The Beauty of Off-Off-Broadway

Contributed by Sally Burgos

When watching commercial theater, like shows on Broadway or even Off Broadway, I found most to be clean cut, predictable, but yet still had the magical charm I look for when watching theater. The shows are like clean cut stories with music and spectacle. What attracted me to theater, as a young girl entering High School, was the thrill that anything could happen when you are on stage or watching as an audience member. It was exciting to be immersed and get lost in a story with a whole room on the same journey. I feel such good energy when watching a show on Broadway but at the same time, as a young lady entering her senior year of college, I cannot connect with the show the same way I can to a show Off-Off-Broadway.

When I watch a show Off-Off-Broadway, I feel this raw, electric, artistic energy in the room. This extra energy comes from the companies and all of the people who worked on the production. When you watch their shows, you can see their strong efforts even if they lack a huge budget. When it comes to shows that are non-for-profit, they tend to have an open and close date verses the commercial theater that tends to have an open run, especially if they win a Tony. Since they are aware of their end date, they put their all into it for little to no pay. It is beautiful.

The audience also makes an effect because this is Indie Theater, theater that is, in my opinion, so rebellious and is not afraid to try something bold and new. It speaks to my young rebellious artistic heart. The audience ranges in age but I find myself being able to speak to another fellow audience member. It is welcoming and passionate and bold.

Long live Off-Off-Broadway and artists that are not afraid to try something new. 

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Sally Burgos: 2014 Innovative Theater Awards Intern. A senior at Marymount Manhattan College, she studies Theater Arts with a concentration Producing and Management. She is currently interning for the New York Innovative Theatre Foundation under Production and Stage Management. She hopes to see the world and work for theaters around the world as a manager