| HAPPY HOLIDAYS
We
send you all the warmest of holiday wishes. May your new year be
filled with easy techs, enthusiastic audiences and fantastic reviews.
The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation Staff:
Jason
Bowcutt, Shay Gines, Nick Micozzi, Akia, Christopher Borg, Hillary
Cohen, Desmond Dutcher, Katie Rosin, Emily Sandack and Morgan Tachco
______________________________________________________
| | | More on OOB Spaces
Theatre
spaces in NYC have been a popular topic of conversation, news stories
and blog posts recently. Five stalwart Off-Off-Broadway spaces are
currently in danger of shuttering (Wings Theatre, Interborough
Repertory Theater, Epiphany Theatre, 13th Street Repertory Theatre
& The Ohio Theatre) and with the current economic situation, that
trend may continue for a while at least. However, the OOB community is
very resilient and tends to be able to weather changes in the economic
climate better than some of our counterparts. Can this be an
opportunity for OOB to build audience awareness and broader
recognition?
Is it, as Matt J. comments (on Matthew Freeman's blog),
an opportunity for us to truly make "that independent theatre we all
always talk about. Independence can't come just from discourse, it has
to come from fresh ideas, risk-taking, and action."
Here are some articles on the topic.
What are your thoughts? How do you see this all playing out?
Some good news...
ART/NY offers discounts on their rehearsal space in Brooklyn.
Check out the details.
| AWARDS CEREMONY DVDs & PHOTOS
ON SALE NOW Check
out the ceremony, red capet (sans the carpet) and back stage photos of
your favorite OOB artists all dressed up and looking swell. Over 2,500
photosto choose from in the 2008 Photo Gallery.
The
DVD includes some outrageous moments from the 2008 New York Innovative
Theatre Awards Ceremony, as well as back stage interviews with the
recipients and presenters including: Edward Albee, Lisa Kron, Bill
Irwin, Martin Denton and Rochell Denton, Judith Malina and so much
more. Relive the exiting evening, pick-up a great stocking stuffer for mom or just enjoy the antics and heartfelt speeches.
Buy your DVD & Photos here...
MARK YOUR CALLENDAR COMING SOON
2009 IT Awards Calendar
Keep
track of all of your important dates with this fun and fancy 2009 wall
calendar featuring some of Indie theatre's hottest artists and their
outstanding productions.
| | OOB Helps Free Night of Theatre a Success By Jennifer Conley Darling, LIT Representative
Many Off-Off-Broadway companies participated in TCG's (Theater
Communications Group) Free Night of Theater NYC this year. 2008 marked
the program's New York City premiere and our community was an important
part of the event's success. OOB and Indie Theater made up over 50% of
the participating theaters and companies. In NYC alone, over 9,000 FREE
tickets were distributed to over 350 performances.
Preliminary
demographic information on the Free Night NYC audiences (based on the
surveys collected during ticket registration) indicate that NYC had
higher averages for all categories against the national average.
| | Yeah, I got your blog right here!
Did you hear what Jason Bowcutt said about Barack Obama? Did
you see that cool little online marketing tool that Morgan Tachco
found? Can you believe what Hillary Cohen did during her finals (just
between you and me, I hear that Ben Vareen and Tom O'Horgan were
involved...)?
Well you can read all about it on our Staff Blog!
We
regularly post personal entries and updates on both our Blogspot and
MySpace pages. Those of you who are already familiar and comfortable
with RSS feeds are welcome to subscribe or "follow" us on our either
format.
When you're not registering, performing, or judging shows, please stop by the IT Awards Staff Blog!
| |
| |
SPOTLIGHT ON 2008 Designer Nominee
REBECCA CUNNINGHAM
by Christopher Borg
 The cast from Retro Productions'
The Tender Trap 2008 was a memorable year for Rebecca Cunningham! After receiving two IT Award nominations (Outstanding Costume Design for What I Did Last Summer and Outstanding Set Design for Mill Fire,
both produced by Retro Productions), Rebecca went on to be the
recipient of the United States Institute of Technical Theatre ("USITT")
2008 Distinguished Achievement Award for Costume Design and Technology!
The
USITT Awards have been recognizing lifetime contributions of artists to
the performing arts since 1967. In 1998 they began presenting
Distinguished Achievement Awards to recognize the accomplishments of
designers and technicians. The recipient is honored during the Annual
Conference & Stage Expo. and their work is often featured in an
exhibition.
Rebecca recently designed the set for Retro Production's latest show, The Tender Trap,
a 1950's comedy about courtship and the emerging "career woman" in the
pre-women's lib movement New York. She had a secret weapon though, her
co-designer and husband, Jack, designed a 1970 production at the
Ivoryton Theatre in Connecticut starring William Shatner.
Having
retired from Brooklyn College where she taught for over 30 years,
Rebecca is currently finishing up the Second Edition of her bestselling
costume design textbook, The Magic Garment,
a staple text in colleges for 20 years. This edition will feature
interviews and sketches by 6 Tony-Award winning costume designers
currently working on Broadway and is scheduled for publication in March.
Rebecca
and her husband say they look forward to continuing their work in the
OOB community with Retro Productions where their lifetimes of
experience are appreciated by a company dedicated to mid-century
American theatre. Their next project with Retro Productions will be
the set for Mark Medoff's When You Comin'back,Red Ryder? in May.
| | ____________________ THE IT AWARDS ARE SPONSORED BY NYC's Apple, Macintosh, iPod and Accessories Specialist www.tekserve.com NYC's professional Playbill & Audience building resource 
Providing Marketing and Public Relations 
The Actor's Resource ____________________
Photos from the 2008 Awards Ceremony by:
Ernesto De Anda, Matt Cohen, Kathy Crumish, Radovan Tomko | |
