Fresnels, Festivals, and Floorspace

Among the myriad subjects to be honored with a coffee-table book (e.g./ "Movie Stars on Vacation" or "Extreme Bonsai") I would like to add my own original idea for a new topic: "Dressing Rooms of Off-Off-Broadway". Imagine how exciting it would be to leaf through the colorful pages of the bazaar crevasses and nooks that make up the wacky spaces where so many actors prepare their craft.

If the actual theatres of O-O-B'way are out-of-the-way and often carved out of most remote parts of the concrete jungle, then you can only guess what the inner sanctums of these spaces must look like. I have done plays where the dressing room was also the lighting storage closet; we had to change from our street clothes into our costume changes all the while avoiding the long cords and sharp edges of fresnels. There have been dressing rooms located behind (or even under) the audience, meaning that once the house was open – you had to be backstage and the dressing room was 2+ hours away. If you forgot something, if you needed a mirror to check your costume, or if you could simply overhear the audience above you commenting on the play you're in…too bad!

Recently, I finished doing a one-act festival where there were 7 of us (men and women) in one dressing room, along with a clothes rack, three chairs, and two toilette stalls. Moving in and out of each others' way came easily; pretending not to hear when someone was peeing was natural…but what was unexpected was the amount of fun we all had being stuffed into such a space. As I looked around me I realized that, while it may not be like the movie-version I had imagined in my childhood, I am indeed living the life of a New York actor. Plus, I have acquired the skill of changing clothes in front of many people while standing in a 2foot x 2foot square. Ahhh, theatre!

Share your crazy OOB Space story with us - fill out this quick online form.

Desmond Dutcher
JudgeWrangler
NY IT Awards

DUE MAY 1

TURN IN YOUR APPLICATION NOW
Applications for the Honorary Awards are now online. Do you have a great Off-Off-Broadway theatre company? Do you know an organization or someone specific who has made a significant contribution through service or leadership to the Off-Off-Broadway community? Then please help us recognize them.

Applications for the Caffe Cino Fellowship and the Stewardship Award are now available online at the IT Awards website.

You may be asking yourself "well, what about the Artistic Achievement Award?" Good News -- The Artistic Achievement Award no longer requires an application. If you know someone who you think should be considered, please write to the Honorary Awards Committee by filling out this quick online form.

Applications are due at 5pm on 5/1/08.

Complete list of the 2008 Honorary Awards Committee.

OOB Production Budget Results

Today, we released the results of our production budget survey.

We worked on this for almost a year. We worked with a statistician from beginning to end. She helped us develop the wording of the survey and consulted us on the methods of informing the community about it, collecting the surveys and analyzing the results.

We talk about this in the study document itself, but this is what we did: we made the survey available on our website. We then sent emails to every OOB theatre company listed in our database, which includes about 350 theatre companies. We invited them to take the survey. We included information about the survey on our homepage and in our monthly Update. Twice during the process we made a list of all the OOB productions that had closed a show within the last 2 weeks and sent them emails asking them to take the survey.

We ended up with a 20% response rate which is the industry standard for having a valid study.

It was a long process. And honestly, like many of you, some of the results surprised me in a good way and some left me feeling a little disappointed.

The more I thought about it however, the more I was convinced that making this information public was very important and releasing all of it, warts and all. (Besides, it would be unethical to only release parts of it) We have been living in a vacuum of information for so long that no one has a clear idea of what or who our community is. We have been growing and changing for decades, but it hasn’t been documented. I hope that this study will, at the very least, create a baseline from which we will be able to mark our growth.

And, there are some things in the study that I find very encouraging and inspiring. The fact that 62% of OOB is paying the actors. There is no requirement or law, but the producers are voluntarily paying the actors because they believe that the actors should be paid. Most of these productions are running on a shoestring budget and don’t have any additional funds, but they manage to make this happen. I think that is proof that the producers are not out to take advantage of the actors.

These numbers are also a great motivation to do an economic impact study. $31 million dollars is a lot of money, but the economic impact of OOB would be 3 or 4 times that much.

There are lots of interesting statistics. See what you think.

You can see the results by going to www.nyitawards.com/survey.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Shay Gines
Executive Director
New York Innovative Theatre Awards

More about press in the OOB world

It isn’t always that Sara Ramirez attends one of your shows and decides to help you promote it all over town (or the country via tabloid publications). I get this call from Sara’s publicist and we set up a photo shoot of Sara and the company seen here: www.filmmagic.com

The photographer and I got it picked up in Star Magazine, Life & Style, and The Daily News as seen here: www.nydailynews.com

Now this won’t always happen for your OOB play, so what can you expect from your OOB publicist:

A press agent should be the number 1 advocate for your show, in addition to your cast, crew and company. Your press agent should be the sole voice on behalf of the production to the media.

A press agent, even with the most solid relationships, can not control the press, ie: get you a positive review.

A press agent should work to get your features, listings and reviews. Leveraging their personal relationships with the press will do this for your production.

Kampfire PR publicity campaigns include:

1. PRESS RELEASE:
a. Production Announcement: pertinent information on the production – who, what, where, when, ticket prices, where to purchase tickets, etc.
b. Listing Request: specific listings request submitted to listings editors with information clearly outlined in the manner in which they are accustomed to receiving it.
c. Review Requests: Leverage personal relationships with reviewers and editors in pursuit of critical coverage for your production.
2. FEATURE OPPORTUNITIES: Customized Story Pitches: Pitch feature story ideas to press, generated and developed along with the production team.
3. PRESS KIT: Includes press releases, cast bios, crew bios, past press, script, photos.
4. ONLINE PHOTO ROOM

In this theatrical climate it requires more than great public relations to increase audiences and awareness for your shows. I think an integrated campaign, which includes publicity, marketing, and audience building are required.

Marketing includes your posters, postcards, e-blasts, website, advertising, and more...

Audience Building is reaching out to specific members of the community who would be interested in your production.

I’d be happy to discuss this more with you.

Your friendly IT Awards Press Agent,
Katie Rosin
Kampfire PR
pr@nyitawards.comwww.kampfirefilmspr.com
917-438-9223

And Action!

The last few weeks have been very busy for the IT Awards and I wanted to take a moment to let you know what we are up to.

HONORARY AWARD APPLICATIONS

The Honorary Award applications are now available on our website (www.nyitawards.com).We are accepting applications for the Caffe Cino (presented to an Off-Off-Broadway theatre company in recognition of outstanding work OOB, and for demonstrating a commitment to continue to produce OOB) and the Stewardship Award (presented to an individual or institution demonstrating a significant contribution to the Off-Off-Broadway community through service, support and leadership.)

I am always excited by the Honorary Awards because it is our opportunity to recognize some really important contributions to our community.

The 18 members of the Honorary Awards Committee are divided into 3 subcommittees, representing the 3 different honorary awards. Each of the Caffe Cino applications (for example) are then read by the 6 person Cino subcommittee. The subcommittee meets and discusses all the Cino applications and decides on 3 applications to present to the committee as a whole. Then the entire committee reads all 9 applications (3 from each of the 3 subcommittees). We have a big meeting where discuss each of the finalists and vote. Sometimes we argue. Sometimes we miraculously have a unanimous decision. Sometimes we have to vote several times to get a clear recipient. All of the members of the committee are dedicated to our community and are very knowledgeable about OOB. We are also very opinionated and strong-willed and that can make for some spirited conversation. At the end of our meeting, we come to a decision.

Each year, I find myself so proud of our community and wanting to recognize all of the applicants. I've even been moved to donate some of my personal funds to those companies that apply for the Caffe Cino because I get excited about what they are doing.

There is a little change this year. The Artistic Achievement Award (presented to an individual that has an impressive body of work Off-Off-Broadway or has accomplished something truly groundbreaking in independent theatre in New York) no longer requires an application. While applications for the Caffe Cino Fellowship and the Stewardship Awards are made available to the public, candidates for the Artistic Achievement Award are chosen by the Honorary Award Committee. However we still accept suggestions from the community and follow up on those suggestions.

JUDGING SYSTEM VIDEO

Over the last 2 weeks, we have been shooting a short 5 minute instructional video on how the IT Awards judging system works. We wanted to create something fun and watchable that clearly explains the process.

We had a great crew and a fantastic cast. We are hoping to be able to reveal the finished product by the end of March.

I'm excited to see what you think about it.

Keep checking our website for more updates. www.nyitawards.com

Shay Gines

Executive Director

New York Innovative Theatre Awards

The kids are alright.

Happy Lunar New Year, my fellow OOB-lings. I know this blog finds you busy as the proverbial groundhog, preparing for the enticingly warmer second half of the season. I am no exception -- actively embroiled in semester two of Grad School -- and I even made a new friend! She's a lovely young lady from just outside of town and we immediately bonded over the magic word: musicals.

Just as thrilling as it always is to find another fan of the dramatic form, I was equally saddened to hear her alarming ignorance of our beloved OOB. She l-l-loves going to Broadway shows, she tells me, but her classmates cannot afford to go with her. "What about smaller, more experimental theater?" I ask. "Where's that?" was her reply.

I can only describe my reaction as disbelief. My adorable new buddy, my young potential adoptee, was totally unaware of the thriving theater scene all around her. She lives on the Bowery! She's been in the city two years already! How can she NOT KNOW?!?

I understand. My undergraduate alma mater has no theater major. We had to venture into town to find the goods. Let's try to calmly, rationally look at this as opportunity rather than a tragedy. I think the bright young minds of New York City's large academic community are just waiting to experience your shows.

They are already engaged in the pursuit of human experience.

They are highly literate and sit - listening - for a living.

They live a subway ride away from your venue.

They travel in packs. (I wish I were kidding.)

They have a lot of time on their hands and not a lot of money.

They are an excellent addition to your audience. Please, please, please reach out to this city's phenomenal collection of students. This can be an organized marketing push in school newspapers and campus bulletin boards or a more guerilla efforts at the Columbia library steps, Park Row, and Borough Hall Brooklyn. Honestly, I'm not 100% sure about that part. There are more qualified IT staff members to ask. You must have MySpace if you're reading this. All I know is it's what the business students would call "win-win".

Break legs,

Hillary Cohen

Development Manager

New York Innovative Theatre Awards