In the room: attorney Peter Breger, president of the Off-Broadway Alliance; Ed Gaynes, off-Broadway producer and general manager (Black Angels Over Tuskegee, Zero Hour, Devil's Music: The Life and Times of Bessie Smith, Bein' Behan), as well as a theatre owner in NY and LA; and John Lant, off-Broadway producer (15 shows, currently Earnest LGBTQ+) & production manager (currently Trial on the Potomac, Mrs. Warren's Profession), producing artistic director Write Act Rep (NYC/LA) & Park Theatre (Union City NJ). Once a primary incubator of new works, off-Broadway has grown expensive, yet it is still valuable in gaining recognition and building an audience for a property. We'll look at newer financial models and not-for-profit partnerships, as well as the newest challenge of reopening after a shutdown and winning back audiences.

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  PETER BREGER

  is an entertainment attorney, theatrical general manager, and producer who has represented theatre and independent film producers and investors, commercial and non-profit theatres, writers, directors, performers, talent agents and managers for over twenty-five years. He is a Tony-Nominated producer of Broadway, Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre. He owned and operated The Actors’ Playhouse in Greenwich Village, New York, for 12 years. He is the President of the Off-Broadway Alliance, a non-profit organization of Off-Broadway producers, general managers, theatrical artistic and executive directors, theatre-owners and operators, and publicity and marketing firms.
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  ED GAYNES

  As a theatre producer, Mr. Gaynes’ Off-Broadway productions include the long-running hit Black Angels Over Tuskegee (10 years), as well as Zero Hour (Drama Desk Award), The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith (Drama Desk and Lortel nominations), Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, The Big Voice: God or Merman?, Cougar The Musical, Picon Pie, Emily Mann’s Annulla, A Brush With Georgia O’Keeffe, Trolls, Panache, Chaim’s Love Song, Matty: An Evening with Christy Mathewson, Einstein: A Stage Portrait and Bein’ With Behan, which was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award. He also produced over 50 productios in Los Angeles, including the West Coast premieres of Marry Me a Little and Starting Here, Starting Now and was nominated for four Ovation Awards, Los Angeles’ highest theatre honors, for his productions of The Taffetas and Songs the Girls Sang. Mr. Gaynes also produced the National Tour of Gilligan’s Island: The Musical, which played coast to coast. He currently operates an Off-Broadway theatre in New York City: Actors Temple Theatre, and for fifteen years operated St. Luke’s Theatre, all through it’s glory years. He also operates the Whitmore-Lindley Theatre Center and the BrickHouse Theatre in Los Angeles. He has appeared as an actor in 13 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including Greenwillow with Anthony Perkins, The Body Beautiful with Jack Warden, 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. TV credits range from Mary Martin’s Peter Pan to “Cheers”, “Kojak”, a recurring role on “The Patty Duke Show”, “N.Y.P.D.”, “The Sid Caesar Hour”, “Playhouse 90”, “The Ed Sullivan Show”, among many others, as well as a two-year run as Paul Stewart on “As the World Turns”. He was recently presented with the “Legend of Off-Broadway” honor by the Off-Broadway Alliance at Sardi’s in New York City.
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  JOHN LANT

  (Creative Producer / Artistic Director / Consultant) 40-year veteran in the entertainment in over 700 television, film, theatre/music tours, and live theater. Pre-Covid: Production Manager at Carnegie Hall since 2006-2020 season for over 2,000 events. Award-winning producer, director, writer, lighting/set designer at Interlochen, Cal Arts, Ricardo Montalban, Powerhouse, Glendale Center, Hollywood Playhouse, Long Beach Playhouse, the Jewel Box Theatre Center and Write Act Repertory garnering DramaLogue, Diamond, ADA, NAACP Awards, LA Weekly and Backstage Pick of the Week, Garland and Valley Theatre (LA) nods. Executive Producer New Frequency - Theatre of the Mind 150 original Radio Dramas for SIRIUS/XM Radio's Sonic Theatre - Ranked #1 Radio show. Mentored with Jonathan Sanger & Chanticleer Films for two shorts that won an Emmy and an Oscar, Howard Storm CBS Radford and TRU PDMP Master fellow under Jane Dubin and Jennifer Issacson.  Directed TV / Pilots Symphology, Carrot Talk, BET JAZZ Master Awards (1&2), Toronto Independent Shorts Awards, Funiki-Jam Season 2, and Anonymous Confessions. 14 Off-Broadway Lead Producing (union and non-union) credits include FABULOUS! 2By Tennessee Williams, Lili Marlene, Frankenstein, It Came from Beyond, Wicked Frozen, Teen Party Massacre, SWING!, Wicked City Blues, Great Cat Massacre, GEEKS! (St. Luke's & Actors Temple). Recent Pre-COVID LA productions: Finest Hour (Winston Churchill), Wicked Wicked Mae West, The Lester Young Story, and Frank and Eva. TV/Film Credits include King of New York, The Freshman, Army of Darkness, Renegade, Power Rangers, and HBO Max's The Flight Attendant (CCO Supervisor). Tours include Phantom of the Opera, Singin' in the Rain, Gypsy, and Evita. Current Off-Broadway pre-production Pearl Bailey Musical (with Tony winning team members of Dreamgirls! and Hamilton). Development Director/Consultant - Twisted Media NYC, Nathan Murphy Prod, Gatehouse Entertainment, Tin Mirror Prod and Trinity Theatrics for new network and streaming content. COVID Compliance Officer for Film/TV/Theatre.