What Does OFF-BROADWAY Mean?

Hi!

It's been a while.  As you might have noticed, we've been a bit busy producing two shows, extending one, going on all sorts of interviews, driving ourselves crazy, etc...

But one question keeps popping up, now that we're officially producing our first ever Off-Broadway Extension of DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA:

Everyone wants to know what that means.

First of all, the term Off-Broadway refers to a set of contracts that producers sign with Actors Equity Association (the union for professional Actors and Stage Managers).  Those contracts are divided up into four categories...

1.)  OFF-BROADWAY AGREEMENT - This contract covers all theaters in Manhattan of 100-499 seats.  All of the actors in an Off-Broadway agreement have to be AEA, there has to be an AEA Stage Manager, and depending on the number of actors, there also have to be AEA Assistant Stage Managers.  Understudies are required.  This contract supports an eight-show week.

2.)  MINI OFF-BROADWAY AGREEMENT - This contract covers all theaters of 99 seats and under.  All actors have to be AEA.  There needs to be an AEA Stage Manager and an AEA Assistant Stage Manager.  Understudies are required.  This contract supports an eight-show week.

3.)  TRANSITION AGREEMENT - This contract also covers all theaters of 99 seats and under.  It is a newer contract, created to help theaters move from producing on a Seasonal Showcase level to producing Off-Broadway.  There are three tiers involved in this contract, and it takes three years to complete.  All of the tiers are considered to be Off-Broadway.  Most actors have to be AEA.  The ratio increases yearly.  There needs to be an AEA Stage Manager, and in shows of 3 or more actors, there needs to be an AEA Assistant Stage Manager.  Understudies are not required.  This contract supports a six-show week.

4.)  ONE-TIME TRANSITION AGREEMENT - This is a special contract, created over the last two years for theaters that are extending a Showcase production, but don't have the intention of immediately moving into more than one Off-Broadway production.  The contract uses the salaries of the Tier 3 Transition Agreement (the highest one).  An AEA Stage Manager is heavily suggested, and all contracted Actors and Stage Managers are forced to pay working dues out of their paychecks to the union, but Non-Equity members may decline membership.  Understudies are not required.  This contract supports a six-show week.

We are producing DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA on a One-Time Transition Agreement.  We have been allowed some concessions from AEA, because we were previously running the show without an ASM, and our Stage Manager was Non-Union.  We also opted to add a show to the week at a percentage rate increase.  AEA does their best to work with producers to make this kind of a move as easy and cheap as possible.

If you're considering the production side of things, there are some major differences between a Showcase Code and any of the Off-Broadway Contracts.  The biggest difference is that Actors and Stage Managers are considered to be volunteers on a Showcase Code, and their payment is simply in travel reimbursement.  On a contract, however, Actors and Stage Managers are considered to be employees - which means you need to secure Workers' Compensations Insurance and Unemployment Insurance.  AEA also requires that the producer put up a bond equal to the total of all payments having to do with the Actors and Stage Managers, which AEA holds for one month to ensure that all parties are being paid.  If, for any reason, payments are incorrect, AEA uses the money from this bond and charges a $200 fee for the work involved.

That all said, here are some cute little facts that seem to get skewed in the promotion of shows.

* Contrary to popular belief, the term "Off-Broadway" does not refer to anything that isn't ON Broadway.

* Just because a show is in an "Off-Broadway Theater", that does not make it Off-Broadway.  It actually needs to be a professional production, working in association with AEA.

* If you produce on a One-Time Transition agreement or a Mini-Contract, you are able to produce on the Showcase Code for the next production.  (However, if you build your company into an Off-Broadway theater, you can't move backwards.)

* Just becacuse a show was a Showcase, that does not mean you can get free tickets to it, using your AEA card.


And this is the life folks.  I can't even finish this post, because of the amount of work it takes to produce.  But please let us know your thoughts.

And come see DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA.  3 more days.  Tickets here: www.seeingplacetheater.com

Creative Team Interview #6: David Sedgwick, Dialect Coach for THE LOVER and DANNY

Welcome to our exciting series of interviews, where you can get to know the cast & creative team in our Summer Series, a double-header of John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Harold Pinter's The Lover. The Summer Series is a true repertory event - both shows perform on the same evening with the same cast, creative team, and design concept.

The shows run back to back July 27 - August 12, 2012

Wed-Sat at 7pm;  Sat & Sun at 2pm, in New York City.

To donate (it's a worthy cause!), click here.

For tickets, click here.

For more info about The Seeing Place, click here.

Your Name:

David Sedgwick

Role in this Production:

Accent coach for "The Lover" and "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" / Director for the Free Reading Series

How long have you been coaching/directing?

I've been an actor for about 20 years now! Directing and accent-coaching are much newer endeavors for me; they have their own unique challenges that are very different from my work as an actor.

How long have you been in NYC?

Six-and-a-half years. The time has flown by somehow...

Where are you from originally?

Sydney, Australia.

What's been your favorite project, to date?

I always feel like I learn something new with each project, so my recent turn as Vershinin in Three Sisters for The Seeing Place is a favorite. Then there's also the 3 years I spent traveling around Japan performing for little kids, singing silly songs whilst wearing primary colors. That was pretty good fun.

What do you like about being involved with The Seeing Place?

I feel that my acting has developed in unexpected ways by being exposed to the company's rehearsal and performance style. I feel a lot freer now on stage, and more prepared to take risks. I love that as a company member I'm encouraged to explore other interests such as directing and working with dialects.

What's a fun story about an experience you've had in your field?

I had a gig at the Tokyo branch of Temple University where I directed non-acting students in short plays, just for fun. Some of the students were not overly confident in English. I remember one young 20-something Japanese girl who was absolutely terrified of the idea of people watching her perform. It was like regular stage-fright, but mixed with the fear of public speaking, plus using a second language, accent issues, etc. She kept on telling me she was quitting but then she'd change her mind, and I could see she was really fascinated by the whole idea of being an actor. So of course when the time came for the (one night only) presentation, she was great! Really funny and with very good stage presence. I like to imagine that I helped her to catch the acting "bug"...

What's your previous experience with these two plays (THE LOVER and DANNY....)?

I must have read The Lover before, and then recently a friend self-produced the play (go Anna Wood!) so I saw the play not long ago. But the thing about Pinter is that so much is unspoken that I don't expect this production to be very similar at all! As for Danny, I've read quite a few of Shanley's plays, but I'd never read or seen this one before, so I'm excited to see it on its feet.

What's been the most challenging thing about preparing for these projects?

For the mainstage shows, the challenge and general strangeness of asking two Californians to take accent suggestions about a New York dialect from an Australian is... self-evident? For the reading series, the biggest challenge has been trying to secure rights to plays that we'd like to do....

What excites you about The Summer Series?

I think it's going to be really fun seeing two actors take on such different characters, and do both plays back-to-back. It should be a real roller-coaster ride for the audience.

What is your website?

www.davidsedgwick.com - check out my reels! One of these days I'll figure out how to link it with my Facebook page and Twitter...

To donate to support this project, please click here.