First Time Producers In New York City

Posted on 23. Mar, 2010 by amauto in Uncategorized

There are three steps on the ladder of New York theater. This first is of course, Broadway. This is where you will see large commercial productions that cost and hopefully bring in millions and millions of dollars. Next in line is off-Broadway. At this level, plays are produced for anywhere from a little less to a lot less money than Broadway. Off-Broadway the plays are just that, not always in the Broadway area. There are also often less commercial or more edgy or risky. The last rung is Off-off Broadway where the plays are quite cheaply produced running form almost pennies to maybe in the tens of thousands of dollars. For the first time producer, Off-off Broadway is probably the place to be. It is certainly not the place to make money no your first outing unless you are very lucky, but it is a good starting place.

The place to start is finding a great play to produce. If you have the time, visit the local library or book store and start digging. If you are short on time and producing is something you are doing on the side, I find that ebook readers are very handy. You can take them anywhere and sneak a read while you are at your day job, the gym or on the subway.

Deciding where to put up the play is your next step. There are small and large Off-off Broadway theaters all over New York City. You must thing about what you want to pay, which depends on your budget. You need to consider where you want the play to take place, uptown, downtown, Brooklyn, etc. Finally, how large of a theater do you need? This depends on the scope of the play and the audience you are anticipating.

Now you are ready for the audition process. You can hire union or non-union actors. If you hire union, you are getting experience and talent for sure but you are raising your budget quite a bit. You then need a union stage manager, director. Lighting designer and more. You have to pay into union benefits and other costs.

Now you have to dress the stage. This doesn’t just mean on the stage but above it with lights and around it with sounds, etc. If you are innovative, you can find inexpensive ways to do this. I produced a play where we acquired crystal jewelry wholesale in large quantities for props. We got a great deal.

You may have all the other elements, but if you have no audience, you have no play. Professional can be had who will bring in an audience by producing a promotional campaign. They will also get reviewers to critique your show. Or you can do it all yourself and hope for the best. Listing in the local papers is one free thing you should definitely do. For one play we got more audience by advertising a contest. Someone associated with the play donated an Ibanez electric guitar and we raffled it off.

So, if you or your friends or your family have a little extra money to lose, you too can put up a play in New York Off-off Broadway. Don’t think you will make any money the first time out because you probably won’t. But, if you get people in the seats and they like it, especially critics, you can be on your way to becoming a big time Broadway producer some day.

Tags: off-broadway play, producing