Sophie Becker
Did you think of that great idea first? Act too slowly, and it may grow legs and walk off on its own.
Sophie wants to be the greatest ventriloquist in the world. By her side is Ronnie: the matchstick with curves, the visionary, a cut above the rest. But when Ronnie branches out for a taste of independence, their bond begins to splinter.
As a beauty influencer and interior designer, Ronnie Woods examines the intersection of objectification and embodied consciousness through a lens of dummy advocacy. She has appeared on NBC, Subway Takes with Kareem Rahma, and in The New York Times Style Section. Fresh from her mid-western tour, Ronnie is now turning inward and penning her memoir, The Dummy in Me. Ronnie is excited to be making her Ars Nova debut.
Sophie Becker is a New York-based performer and actor who the New York Times hailed as “The Downtown Ventriloquist”. Her work explores recursive identity and popular culture through a cast of recurring characters, including her dummy Ronnie. Sophie has performed at MoMA PS1 (NY), SculptureCenter (NY), STUK (Belgium), Haus Am Waldsee (Germany), Art Omi (Ghent, NY), and New Theater Hollywood (LA), among others. She is included in the 2026 exhibition Greater New York at MoMA PS1. BA: Wesleyan University.
Joan Sergay is a Brooklyn-based director. Recent projects include Not Not Jane’s by Mara Nelson-Greenberg at Clubbed Thumb, The Galas by Justine Gelfman at Ars Nova, and Lena Dunham’s memoir Famesick for Penguin Random House Audio. On Broadway, Joan served as Associate Director to Robert Icke (Oedipus), Sam Mendes (The Hills of California), and Rachel Chavkin (Lempicka), and will serve as Associate Director to Justin Martin on Inter Alia. She has directed and developed work with MCC, MTC, NYTW, Ensemble Studio Theatre, No Guarantees, and others. Joan has directed over 200 audiobooks and is a New Georges Affiliated Artist. BA: Northwestern University.
Jacob K Robinson is a writer and noisemaker from small town Texas. His plays have been semi-finalists for the O’Neill, Ojai, and Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and he is a member of Clubbed Thumb’s 26/27 Early Career Writers’ Group. He likes a good pair of black Levi’s, mowing the lawn, and an afternoon baseball game. Ask him about how talented his friends are. He is doing his best.
Matt Lazarus is an artist based in New York City. He’s especially proud of his work on Parched (HERE Arts Center) Heaux Church (Ars Nova), I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire (Watermark Productions, the cell), Tracks (59e59), and SCOUTS (The Players Theater). He is a founding member of Glad You’re Not Dead; a jingle production house whose only client is a now defunct Floridian burger restaurant. See more at MattLazarusDesign.com or @LazMattarus
Corey Umlauf (she/her/hers). Corey’s design work has been presented by Clubbed Thumb, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Columbia University, JACK, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Colt Coeur and Ars Nova. Broadway Associate Credits: The Fear of 13, Dead Outlaw, Real Women Have Curves, TopDog Underdog, A Strange Loop,Yellow Face, Home, Trouble in Mind. Off-Broadway Associate Credits: You Got Older (A24’s Cherry Lane), Goddess (Public Theater), Gruesome Playground Injuries (Lucille Lortel Theatre). Miniature fabrication for film: The Sweet East (Cannes, NYFF 61). Proud Member, USA-829
Barry Del Sherman is an actor. Del Sherman won an Obie in Marlane Meyer’s The Mystery of Attraction at the Tribeca Playhouse and has appeared Off-Broadway at Circle Rep, Second Stage, the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, and Ensemble Studio Theater, as well as the Geffen, the Odyssey, Portland Center Stage, Magic Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Television credits include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI: NY, and Cracker; film credits include American Beauty, There Will Be Blood, and On The Road. He was born in Fontana, though knows no one there.
This show will take place at Ars Nova, located at 511 W 54th Street, New York, NY 10019.
Seating is general admission and first-come first-served. So, the earlier you arrive at the theater, the more choice you’ll have about where you sit! (Bonus: cheapest drinks in Midtown are at Bars Nova!)
The only way to guarantee you reserved seats is to become a Super Nova. Super Novas never hear “sold out,” get reserved seats in prime locations, and make fair wages and accessible tickets possible. Learn more about becoming a Super Nova here!
If a performance is sold out, you can join a standby line for day-of-show tix made available by minute cancellations and no-shows. Standby will begin 1 hour prior to curtain and will form outsideFolks from the standby line will be admitted into the show on a rolling basis as availability is confirmed.
Additionally, Supra is never sold out! If you can’t make the show in-person, you can always stream online for only $15/mo, which gets you unlimited streaming access to performances from the last year. You can cancel your membership anytime by emailing contact@arsnovanyc.com.
Yes. The processing fees are charged by our ticketing and credit card processors, and increase along with the base price of your ticket.
All sales are final – there are no refunds or exchanges.
If you’re unable to use your tickets, you may donate them in exchange for a letter of tax credit by emailing tix@arsnovanyc.com.
Ars Nova is uncensored. We provide content advisories — to the best of our ability — to inform audiences when shows contain racial violence, racist language, sexual violence or nudity. We provide information about this type of content in advance, based on our core values, so that each audience member can make an informed decision about if and how they’d like to engage with that content. We welcome artists to share additional information about their shows based on their own core values.
Ars Nova is wheelchair accessible. If you wish or need to remain in your wheelchair throughout the show, our staff will remove the theater chair. This can be done by letting us know your needs/plans in advance; just email Taylor Rey. It can also be done without prior notice when you arrive! If you wish to transfer to the theater seat from your wheelchair, we are happy to store your wheelchair or motorized mobility aid in the lobby during the performance. The House Manager will return your mobility device to you at the end of the performance as this show has no intermission.
About 25% of the seating is on the ground floor of the theater and does not require using stairs to access. There are five six-inch steps to get into the building.
All remaining seats require no less than one and no more than three steps to access.
Licensed service animals (any dogs that are trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities) are welcome at Ars Nova. They must rest in your seating area throughout the performance and are unable to occupy the aisle. Please bring proof of certification or a license for your service animal and be prepared to present it to the House Manager upon request. You can send advance notice to tix@arsnovanyc.com, which is appreciated, but not required.
Our bathrooms are stalled, all gender restrooms – everyone is welcome to use any bathroom of their choice. We have two single-person restrooms in the lobby; with the wheelchair accessible option located right outside the theater on the first floor (doors 7 feet 10 inches x 3 feet 10.5 inches).
We have space that can be made to offer privacy for feeding should you need at any time. See the House Manager onsite and they will arrange a comfortable space, with storage and refrigeration for your materials.
The audience seating locations could be in, around and throughout the playing area. Performers will be within 3’ of you.
The seating is a combination of chairs.
Black Chairs with back: 19” wide x 32.25” high x 21.75” deep with a 500lb capacity
Black Counter height: 16.5” wide x 38” high x 18” deep with a 500lb capacity
The doors for entry into the building are 7 feet 10.5 inches x 3 feet 7 inches (external) and 7 feet 10 inches x feet 10.5 inches (internal).
Box Office height is 3 feet 6 inches and the Bar height is 3 feet 8.5 inches.
