Off Broadway Alliance Hosts 'Casting Off-Broadway: A How-To Guide' Panel Discussion, 9/9

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents and marketing firms, will hold another in its series of seminars focused on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway this Sunday, September 9th.

The seminar, titled “Casting Off Broadway: A How-to Guide” will feature Cindi Rush of Cindi Rush Casting (Jacques Brel, Freckleface Strawberry), Kaitlin Shaw of Tara Rubin Casting (Love, Loss, and What I Wore; A Minister’s Wife; A Little Night Music), Rich Affannato (Producer: SILENCE! The Musical; Peter and the Starcatcher) and Thomas Caruso (Director: Southern Comfort, Zombie, Shipwrecked). John Capo, President of John Capo Public Relations, will moderate the discussion.

“Casting Off Broadway: A How-to Guide” will be held at The Snapple Theater Center’s Jerry Orbach Theater. Doors will open at 11:30 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 50 Street (at Broadway).

Admission for the seminar is free, however reservations are a must. To RSVP for the event, visit www.castingpanel.eventbrite.com before September 8th. Attendees are encouraged to pre-submit questions for the panelists when they submit their reservation. Questions will be asked live at the seminar.

The Off Broadway Alliance is a non-profit corporation organized by theater professionals dedicated to supporting, promoting and encouraging the production of Off Broadway theatre 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 current 20at20 event is going on right now – from September 4th through September 23rd – and details are available at www.20at20.com. 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 a free Sunday Seminar Series focusing on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway featuring major players from the Off Broadway scene. 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.

Cindi Rush is the principal at Cindi Rush Casting, which is based in New York City. She has cast numerous productions in New York; her Broadway casting credits include Urinetown, Say Goodnight Gracie and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. Additional New York casting credits include Rated P, Soap Myth, The Fall to Earth, Any Given Monday, Freckleface Strawberry, Rooms, The Time of Mendel's Trouble, Peaceman, Jacques Brel, The Thing About Men, Showtune and I Sing. Cindi also casts for many regional theatres, including Triad Stage (Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, Moliere's Tartuffe, or The Hypocrite and Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten), Act II Playhouse, Arena Stage, The Goodman Theatre, Cape Cod Theatre Project, NOHO Arts Center (including Pest Control, Dorian and Ghost and Mrs. Muir), Penguin Rep and Actors Theatre of Louisville Humanafest. Apart from theatre, Cindi has also been a part of casting in numerous well-known films. Some of her notable film credits include Ghoul (Slamdance 2012), The Woman (Sundance 2011), In the Family (Independent Spirit Awards 2012), Offspring, Made for Each Other, Home Movie, Jack Ketchum’s: The Girl Next Door, Funny Valentine, and Headspace. Additional casting credits include Hats! The Red Hat Society Musical (Denver, New Orleans, Chicago). National Tour credits include Curious George and Kidz Bop. Cindi is a member of the Casting Society of America and is a consultant for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre as well as the NYU Graduate Program for Musical Theatre Writing.

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