SILENCE!, COUGAR and More Join Off-Broadway Panel Discussion at Snapple Theater, 2/3

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 this Sunday, February 3rd.

The seminar, titled "Producing Alternatives to the 8-Performance Week" will feature
Jill Bowman, General Manager for Theater Mogul (SILENCE! The Musical, Defending the Caveman), producer and theatre owner Edmund Gaynes (St. Luke's Theatre and Actors Temple Theatre) and producer/playwright/director Anthony Wilkinson (My Big Gay Italian Wedding). Peter Breger, Chairman of the Off Broadway Alliance, will moderate the discussion.

"Producing Alternatives to the 8-Performance Week" 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 www.producingalternatives.eventbrite.com before February 2nd. 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 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 popular 20at20 promotion is currently running through Sunday, February 10th: www.20at20.com.

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 a free Sunday Seminar Series focusing on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway featuring major players from the Off Broadway scene. 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

Jill Bowman is in her sixth year as General Manager for Theater Mogul, an international Producing Company which currently presents Defending the Caveman as well as Silence! The Musical, both nationally and internationally. Jill was an original member of The New Group, where she served as Associate Producer and General Manager, and managed dozens of the theatre's critically acclaimed productions, beginning with Mike Leigh's Ecstasy in 1995. She has worked Off and on Broadway as Company Manager or General Manager for Latinologues, Sexaholix: A Love Story starring John Leguizamo, Tea at Five starring Kate Mulgrew and Trumbo starring Nathan Lane. She was the General Manager for Lone Star Love at the beloved John Houseman Theater, From My Hometown at the old Promenade Theater and Dr. Laura: In My Never to be Humble Opinion which toured the U.S.

Edmund Gaynes is a theatre owner, producer and general manager. His Off-Broadway productions include the current hits Black Angels Over Tuskegee (entering its fourth year), Fried Chicken and Latkes with Rain Pryor and Cougar The Musical. Other recent productions include Zero Hour (Drama Desk Award), The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, The Big Voice: God or Merman?, Picon Pie, Emily Mann's Annulla, A Brush With Georgia O'Keeffe, Trolls, Panache, Chaim's Love Song, Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson, and Bein' With Behan. He currently operates two Off-Broadway theatres in New York City: St. Luke's Theatre and Actors Temple Theatre, as well as the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center in Los Angeles. He has also appeared as an actor in 13 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including Greenwillow with Anthony Perkins, Promenade with Madeline Kahn, 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. 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. TV credits include "The Ed Sullivan Show," "Cheers," "Caesar's Hour," Mary Martin's "Peter Pan," "Kojak," "The Patty Duke Show," and a two-year run as Paul Stewart on "As the World Turns."

Anthony Wilkinson is a producer, playwright, actor and director and a graduate of NYU's College of Arts and Sciences for English and Creative Writing. He started his career as an intern writer at ABC Daytime's One Life to Live in 1996 and during his 14 years there worked his way up to Associate Director. He earned three Daytime Emmy Awards and was a four-time recipient of the Directors Guild of America Award. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas, where he is the Director of Tourism for NorthPark Center. Anthony flies in every weekend to perform in My Big Gay Italian Wedding at St. Luke's Theatre, which he wrote, directed and produced. My Big Gay Italian Wedding opened Off-Broadway in 2003 at the Actors' Playhouse and moved to Theatre Four in 2004. The first Off Broadway revival, which was planned for a six-week run, ran for 18 months at St. Luke's Theatre and the current revival, also at St. Luke's, is on sale through April. My Big Gay Italian Wedding has hosted major celebrities to raise money and awareness for marriage equality and the Trevor Project. The show has been produced in El Paso, Omaha, Louisville, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong, and is scheduled to play in five other major cities in 2013. Last spring, My Big Gay Italian Wedding played in Edinburgh, Scotland during the Fringe Festival and then for six weeks in London. The show has toured the UK and a London revival is scheduled to open next month.

Peter Breger is an entertainment attorney and general manager who has represented theatre and film producers, investors, commercial and non-profit theatres, writers, directors, and performers for over 25 years. He is a Tony-nominated producer of Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatre. He owned and operated The Actors' Playhouse in Greenwich Village for 12 years. Mr. Breger is the Chairman of the Off Broadway Alliance, a non-profit corporation organized by theatre professionals dedicated to supporting, promoting and encouraging production, and to making live theater increasingly accessible to new and diverse audiences.

For more information, visit www.OffBroadwayAlliance.com.