By Karen Lee OttI wonder why I start by saying what it's NOT. Because it is so often misunderstood? I wonder how theater--inherently conservative, cliché- and type-based--can still be mine…
By Natalie Zutter One of the best compliments I've gotten is that my work is very honest. It was also, the first time it was given, a backhanded compliment"a suggestion that maybe I would b…
By Kia Rogers Freelance was not new to me, but the landscape of NYC, navigating theatre jobs was and is still challenging. As a female designer, I do feel like I have to dress the part, car…
By Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons Write Your Story. Perform Someone Else's. Almost four years ago, I created a new kind of reading series based around this basic idea. No, YOU Tell It! (NYTI) is a…
By Jennifer HarderI first started acting at the age of three as the cow in Jack and the Beanstalk"my one line was "moo""and the ensuing decades where I've continued to throw myself onstage h…
By Ashley Jacobson My whole life, I've been surrounded by strong, powerful and generous women. My mother, my sisters, my friends, my teachers, and even my bosses have all been strong, self-…
Contributed by Morgan Zipf-Meister  As an actor/lighting designer, I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time in Tech and/or preparing for Tech. Some people thrive during that …
Contributed by Jeanne Travis I was a stage manager long before I was a sound designer; a director and actor long before I was a stage manager and a flautist and composer before I can reme…
By Pia WilsonIn America, playwrights write to be read. I don't know if we were taught to do that, or if that's just the nature of the business here. There are so few opportunities to get a …
Contributed by Viviane GallowayThe other day I went to the website of an OOB theater company that had received a tremendous amount of press for a recent production. Being a fellow costume de…
Contributed by Shaun FauntleroyThere's great power in the sharing of personal stories. People seldom respond well to being preached to unless they're members of the choir, and let's face it,…
Contributed by Stephanie Cox-WilliamsA lot of people ask if I always wanted to be a SFX artist or more commonly called, a gore designer. Well, no, not really. Or maybe?Matt Hurley and Melod…
By Nandita ShenoyDuring previews of my Off-Broadway play Washer/Dryer this winter, I noticed a strange trend: when I emerged from the stage door, my friends would say "I didn't know you were…
By Emily EdwardsDance always improves a show. It doesn't matter if it's a full pas de deux or a simple grapevine of unadulterated glee. The amount of movement however, should always correspo…
Contributed by Chana Porter An out-of-the-blue letter from an ambitious ex (whom I haven't spoken to in many years) recently got me thinking about how my career expectations have shifted s…
Contributed by Siobhan O'Loughlin Photo by Jason Speakman I didn't write Broken Bone Bathtub out of a great need to do a show in a bathroom. If you've seen the show, you'll also know th…
Contributed by Stephanie Willing As a child I knew I wanted to be an actor, but not in an all-encompassing "This is my dream!" kind of way. I also wanted to be a marine biologist, a write…
Contributed by Tanya O'Debra Working in theater is for crazy people. Only the truly disturbed would hear the word "no" repeatedly, but decide that what they actually heard was "yes". That'…
Contributed by Alyssa Simon Stella Adler was known for telling her students that their talent lay in their choices. But what function do they serve in performing classical plays? How do yo…
Contributed by Robin Rothstein For me, working in the theatre has been a thrilling and ever-changing road map. I've been down quite a few roads in my career " actor, playwright, lyricist, pr…
My whole life I had been a singer. I took my first voice lesson at 9, went on to study music in college and until I was 24 every spare moment was spent singing, studying sin…
Through the Donn Russell Fund, the IT Foundation has provided $10K in grants to eight OOB companies and artists this year. We are overjoyed to be able to support these important artists and …
We at NYIT are thrilled to present this month's theme, Women in Theater. We want to celebrate artists who are consistently making theater in NY. We have an eclectic array of amazing wo…
In 1958 when Joe Cino opened the doors of his Caffé and invited members of a burgeoning arts scene to use the 10 by 10 foot stage as their playground, it started a revolution. Theatre artis…
Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) was founded in 2001 and is celebrating its 15 Year Anniversary on March 21st. APAC receives the 2012 Caffe Cino Fellowship Award. Photo by Anton …