SILENCE!, COUGAR and More Join Off-Broadway Panel Discussion at Snapple Theater Today

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 today, February 3rd.

The seminar, titled "Producing Alternatives to the 8-Performance Week" will feature
Jill Bowman, General Manager for Theater Mogul (SILENCE! The Musical, Defending the Caveman), producer and theatre owner Edmund Gaynes (St. Luke's Theatre and Actors Temple Theatre) and producer/playwright/director Anthony Wilkinson (My Big Gay Italian Wedding). Peter Breger, Chairman of the Off Broadway Alliance, will moderate the discussion.

"Producing Alternatives to the 8-Performance Week" 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 50th Street (at Broadway).

Admission for the seminar is free, however reservations are a must. To RSVP for the event, visit www.producingalternatives.eventbrite.com before February 2nd. 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 popular 20at20 promotion is currently running through Sunday, February 10th: 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.

About The Panelists

Jill Bowman is in her sixth year as General Manager for Theater Mogul, an international Producing Company which currently presents Defending the Caveman as well as Silence! The Musical, both nationally and internationally. Jill was an original member of The New Group, where she served as Associate Producer and General Manager, and managed dozens of the theatre's critically acclaimed productions, beginning with Mike Leigh's Ecstasy in 1995. She has worked Off and on Broadway as Company Manager or General Manager for Latinologues, Sexaholix: A Love Story starring John Leguizamo, Tea at Five starring Kate Mulgrew and Trumbo starring Nathan Lane. She was the General Manager for Lone Star Love at the beloved John Houseman Theater, From My Hometown at the old Promenade Theater and Dr. Laura: In My Never to be Humble Opinion which toured the U.S.

Edmund Gaynes is a theatre owner, producer and general manager. His Off-Broadway productions include the current hits Black Angels Over Tuskegee (entering its fourth year), Fried Chicken and Latkes with Rain Pryor and Cougar The Musical. Other recent productions include Zero Hour (Drama Desk Award), The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, The Big Voice: God or Merman?, Picon Pie, Emily Mann's Annulla, A Brush With Georgia O'Keeffe, Trolls, Panache, Chaim's Love Song, Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson, and Bein' With Behan. He currently operates two Off-Broadway theatres in New York City: St. Luke's Theatre and Actors Temple Theatre, as well as the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center in Los Angeles. He has also appeared as an actor in 13 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including Greenwillow with Anthony Perkins, Promenade with Madeline Kahn, Edward Albee's Bartleby and Best Foot Forward, in which he co-starred with Christopher Walken and Liza Minnelli and sang "Buckle Down, Winsocki" on the original cast album. Directors he has worked with include Elia Kazan, Stella Adler, Herb Ross, George Abbott, George Roy Hill, Bobby Lewis, Peter Hunt, George Schaeffer, RoBert Moore, Alan Schneider, Joe Layton, Gene Saks, Martin Charnin, and Jerome Robbins. TV credits include "The Ed Sullivan Show," "Cheers," "Caesar's Hour," Mary Martin's "Peter Pan," "Kojak," "The Patty Duke Show," and a two-year run as Paul Stewart on "As the World Turns."

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