Off Broadway Alliance to Present Producing from the Ground Up 2/12

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents, and marketing firms, will hold another in its series of seminars focused on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway on Sunday, February 12. The seminar, titled “Producing from the Ground Up,” will feature Lori Fineman, Executive Director of Transport Group (which produced the New York premiere of Lysistrata Jones); Tom D’Angora, Producer of NEWSical; and Edmund Gaynes, Producer and Theatre Owner (St. Luke’s Theatre and Actors Temple Theatre). John Capo, President of John Capo Public Relations, will moderate the discussion.

“Producing from the Ground Up” will be held at The Snapple Theater Center’s Jerry Orbach Theater. Doors will open at 11:30 for complimentary coffee and bagels. The panel will take place from Noon – 1:30pm with additional time allotted afterward for conversation with fellow attendees. The Snapple Theater Center is located at 210 West 50th Street (at Broadway).

Admission for the seminar is free, however reservations are a must. To RSVP for the event, visit http://marketingoffbroadway.eventbrite.com before February 9. Attendees are encouraged to pre-submit questions for the panelists when they submit their reservation. 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 theatre 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 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. The Alliance also founded and sponsors 20at20, the biannual event (currently offering 38 shows running from January 18 through February 6) that lets theatergoers purchase $20 tickets to dozens of Off Broadway shows twenty minutes before curtain. It produces a free Seminar Series focusing on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway featuring major players from the Off Broadway scene. In addition, 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.

Lori Fineman is the Executive Director of Transport Group, the not-for-profit Off Broadway theatre company that produced the original New York production of Lysistrata Jones and the OBA Award-winning revival of Hello Again. Lori has been a member of the Board of Directors of Transport Group since November, 2004 and also served as the Gala Chairperson for the company's annual benefit, Gimme A Break, since 2005. Lori has professional experience in both the theatre and in management consulting. She was a senior consultant for a financial services consulting firm, Capco, where she was responsible for developing the company's intranet and global knowledge management program. Prior to Capco, Lori worked as an analyst for Andersen Consulting both in New York and Philadelphia. Lori has worked professionally as an actor and choreographer. As a producer, she was the co-Executive & Artistic Director of the Women's Theatre Festival based in Philadelphia and a founding member and Executive Director of Muse of Fire Productions. Lori graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics and a BA in English and Theater Arts.

Edmund Gaynes is a producer, general manager and theatre owner. Off-Broadway shows Mr. Gaynes has produced include Zero Hour (Drama Desk Award), the current Black Angels Over Tuskegee (now entering its third year), Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical (completing its third year), The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith (8th month), as well as Dietrich and Chevalier, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, The Big Voice: God or Merman?, Picon Pie, Emily Mann’s Anulla, Trolls, Panache, Chaim’s Love Song, A Brush with Georgia O’Keeffe, Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson, and Bein’ With Behan (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), among others. He also produced the national tour of Gilligan’s Island: The Musical. He has appeared as an actor in 13 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including Promenade, Edward Albee’s Bartleby and Best Foot Forward, in which he co-starred with Christopher Walken and Liza Minnelli and sang “Buckle Down, Winsocki” on the original cast album. His TV credits range from Mary Martin’s “Peter Pan” to “Cheers,” “Kojak,” “The Ed Sullivan Show,” a recurring role on “The Patty Duke Show,” as well as two years as Paul Stewart on “As the World Turns.” Directors he has worked with include Elia Kazan, Stella Adler, Herb Ross, George Abbott, George Roy Hill, Bobby Lewis, Peter Hunt, George Schaeffer, RoBert Moore, Alan Schneider, Joe Layton, Gene Saks, Martin Charnin and Jerome Robbins. Mr. Gaynes currently operates St. Luke’s Theatre and Actors Temple Theatre.
Tom D’Angora is the producer of NEWSical the Musical (Drama Desk nom.) He produced and co-conceived the 2005 hit revue A Broadway Diva Christmas; produced and conceived Back in Pictures and produced, wrote and starred in the multi award-winning Divas I’ve Done, which played sold out runs Off-Broadway (12 weeks Upstairs @ Studio 54), L.A., Boston, and Provincetown. In Provincetown he produced Naked Boys Singing! (and also directed it for 3 summers), ICONS (conceived and directed), Rue McClanahan, Christine Pedi, Mary Bond Davis, and The Kinsey Sicks. He is the Executive Producer of Mangus, a co-producer The Big Gay Musical and Executive Producer on Ellen Greene In His Eyes and Scream along with Billy. He also produced the YouTube sensation “Telephone" starring Christine Pedi.

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