Volunteer to help OOB productions

Dear Community Dish Friends,

I hope all is well in your worlds. Sandy definitely did a number on our City. Obviously if you're reading this you're getting internet, which is probably more than most. The thoughtful Sean Williams reached out earlier with concern for the community...

"I know that someone got screwed. One of our theaters has to have gone underwater, some facility got completely nailed and there have to have been a couple dozen shows on the off-off level that were either supposed to load out or load in this week."

So let's be there for our fellow Indie Theatre folks. You can volunteer to lend a hand by emailing
amandaellenfeldman at gmail dot com

IF ANYONE NEEDS ASSISTANCE PLEASE LET US KNOW.  A volunteer list will be posted later this afternoon. Let's see if we can coordinate a handful of volunteers to send your way!

AND if you have extra time on your hand to volunteer (because your office is closed), email the Red Cross - staffing@redcrossny.org or go to their website.

Be well and stay dry!

Amanda Feldman

Indie Theatre Week

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INDIE THEATER WEEK is here!  With 3 can't-miss events!


First up, it's the  

LIT Mixer

Are you ready to party?

We in the Indie Theater Community work hard. Very hard.

But we're also the most fun.

Let's prove it.

Come to the LIT MIXER!
As part of the undergroundzero Festival at PS 122
And Indie Theater Week
www.ps122.org

Friday July 16th
11:00pm - 1:00am
PS 122 - 150 First Avenue

Join your favorite indie theater folks for a night of drinks, dancing, and mingling.
See you there!

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Next, join us for the -

Innovative Theatre Awards Nominee Announcement Party:

at the historic Off-Off-Broadway Venue
Demo Hall / Carmine St. Center at Our Lady of Pompeii
located at 25 Carmine Street (corner of Bleecker)

Monday July 19th
from 7pm to 10pm

For more information, please visit http://www.nyitawards.com
 

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Finally, please join The Community Dish, The Innovative Theatre Foundation,
The League of Independent Theatre and United Stages

for the
2nd Annual Indie Theatre Midsummer Classic
(Softball Game and Picnic)

Saturday, July 24th
noon to 4pm
Field #1 of the Great Lawn in Central Park

Picnic (bring your own) - noon to 1:00pm
Softball Game - 1:00pm to 4pm
Drinks at a nearby pub TBA - 4pm til they run out of beer & hot wings

Your team captains Tim Errickson and Michael Criscuolo ask that if you have equipment to please bring it and to be prepared to share a glove with a neighbor.

It is a great way to celebrate the summer, share community spirit and engage your fellow OOBers in a little friendly sporting rivalry. 

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2nd Annual Indie Theatre Midsummer Classic

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Please join The Community Dish, The Innovative Theatre Foundation,
The League of Independent Theatre and United Stages 

for the

2nd Annual Indie Theatre Midsummer Classic
(Softball Game and Picnic)

Saturday, July 24th
noon to 4pm
Field #1 of the Great Lawn in Central Park

Picnic (bring your own) - noon to 1:00pm
Softball Game - 1:00pm to 4pm
Drinks at a nearby pub TBA - 4pm til they run out of beer & hot wings

Your team captains Tim Errickson and Michael Criscuolo ask that if you have equipment to please bring it and to be prepared to share a glove with a neighbor.

It is a great way to celebrate the summer, share community spirit and engage your fellow OOBers in a little friendly sporting rivalry.

Please SAVE-THE-DATE!

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Everything I learned about Arts Administration, I learned Off-Off-Broadway

Contributed by Guest Blogger of the week, Leigh Goldenberg.

 

I work in a regional theatre that's not in New York City. So why should I be writing for this New York Theatre blog? Because I credit the majority of my knowledge and experience in theatre management to my years producing Off-Off-Broadway in NYC. If you are looking for a career in the theatre, I cannot recommend more highly the value of producing your own work with no money and even less of a clue. Fundraising, marketing, budgeting, advocacy, contracts, season selection - you name it. Everything I learned about Arts Administration, I learned Off-Off-Broadway. (And how appropriate that I'm following Connie's post about restaurant school's lessons - inspiration is everywhere!)

"It's the people. It's people."

This overly simple line was in Stone Soup's first original show The Seventh Song about human rights in China. (We were so ambitious in our early 20s!) In the years to follow, this remained as our thesis not only in the types of shows we created and but the way in which we created them.

I'll be honest and say that no one was ever paid for their work with Stone Soup. (This is probably true for lots of Off Off companies, especially as we re-invested our money into expanding the company however we could.) Since we all worked long hours beyond our day jobs, for no money, we had to at least like each other! Many companies start as a group of friends with a common interest. At some point, if you want to grow, you have to find other people to join you on your noble mission. Backstage ads might work for finding actors, but if you want people to roll up their sleeves to also build your sets, work your box office, AND send a fundraising letter to their aunt in Michigan, it takes a lot of trial and error, and whole lot of clarity.

I've found that the companies that are most successful have a clear mission and values, simplifying that opt-in process for a newbie. Certainly people come and go (with more or less drama, depending on the situation), but you'll know you've been honest from the start. This is what we are, take it or leave it. This was never more important than in the volunteer world of Off Off exhaustion. But in Arts Admin, spending your full time job at a place that doesn't align with your own values can be even more soul sucking than working somewhere corporate where at least (maybe?) you have some financial benefits to outweigh long hours away from the rehearsal room. Call me an idealist, but I hope I'll always work somewhere that does plays I really like to watch.

The lesson of relationships extends beyond the people you are creating work with to the people you are creating work around. Learning from peers is essential, especially if you are starting from a common place of knowing nothing and having an empty bank account. Each year, hundreds of us graduate from college and want to put on a play. I'm sure 99% of our mistakes have already been made, so it's up to you to find the people to warn you or at least commiserate with you. The Community Dish was definitely that haven for me on many occasions. You need that support network to know you aren't alone in having crazy theatre landlords or issues with the Equity Showcase contract or an audience smaller than your cast size. I've found the same with Arts Admin jobs. Search for any professional development opportunity you can that will introduce you to people with similar positions at similar organizations. Use these people to safely vent, ask questions, learn from their successes. Celebrate and support them.

So, readers: What relationships have been valuable to you in your theatre projects and careers?