance and self-esteem to maximize enchantment to define “be yourself” as the most important message. ｢自分を生きる｣をモットーに表現者、心理カウンセラー、ワークショップファシリテーターとしても活動中. 空を見上げてボーッとする時間がとても好き. 東京演劇アンサンブルに所属(現在休団中)
ALEXIS MILLER (Producer – LA ) studied acting and taught at Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre Los Angeles, Yale Univ. School of Drama, HB Studio, Northeastern University where he studied directing with what’s-her-name, and has also worked a lot. He read Barbra Streisand’s bio once and thought ‘I never had a chance,’ and realized when Brandon Flowers’ first song “Mr. Brightside” hit a billion streams, ’well that’s never gonna’ happen for me.’ He has tried to help out the theatre artists in this show when he could.
ALIA SPRING (Actor) is a Los Angeles born and raised Actor, Singer, and Songwriter. They host community based shows showcasing local talent at their home in Atwater Village. They’re also known to perform at state social house on sunset Boulevard. They are an avid advocate for reproductive healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights. They do not love long walks on the beach, but they do love Piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. https://www.instagram.com/ayrsmusic/https://www.facebook.com/missspringlovesya TikTok @ayrsmusic
CAROLITA BLYTHE (Director) is an actor, director, author, and television script supervisor. She made her Decameron Project debut at their One-Minute Play Festival in Tokyo, Japan, in 2024, both as an actor and director. She has also directed her own independent film projects. Carolita has worked as a script supervisor on numerous network television, cable, and streaming productions, and is currently a member of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. As a published author, her works include the novels The Cricket’s Serenade (Genesis Press) and Revenge Of A Not-So-Pretty Girl (Random House/Delacorte Press) — a Publisher’s Weekly recommended read and Kirkus Book Reviews starred selection. A graduate of Syracuse University, Carolita was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. www.carolitablythe.comwww.facebook.com/carolita.blythehttps://www.instagram.com/carolitablythe/
EGON STERNECKER (Actor) moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and quickly caught interest in acting. When not on stage, Egon works in animation and tech-art for video games. Though new to theatre, he’s excited to be here and ready to perform. Thanks to the cast, crew, and friends for the support.
ELLEN BIENENFELD (Director / Actor / Playwright) has performed in live theater since 2009 in the Los Angeles area. She has worked at Groundlings Theater with Austin’s Dog Bread improv troop, led by Gary Austin, Groundlings Founder. Ellen is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, and is thrilled to be doing live theater once again. Ellen is excited to be writing as well as directing for the first time. https://www.instagram.com/ellenbienenfeld/
FELIX RACELIS (Playwright / Director) is an LA playwright whose produced full-length plays include As Straw Before the Wind; Fallen Comrade; Fearless Bloodsuckers of Hollywood; and a short play evening, Motherload! Other full length plays include Suicide Interruptus, Fault Lines, and Manimal Crackers. Over 80 of Felix’s one-act, ten-minute and one-minute plays have been produced around the country and internationally and many have been published. Felix participated as a writer and director in the Decameron Project’s Inaugural One-Minute Play Festival at the Victory Theatre in 2023 and in Decameron’s Inaugural One-Minute Play Festival in Tokyo in 2024. Felix’s play Uncommon Threads won First Place in Fire Rose Productions’ Ten-Minute Play Festival and his Bride of Godzilla is published in one of Smith & Kraus’s Best Ten-Minute Plays Anthologies. Felix is a member of First Stage, the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights and the Dramatists Guild of America. https://www.instagram.com/felixracelis/
IZZY SPRING (Actor), a native of Los Angeles, first discovered her passion for the arts in the vibrant theater community of North Hollywood. While acting played a pivotal role in her formative years, Izzy’s heart now primarily resonates with music. A multi-talented musician, and songwriter, she spends much of her time singing and playing harp, piano, and guitar. Though her foray into acting has been on a hiatus, Izzy is thrilled to be stepping back onto the stage.
JONATHAN LEVIT (Director) holds an MFA in Film / Animation from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is a Directing member of The Actors Studio West and has worked in many theaters in the LA area both as Director and Assistant Director on straight plays and musicals. He has also worked in television on multi-camera sitcoms as a Script Supervisor and Associate Director since 1996. Jonathan is happy to be working with Kaz again, and with such a talented group of actors, directors and writers.
JOSEPH D’AGOSTA (Actor). I left home after the army to head for Hollywood to study acting. I enrolled in a Theatre class, developed a relationship with a Little Theatre and between the two acted in: Stage Door, Who Was That Lady, My Three Angels, Bus Stop, Night Must Fall, Compulsion, A Greek Wedding – got an agent who was of no use. I was recognized by a casting director in Night Must Fall, who sent me on two auditions, then recommended me for a job casting extras at MGM. I assisted him before getting my first television series to cast that led to a pretty good career. After thirty-five years of casting for every studio and network in town, I returned to acting. I auditioned for Joanne Linville at The Stella Adler Academy of Acting and have been there since doing studying and performing in plays: Golden Boy, The Seagull, Rise of Arturo Ui, Hughie, Swan Song, Romeo & Juliette, Three Sisters, The Proposal, Waiting for Lefty. I directed: Bus Stop, Ethan Frome, Blue Denim, Compulsion, and This Property is Condemned.
JOYCE SINDEL (Actor) is a versatile actor playing senior women who range from comedy to strong, feisty emotional characters. She has appeared in commercials ; film (Castle of Enhancement, Max and Me, Slipway, Not Yet);t elevision (World of Hope, Sex Sent Me to the ER, Justice for All with Christine Perez. She has appeared on the stages at the Sierra Madre Playhouse, Hollywood Fringe, Stella Adler, and various stages in NoHo. Joyce is pleased to participate with The Decameron Project Hollywood since its inception. She is grateful to be in the One Minute Play Festival with so many talented people.
JUDITH ROSE (Director) has Directed and Produced more than 25 plays in L.A., directing and staging original plays with Ed Asner, Estelle Harris in “When One is Gone, Betty Garrett, Tess Harper in “Wendy and Me”, Hal Linden, Lee Meriwether & Hugh O’Brian in “The Words & Music of Albert Schweitzer”. She has directed “Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio”, “Swimming To The Moon”- the life of Jim Morrison, “The Dresser” for The Actor’s Studio West and choreographed “American Klezmer” at the Egyptian Arena Theatre to name a few. She has directed at The Odyssey Theater, Theatre Forty, Group Rep. & Theatre West among others. In N.Y. she conceptualized and produced “Broadway Dance In Time” for WNYC-TV winning a National Broadcasting Award. She was assistant director to Emmy Award winning choreographer Walter Painter for his documentary “Fleeting Moments”. At Warner Bros., she worked in sitcoms, one-hour dramas and ultimately Television Development. Judith’s recent directorial plays; “Marlene” (Dietrich), “Funnyman-S.J. Perelman” and “The Atheist Mother” for WriteAct Rep. She now has two new productions currently in development. Judith holds a B.A. and M.S. degrees from the City University of New York at Brooklyn College. I’d like to thank Kaz Matamura for inviting me to direct five – “ONE MINUTE PLAYS”.
KATIE BRADY is a writer/director and sometimes actor who has been working in film and television for the last decade in various capacities. She directed her first film, Such a Lovely Place, in 2023, and is currently in pre-production on her next two films. She participates with Force of Nature Productions and has joined their Creative Community of writers. She has acted in classic plays from Shakespeare to Fools. https://www.instagram.com/katiegoldenbrady/
KAZ MATAMURA (Executive Producer / Director / Playwright) has been a theatre producer in LA since 1995. She was a founder of the Secret Rose Theater in NoHo Arts District and she keeps the secret about this name to this day. She has taught acting in LA at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting – Los Angeles, at Art Center in Pasadena,etc at the Kumu Kahua Theatre in Honolulu, and various theaters in Tokyo,Japan. She is completing the Royal Shakespeare Company’s program for Advanced Instructor Certification this summer. Currently, she resides in Tokyo as a Drumpf refugee. In 2026, she is launching Tokyo International Fringe Festival, while expanding the one minute play festival to Vietnam and Taiwan. https://www.instagram.com/kazmatamura/ www.matamura.com “Let’s keep the oldest profession alive.”
KENT HATCH (Actor) has been in various independent films and shorts since the wee age of twenty-years-old. At the ripe age of fifty-four, he returns to the stage for two minutes to get a taste of the theatre he once knew in New York in the 90’s. The road has been long but the journey is still sweet and challenging.
MICHELE TANNEN (Actor) is an LA theatre veteran. She has appeared in multiple leading and supporting roles throughout the city’s performing arts scene since the year 2000. She is proud to have performed in the Los Angeles debut of the Decameron Project’s One-Minute Play Festival in 2023, and in the second One-Minute Play Festival in Tokyo, Japan in 2024. Michele also appears in numerous TV, film, and commercial projects. Always aware of the need to deepen her craft, Michele has studied with some of the city’s most prestigious acting coaches, including Tess Kirsch, Mark Tillman, Harry Mastrogeorge and Darryl Hickman.https://www.instagram.com/mikkiskittys/https://www.facebook.com/michele.tannen
MIMI CHEN’s (Playwright / Actor/ Producer – Ventura) claim to fame is having sung the National Anthem for the A’s,Giants, Warriors and the Angels. She once was cast in a recurring co-star role for a CBS network sitcom (We Are Men) and has been spotted in various commercials for Google, Subaru, Capital One and others. She also has had side gigs as a voice actor, voice dubbing K-Dramas and Asian Animation projects. But she’s happy to once again be part of Kaz Matamura’s international theater productions and working at KCSN-FM in Los Angeles on the air weekends, occasionally chowing on a glazed donut. https://www.tiktok.com/@djmimimi https://www.instagram.com/djmimimi/ https://www.facebook.com/mimi.chen/
NICHOLAS BRADY (Actor) has been an actor from the time he saw Nicolas Cage at 14 years old. The stage is his safe place and loves entertaining people. He’s acted in plays from 12th Night and Arsenic and Old Lace, to Into The Woods and many more. Recently he played a supporting role in the play, Last Call. Along with being a member of The Decameron Project Nic is also a member of another theater group Force Of Nature. He been in commercials and he’s also acted in films like Mythica. He wants you all to stay awesome! IG: @thatguynjb
SHELLY GOLDSTEIN (Playwright) is a writer-performer-director who has worked in every genre of TV, film and stage. She is one of the writers on the new US-UK series SHERLOCK & DAUGHTER, nominated for Best Int’l Series at the 2025 Monte Carlo Television Festival. Shelly wrote the comedy special Wait! Wait! Don’t Kill Me & performed in it with Lily Tomlin. She wrote the Emmy-winning PBS musical special Chicago Voices. Shelly has written for dozens of artists including Stephen Colbert, Steve Martin, Sharon Stone, Jay Leno, Hugh Jackman, Larry Wilmore, Hannah Einbinder, rocker Joe Walsh and Yoko Ono. She performs her one-woman cabarets to SRO crowds throughout the US and UK. In London’s West End, she recently co-starred in the 50th Anniversary Concert of Godspell. One of her proudest moments remains winning the world-famous New Yorker caption contest. https://www.facebook.com/shelly.goldstein/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU3FMI7voYo INSTAGRAM – GroovyShelly
TOM MISURACA (Playwright) Over 170 of his short plays have been produced and stage read globally, often winning audience favorite awards. Fourteen of his full-lengths have been produced in California, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Michigan and New York. His musical, GEEKS!, was produced Off Broadway in 2019. In 2014, Tom won two writing awards: The Pickering for his superhero nursing home play, GOLDEN AGE, and the Las Vegas Little Theatre New Works Award for LITTLE BLACK BOOK. He won the LVLT award again in 2019 (FIGMENTS) and 2022 (KISS MY ASTRAL PROJECTION). IN DOGS WE TRUST won second place in the 2023 Pickering Award and went on to win the 2024 Meanwhile Park Prize. His full-length play, IFs (IMAGINARY FRIENDS), will be produced at Trinity Theatre Company in December 2025. https://www.instagram.com/tmisuraca/https://www.facebook.com/tom.misuraca/