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Sunday, April 13, 2008
A New Survey Closely Examines the Economics of the Off Off Broadway Theater
New York Times: "Time was, bringing economic analysis to bear on the freewheeling Off Off Broadway theater of New York would have been seen as comparable to taking a slide rule to a Jackson Pollock painting. But with the city growing increasingly expensive and many theater artists forced to become more pragmatic, that attitude has changed."
I knew that Off Off Broadway theatre's made little to no money when presenting works, however I never knew they were making so little as to not even being able to pay all of their actors. I'm scared for the future of these theatre's given the increasingly expensive rate of living in NYC. I can't imagine a lot of people would stand by and watch these theatres go under.
ReplyDeleteHopefully this data will actually come in handy when lobbying for support. I'm actually surprised that this information wasn't available before. It's great that these companies are working to together to fight for what they need. The rising cost of rent is definitely telling of what the arts will face in the future, and I hope that if Off Off Broadway is organized like this, they can figure out how to combat financial hardships more effectively.
ReplyDeleteits sad because so many of these companies are producing amazing and innovative new works, get come great recognition, and still have to worry about this kind of problem. With the various strikes adding to the setbacks, I hope more people will step it up to help support a part of the industry that provides such a service to us and the theater community.
ReplyDeleteSome of the best productions I have seen have been in houses of 99 seats or less. I am surprised that there still where about 1,700 productions last year in the 5 borough's alone. Hopefully that number will not drastically decrease.
ReplyDeleteThis is sort of a way of life for Off Off Broadway. Many people only get stipends for their long hours of work. In many people's cases, if you work in Off Off Broadway you probably are doing it on the side and have either a day job or another theater job that pays the rent. Because of this Off Off Broadway shows become more about the fun than the money.
ReplyDelete