Seth Rudetsky, Michael Alden and More Set for Off Broadway Alliance Seminar This Sunday

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 this Sunday, January 12th.

The seminar, titled CONNECTING THE OFF BROADWAY PROJECT TO PRODUCER will feature Seth Rudetsky (co-creator of Disaster! and producer of Unbroken Circle), Michael Alden (producer of Becoming Dr. Ruth, The Kings Speech, Grey Gardens, Bridge & Tunnel), James Wesley (playwright of Unbroken Circle and producer of Disaster!), and Kellen Blair (co-creator of Murder for Two). Hugh Hysell, Director of Marketing and Development for NYU Skirball and producer of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Peter and the Starcatcher, will moderate the discussion.

CONNECTING THE OFF BROADWAY PROJECT TO PRODUCER will be held on the fourth floor of The Snapple. 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. The Snapple Theater Center is located at 210 West 50th Street (between Broadway & Eighth Ave.)

Admission for the seminar is free, however reservations are a must. To RSVP for the event, visit http://jan12seminar.eventbrite.com by tomorrow (Saturday). Attendees are encouraged to pre-submit questions for the panelists when they submit their reservations. Questions will be asked live at the seminar.

About The Off Broadway Alliance:: 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 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:

Seth Rudetsky is currently represented Off Broadway as the co-creator and star of Disaster! Seth is the afternoon Broadway host on SiriusXM satellite radio and has played piano for more than a dozen Broadway shows including Les Miz, Phantom and Ragtime and was the Artist Producer/Music Director for the first five annual Actors Fund Concerts including Dreamgirls (with Audra McDonald) and Hair (with Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson), including the Grammy Nominated CD. In 2007 he played Sheldon on Broadway in The Ritz with Rosie Perez (directed by Joe Mantello) and in 2010 he starred in They're Playing Our Song opposite Sutton Foster. On TV, he's appeared as a real estate agent on "Law & Order: C.I," a Las Vegas choreographer on "All My Children" (as Rudy) and on MTV's "Legally Blonde" reality show and Bravo's "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" as himself. He's written the books The Q Guide to Broadway, Broadway Nights (in its 3rd printing) and the recent My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan (Random House). His new reality show can be viewed on his online TV network: www.SethTV.com.

Michael Alden -- Broadway: Grey Gardens (Tony nomination Best Musical), Bridge & Tunnel on Broadway by and with Sarah Jones (2006 Special Tony Award). West End: The King's Speech at the Wyndham's Theatre, the multi-award-winning Bat Boy the Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Off Broadway: Becoming Dr. Ruth at the Westside Theater, Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell at the Minetta Lane Theatre, Sarah Jones' Bridge & Tunnel at the Culture Project, Bat Boy the Musical at the Union Square Theatre, Save It for the Stage: The Life of Riley, written and starring Tony Award-winning Charles Nelson Reilly at the Irish Rep. Regional: Theresa Rebeck's Bad Dates at The Laguna Playhouse directed by Judith Ivey and Palm Beach at La Jolla Playhouse directed by Des McAnuff. Films: UnZipped, Just Cause, The Zookeeper, Kissing Jessica Stein, and The Hours.

Playwright, actor and producer, James Wesley, is the author of the critically acclaimed Unbroken Circle, which recently concluded a five-month run at St. Luke's Theatre and will next be produced in San Antonio, TX. His newest play, Art and Science, was workshopped with Len Cariou and Mario Cantone, then had a showcase run starring Tony nominees Tony Sheldon and John Tartaglia and will soon be produced in Dallas followed by Off Broadway.

Kellen Blair is currently represented Off Broadway at New World Stages with Murder for Two (co-created with Joe Kinosian). Prior to New York, Kellen won the 2011 Joseph Jefferson Award (along with Joe) recognizing Murder for Two as the Best New Musical Work in Chicago following its record-breaking seven month run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The two were also named the winners of the 2013 ASCAP Foundation Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award for promising musical theatre writers. His other work with Joe has been performed recently at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway (2013 Theatre World Awards), 54 Below (John Tartaglia's 2013 solo concert) the Kennedy Center (2012 Broadway Today and Tomorrow), the York Theatre (2012 NEO Concert), the Kaufman Center (2012 Bound for Broadway), and cabaret spaces across the city. Kellen is an advanced member of the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop and an alum of the Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project.

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 for Best Play), Peter and the Starcatcher (winner of 5 Tony Awards), and Impressionism. Off Broadway, he has produced The All-Male Importance of Being Earnest (also conceived and directed), Y-2-Gay the Musical (also conceived and directed), and Seamen the Sailor Musical (also conceived and directed). Hugh is Director of Marketing and Development for NYU Skirball and formerly 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 provides pro bono services to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, HRC, GLAAD, QSAC, 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 Award.

For more information, visit www.OffBroadwayAlliance.com.

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