Putting On A Play Off-Off Broadway

New York theater can be a daunting place for a new producer. But, if you understand a few things, you can do quite well. Broadway is the place of the million-dollar commercial production. Off-Broadway is where you can produce a slightly cheaper play but not too cheap. Plus, Off-Broadway plays usually are less commercial, having an edge or being experimental. Off-off Broadway, however, is friendly to new producers in that plays can be put up quite on the cheap. This can mean pennies on the dollar up to ten of thousands of dollars. There are many factors to consider. You probably won't make money at this level but if you are starting out, this may be the place you want to be.

Many people stumble at the start because they don't know what to produce. Others have a play in mind or wrote on themselves. If you need a play, just hit the racks at your local library or bookstore and start reading. I find, if you don't have time to get to the library or bookstore, ebook readers are great. They can be taken anywhere and you can read and read at work, at play and at rest until you find the perfect play to produce.

New York is covered in Off-off Broadway theaters. You need to find a place to house your play so you need to think about a few things. What do you want to pay or how much can you pay? Where do you want to be, Brooklyn, uptown, downtown, midtown or elsewhere? How much audience you plan to bring in and how big the cast and the production is will also influence the size of the theater you need.

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.

In the end, producing a play off-off Broadway is definitely doable because the cost is within reason and, if you have the spare money or friends with money, who want to help you, it doesn't take much and it can be very rewarding. Don't think your first outing will be a success financially, because that is unlikely, but it may be a critical success and that can lead to more productions that may bring in money.

Tags: off-broadway play, producing