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The seminar, titled “Getting Butts in Seats” will feature AMANDA BOHAN from Amanda Bohan Marketing (Drop Dead Perfect, Would You Still Love Me If…, Women Are Crazy Because Men Are A**holes, The Imbible), DAN DEMELLO from DDPR (The Fantasticks, Perfect Crime, SCRUFF), LEANNE SCHANZER from Leanne Schanzer Promotions (Queen of the Night, Stomp, Fuerza Bruta, 39 Steps, Rock of Ages, Peter and the Starcatcher, Producers, Hairspray), SUSAN L SCHULMAN from Schulman Publicity (Dancin’, Applause, Scapino, State Fair) and JOE TRENTACOSTA from JT PR (A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Gazillion Bubble Show, Clinton the Musical, A Queen for a Day). HUGH HYSELL (National Broadway and Live Arts Lead for Groupon and producer of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Peter and the Starcatcher) will moderate the discussion.
DATE: Sunday, 10/4/15
TIME: 12:00pm – 1:30pm (Doors open at 11:30am for complimentary coffee & bagels)
LOCATION: Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue), 4th Floor
HOW IT WORKS: The seminar will discuss the process of marketing and promoting shows using methods that don’t increase advertising expenses – methods that are essential Off Broadway, where advertising budgets are relatively small. Attendees will learn from industry insiders about how to use those methods – and how to plan marketing and promotion timelines to make a show a success. In addition, questions from the audience will be asked live at the seminar (as time permits).
COST: FREE! (reservations are a must)
REGISTER NOW! http://gettingbuttsinseatsseminar.eventbrite.com
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
AMANDA BOHAN (Amanda Bohan Marketing) is the owner & president of Amanda Bohan Marketing (ABM), a boutique full-service marketing and advertising company specializing in theatrical productions and arts & culture, with expertise in marketing& promotions, traditional & online advertising, and creative services. Some current/recent clients include: Hell’s Belles, Drop Dead Perfect, Would You Still Love Me If…, In Bed With Roy Cohn, Boogie Stomp, Women Are Crazy Because Men Are A**holes, The Imbible, A Queen for a Day, For The Last Time: A New Jazz Musical, Application Pending, Tectonic Theater Project, Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, Urban Stages, All For One Theater, New Jersey Jewish Film Festival, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Amanda got her start in digital marketing for the arts at Situation Interactive, and was previously Vice President of Marketing at Davenport Theatrical. In addition to her theatrical experience, she has also worked on the digital and social media strategy for IKEA, Citibank, Campbell’s Soup Company, Pepperidge Farm, Colgate, Chevron, and Yum! Brands. www.AmandaBohan.com
DAN DEMELLO (DDPR) is a publicist specializing in entertainment and technology. He has coordinated press campaigns in the United States, Canada, Germany and the U.K. In the past 13 years he’s publicized hundreds of Off Broadway productions and countless galas and major events. DDPR clients include Pan Asian Repertory Theater, Working Theater, NY Deaf Theatre, Psycho Clan, InViolet Theater Company, The Snapple Theater Center, NYC’s Most Horrifying Haunted Attraction: “Nightmare”, Full Bunny Contact Extreme Egg Hunt (which he also produces), as well as two of the longest running shows in NYC history – The Fantasticks and Perfect Crime. In addition to his work in entertainment he serves as public relations director for one of the largest gay dating applications in the world, SCRUFF. www.facebook.com/DWDPR
LEANNE SCHANZER (Leanne Schanzer Promotions) a pioneer in the field of theatrical marketing, is founder of Leanne Schanzer Promotions, Inc. LSP is a full-service boutique marketing agency creating innovative strategic campaigns for 35+ years focusing on media placement (on full/partial trade), partnerships, promotions, viral outreaches, events & appearances. LSP’s services continue to set the standard for marketing excellence and has delivered heightened brand awareness and effective sales driven campaigns for over 450 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, theater companies and entertainment venues including Queen of the Night, Stomp, Fuerza Bruta, 39 Steps, Rock of Ages, Peter and the Starcatcher, Producers, Hairspray, NYC Opera, MTC, Roundabout, Second Stage, Classic Stage Company, NJPAC & more. www.LeanneSchanzerPromotions.com
SUSAN L SCHULMAN (Schulman Publicity) has been a theatrical press agent for over 40 years handling Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals, dance, cabaret, books, special events and individual personalities. The native New Yorker, Susan is a graduate of NYU with a Masters’ degree in Theatre from Columbia University. Susan’s many Broadway productions include Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, State Fair, Lauren Bacall in Applause, George C. Scott in Sly Fox and Death of a Salesman, Jim Dale in Scapino, Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange in A Streetcar Named Desire, Requiem for a Heavyweight, and Dream, plus such not-for-profit institutions as The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Feld Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, The Circle in the Square and the Manhattan Theatre Club. She has headed Public Relations Departments at CBS Entertainment, USA Network and the Arts & Entertainment Network and served as a Theatre panelist for NYSCA for several years. Her memoir, BACKSTAGE PASS TO BROADWAY, is one of Amazon’s 100 Best Selling books on theater. www.schulmanpublicity.com
JOE TRENTACOSA (JT Public Relations) is the founder and president of JT Public Relations, a full service entertainment public relations firm. For over 15 years he has handled projects on Broadway, Off-Broadway, festival productions, industry readings, films in release, film festivals, non-profit organizations, and special events. Selected projects include the multiracial Broadway productions of A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire. Off Broadway projects include the long running hit The Gazillion Bubble Show and the recent run of Clinton the Musical and A Queen for a Day, the upcoming film Lost Cat Corona starring Ralph Macchio. Over the years he has worked with names such as Tony Randall, James Earl Jones, Terrence Howard, Blair Underwood, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, John Travolta, Al Pacino, Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman and many more. www.jt-pr.net
HUGH HYSELL is a Tony Award ® winning Broadway producer and award winning marketer. His Broadway producing projects include Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013 Tony Award ® and Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play), Peter and the Starcatcher (winner of 5 Tony Awards), and Impressionism. Off Broadway, he has produced, conceived and directed The All-Male Importance of Being Earnest, Y-2-Gay The Musical and Seamen The Sailor Musical. Hugh served as Director of Marketing and Development for NYU Skirball and ran HHC Marketing where he has served as marketing director of over 200 Broadway and Off Broadway shows. He serves on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Multicultural Diversity Action Committee and is an Associate Professor at Columbia University. He currently plays “Maurizio” in the Off Broadway companies of My Big Gay Italian Wedding and My Big Gay Italian Funeral (just celebrated his 19th month in both shows) and leads the National Broadway and Live Arts division for Groupon. He has provided pro bono services to Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids, HRC, GLAAD and The Commercial Theatre Institute. He is a founding member of The Off Broadway Alliance and currently serves as a nominator for the Off Broadway Alliance Awards.