Our three-part series of seminars exploring the topic “How to Produce Your Off Broadway Show” will conclude on Sunday, June 1st – our first two installments covered “Artistic and Financial Planning,” and “Finding a Venue and Assembling a Creative Team,” and the subject of our final installment is “Marketing and Promotion.”

This session will focus on developing and executing an effective marketing strategy to maximize audience reach and ticket sales. The seminar will include a panel discussion with established marketing, promotion, and publicity professionals followed by a question-and-answer period and a post-seminar networking hour with coffee and bagels.

Tickets are $5 and must be reserved in advance. Register at https://obaseminar3.eventbrite.com.

The Sunday Seminar panelists include:

Hugh Hysell, an innovator in theater marketing who has represented over 200 Broadway and Off Broadway productions.

Victoria “Vic” Cairl, founder and CEO of Table 7 Strategy- a Marketing and Sales Strategy firm for theater and live events. Table 7 provides marketing services and strategic planning for Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, All the Beauty in the World, Don Giovanni: A Rock Opera and My Son’s a Queer. Vic held senior positions at Disney Theatrical Group and Lincoln Center, and is the Marketing Director for BOOP! The Musical.

Joe Trentacosta of JT Public Relations has provided public relations services for hundreds of Broadway and Off Broadway productions, including Kowalski, Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now, The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers, Anthony Rapp’s Without You, and Tennessee Williams’s Night of the Iguana (starring Tim Daly, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Lea DeLaria).

Jeffrey Schmelkin is the founder of JES Theatrical Marketing, which is focused on providing targeted marketing services for Off Broadway productions. Jeffrey is the in-house marketing director of the Theater Center, and a consultant specializing in strategic campaign development for Off Broadway productions.

The panel discussion will include insights and information on the following topics:

•    Branding & Messaging: Define unique selling points, craft a compelling pitch, and create a strong visual identity.
•    Website & Digital Presence: Build a user-friendly website with key show details, media, ticketing links, and SEO optimization.
•    Social Media Strategy: Utilize platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook with engaging content, countdowns, and influencer collaborations.
•    Advertising & Paid Promotions: Leverage social media ads, Google search marketing, and partnerships with local businesses.
•    Community Engagement & Word-of-Mouth: Use email marketing, street teams, audience participation incentives, and local outreach.
•    Tracking & Analytics: Monitor website traffic, ad performance, and ticket sales to optimize marketing strategies.
•    Engaging journalists, bloggers, and theater critics for potential press coverage.
•    Hosting press previews or inviting reviewers to opening night.
•    Partnering with ticketing platforms to streamline sales.
•    Keeping the audience engaged with behind-the-scenes content, updates, and special announcements.

We look forward to seeing you at the final installment of our 2025 Sunday Seminar series!

We’re thrilled to announce the nominees for the 14th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened Off Broadway during the 2024-2025 season.

Awards will be presented in five competitive categories: Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Revival, Best Solo Performance, and Best Unique Theatrical Experience.

In addition to the competitive awards, Legend of Off-Broadway Awards will be presented to David Greenspan and Scott Morfee for their extraordinary contributions over many years. William Finn, Morgan Jenness, and Linda Lavin will be posthumously inducted into the Off Broadway Hall of Fame.  The Friend of Off-Broadway Award will be presented to Helen Shaw, theatre critic and writer at The New Yorker.

The 2025 Off Broadway Alliance Awards nominations & honorees are:

BEST MUSICAL

• All the World’s a Stage
• Drag the Musical
• Forbidden Broadway
• Music City
• The Big Gay Jamboree

BEST PLAY

• Becoming Eve
• Here There Are Blueberries
• Table 17
• The Light and the Dark
• The Welkin

BEST REVIVAL

• Cats: The Jellicle Ball
• Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
• Ghosts
• Hold On to Me Darling
• Orlando

BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE

• 300 Paintings
• Grandiloquent
• Hold Me in the Water
• I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan
• Vanya

BEST UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE

• Ain’t Done Bad
• Mama, I’m A Big Girl Now!
• Mindplay
• My First Ex-Husband
• Odd Man Out

LEGEND OF OFF BROADWAY

• David Greenspan
• Scott Morfee

OFF BROADWAY HALL OF FAME

• William Finn
• Morgan Jenness
• Linda Lavin

FRIEND OF OFF BROADWAY

• Helen Shaw

Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and honorees!