Hysell, Platt, Brady, Kuney & Levinstein Set for BUILDING THE OFF BROADWAY TEAM Seminar This Weekend

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents, and marketing firms, will hold another in its Sunday Seminars series, focused on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway on Sunday, April 26th, 2015.

The seminar, titled "Building the Off Broadway Team" will feature JIM BRADY from Maximum Entertainment (50 Shades The Musical Parody, Found The Musical, The Lion), DANIEL KUNEY from Roy Gabay Theatrical Productions (39 Steps, Rock of Ages, Altar Boyz), ROBERT LEVINSTEIN from 22Q Entertainment (My Big Gay Italian Wedding/Funeral, 2015 national tour of Always Patsy Cline), MARTIN PLATT from Perry Street Theatricals (My Life as a Musical, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Bedlam's Hamlet and Saint Joan). HUGH HYSELL (National Broadway and Live Arts Lead for Groupon and producer of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Peter and the Starcatcher) will moderate the discussion.

The seminar will discuss the process of building the various teams (creative, design, marketing/advertising, management and production teams) necessary to create a successful Off Broadway show. Attendees will learn from industry insiders about how those teams are created as well as timelines for success.

"Building the Off Broadway Team" will be held on the 3rd floor of The Snapple Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street (at Broadway). Doors will open at 11:30am for complimentary coffee and bagels. The panel will take place from Noon - 1:30pm with additional time allotted afterward for conversation with fellow attendees.

Admission for the seminar is free, however reservations are a must. Attendees are encouraged to pre-submit questions for the panelists when they submit their reservations. Questions will be asked live at the seminar.

The Off Broadway Alliance is a non-profit corporation organized by theater professionals dedicated to supporting, promoting and encouraging the production of Off Broadway theater and to making live theater increasingly accessible to new and diverse audiences. The Alliance holds monthly meetings and membership is open to everyone in the Off Broadway theater community.

Among its initiatives, The Off Broadway Alliance sponsors 20at20, the event that runs twice a year for 20 days and lets theatergoers purchase $20 tickets to dozens of Off Broadway shows 20 minutes before curtain.

The Alliance also presents the Off Broadway Alliance Awards, including an annual tribute to the Legends of Off Broadway and inductees to the Off Broadway Hall of Fame. It also produces the free Sunday Seminar Series focusing on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway and featuring major players from the Off Broadway scene. The Alliance operates the OBA Mentorship Program, which provides new producers with guidance and direction from Off Broadway veterans. And the Alliance created the Off Broadway Economic Impact Report, which outlines Off Broadway's over $500 million annual impact on the economy of the City of New York.

About The Panelists:

JIM BRADY joined Maximum Entertainment Productions in 2014, a producing, developing and management company founded in 2005 by Eva Price, Avram Freedberg and Mary Beth Dale. General Management credits on Broadway, Off Broadway, and On Tour include: 50 Shades, The Musical Parody (NY & Tour); The Lion; Ivy + Bean The Musical; Found The Musical; Blank! The Musical. More info at www.maximumcompany.com

DANIEL KUNEY is a General Manager with Roy Gabay Theatrical Productions & Management. Broadway: Rock of Ages, Fela!, Reasons to be Pretty, The 39 Steps, The Homecoming, Talk Radio. Off-Broadway: Heathers, Altar Boyz, Dog Sees God, My Name is Rachel Corrie, In Masks Outrageous. More info at www.roygabayproductions.com

ROBERT LEVINSTEIN Co-Founder/Executive Producer of 22Q Entertainment LLC, a NYC based production company specializing in site-specific theatre as well as producing corporate events, general management, and casting. Robert is General Manager of the Off-Broadway hits My Big Gay Italian Wedding and My Big Gay Italian Funeral. Later this Fall 22Q Entertainment is producing a mini tour of the hit Off-Broadway production of ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE. Robert and 22Q Entertainment were nominated for a 2014 Daytime Emmy Award for their Producing work on Tainted Dreams, a new online soap opera. Under his leadership, 22Q was also lead producer of the critically acclaimed NYC premieres of The Spoon River Project in the historic Green-wood Cemetery and It is Done produced in a working bar. An award winning Los Angeles production of It Is Done was also produced by 22Q Entertainment. Robert is Associate Producer for Shakespeare on the Sound, a non-profit organization providing free Shakespeare in the Park to the Darien/Rowayton area of Connecticut. Robert spent 10 years of his career splitting his time between NYC and the Historic Ogunquit Playhouse, starting out as Production Stage Manager and then taking over the role of Associate Producer. More info at www.22qentertainment.com

MARTIN PLATT has produced on London's West End, Broadway, Off-Broadway; US and UK tours, as well as European Tours. His productions have won the Tony (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike), the Obie (In The Continuum and The Oak Tree), Drama Desk, Drama League, and all other NY theatre awards. Several of his West End productions have been Olivier Award nominated. As a GM (Perry Street Theatricals) he has worked off Broadway as well as having several pre-Broadway projects coming up. Mr. Platt was also the founding Artistic Director of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and General Director of Birmingham Opera Theatre. As a director he has worked throughout the U.S., as well as in England, Austria, and Spain. More info at www.pstheatricals.com

HUGH HYSELL is a Tony Award winning Broadway producer and award winning marketer. His Broadway producing projects include Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013 Tony Award and Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play), Peter and the Starcatcher (winner of 5 Tony Awards), and Impressionism. Off Broadway, he has produced, conceived and directed The All-Male Importance of Being Earnest, Y-2-Gay The Musical and Seamen The Sailor Musical. Hugh served as Director of Marketing and Development for NYU Skirball and ran HHC Marketing where he has served as marketing director of over 200 Broadway and Off Broadway shows. He serves on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Multicultural Diversity Action Committee and is an Associate Professor at Columbia University. He currently plays "Maurizio" in the Off Broadway companies of My Big Gay Italian Wedding and My Big Gay Italian Funeral (just celebrated his 19th month in both shows) and leads the National Broadway and Live Arts division for Groupon. He has provided pro bono services to Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids, HRC, GLAAD and The Commercial Theatre Institute. He is a founding member of The Off Broadway Alliance and currently serves as a nominator for the Off Broadway Alliance Awards.

For more information, visit www.OffBroadwayAlliance.com.

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