Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway refers to theatrical productions including plays, musicals or performance art pieces performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway productions and Off-Broadway productions.
Off-Off-Broadway theaters are defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats.
History
Off-Off-Broadway began in 1958 as a reaction to Off-Broadway, and a "complete rejection of commercial theatre".[Viagas (2004, 72)] Among the first venues for what would soon be called "Off-Off-Broadway" (a term supposedly coined by critic Jerry Tallmer of the Village Voice) were coffeehouses in Greenwich Village, particularly the Caffe Cino at 31 Cornelia Street, operated by the eccentric Joe Cino, who early on took a liking to actors and playwrights and agreed to let them stage plays there without bothering to read the plays first, or to even find out much about the content. Also integral to the rise of Off-Off-Broadway were Ellen Stewart at La MaMa, and Al Carmines at the Judson Poets' Theater, located at Judson Memorial Church.
The term "Indie Theater" was coined by Kirk Wood Bromley in his acceptance speech at the 2005 New York Innovative Theatre Awards. There is currently a movement to re-brand Off-Off-Broadway as "Indie Theatre". The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (the IT Awards) are given annually to honor artistic excellence in the Off-Off-Broadway theatre. For many years, Off-Off-Broadway theatres were part of OOBA, the Off-Off-Broadway Alliance, which then became ARTNY, the Alliance of Resident Theatres in New York.
An Off-Off-Broadway production that features members of Actors Equity is called an Equity Showcase production. The Union maintains very strict rules about working in such productions, including restrictions on price, the length of the run and rehearsal times. Professional actors' participation in showcase productions is not infrequent, and in fact comprises the bulk of stage work for the majority of New York actors.[Breaking the Code?, page 1 - Theater - Village Voice - Village Voice]
Notable theatre companies and venues
This is a list of notable Off-Off-Broadway theatre companies and venues.
 AndHow! Theatre Company
Banana Bag and Bodice
Big Art Group
Boomerang Theatre Company
The Brick
Center Stage, NY
Collapsable Giraffe
The Civilians
The Committee Theatre Company
Dixon Place
Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT)
Ensemble Studio Theater (EST)
The Flea Theater
Flux Theatre Ensemble
Gemini CollisionWorks
HERE Arts Center
Impetuous Theater Group
Horse Trade Theater Group
International WOW
Inverse Theatre Company
La Mama ETC
Les Freres Corbusier
Ontological-Hysteric Theater
Manhattan Theatre Source
Nicu's Spoon
Nosedive Productions
Partial Comfort Productions
Piper McKenzie Productions
Performance Space 122
RedBull Theater
Radiohole
Riverside Shakespeare Company
The Stolen Chair Theatre Company
Stone Soup Theatre Arts
terraNOVA Collective
Theater for the New City
13th Street Theatre
TOSOS II
29th Street Rep
Untitled Theater Co. #61
Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company
Waterwell
Working Man's Clothes
Witness Relocation
Wings Theatre
See also
Showcase theatre (performing arts group)
References
Bottoms, Stephen J. 2004. Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway Movement. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0472031945. Viagas, Robert. 2004. The Back Stage Guide to Broadway. New York: Back Stage Books. ISBN 082308809X.
External links
New York Innovative Theatre Awards—A not-for-profit awards organization that honors excellence in Off-Off-Broadway theatre.
offoffonline—A website featuring comprehensive listings, reviews, articles and archives for off-off Broadway theater in New York City
Listing in The New York Times
offoffBway.com—site featuring listings, reviews and commentary about off-off Broadway theater in New York City.
The Community Dish—organization dedicated to promoting communication and sharing resources between the community of independent theater companies.
Indie Theatre.org—organization dedicated to promoting "Indie Theatre".
The New York Theatre Experience—a website featuring comprehensive listing, reviews and articles for New York theatre
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