Do you play on Broadway? If yes, then this is your committee!  With meetings open to all Broadway musicians, including subs, the Broadway Theatre Committee serves as the liaison between Broadway musicians and Local 802 by addressing, discussing and voting on important issues and news that affect the Broadway community. The committee meets every other Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. at Local 802. Email janmullen@aol.com to learn more!

NEW OFFICERS

In March, the Committee instated newly-elected officers Jan Mullen as chair and Chris Reza as vice-chair. During the seven-year tenure of the wonderful outgoing chair Wally Usiatynski (who chose not to run this year), the committee became a place in which everyone’s voice was allowed to be heard. Jan and Chris seek to continue this committee’s openness to diverse viewpoints, pursuit of ongoing projects, and exploration of fresh new ideas.

EXPANDING OUR BROADWAY BRAND

As more Broadway musicians find themselves playing in out-of-sight back-rooms, our need for greater visibility becomes increasingly important. The web site www.broadwaymusicians.com, with diligent work done by Patrick Milando, is the first of many steps by the committee to develop and enhance our valuable Broadway musician brand. The site highlights Broadway orchestras, providing names, bios, headshots and links to personal websites of each regular musician. E-mail your info to broadwaymusicianswebsite@gmail.com so that we may add it!

In addition to expanding the web site, the committee is looking to develop its own social media presence that will expand our reach and create an online space where our Broadway musician community can come together. This is a tremendous undertaking, so we welcome everyone’s time and talents! If you are interested in helping out, have some ideas, or want to learn more, email chris@chrisreza.com.

SERVING OUR MUSICIANS

The committee has served our community in innumerable ways, and continues to do so because of valuable input from people like you! To share just a few highlights:

• New shows are now asked early on to elect their own official delegates who will commit to formally represent their show at committee meetings.
• The committee discusses health and safety-related matters for both incoming and ongoing shows.
• Local 802 reps provided the committee with an insightful presentation on the politically-challenging environments unions are now facing and ways in which musicians can become more politically engaged.

Your chair and vice-chair are excited for the opportunity to continue serving you! Please feel free to reach out to Jan or Chris anytime! For matters or questions pertaining to the Broadway CBA, contact your Theatre Business Representative, Theresa Couture, at (212) 245-4802. Looking forward to our next chapter together!

GREETINGS FROM YOUR NEW BROADWAY THEATRE COMMITTEE CHAIR

After being a delegate to the Theatre Committee for 20 years and serving as co-chair for the past seven years, I was recently elected chair of the Theater Committee. I take this position very seriously, knowing that any recommendation made by this committee will impact the many musicians now working on Broadway.

Theatre Committee meetings are open to all Broadway musicians (including subs) and the committee welcomes all points of view on any issue relevant to Broadway.

Recent and ongoing topics of discussion have included: 1) The challenges of subbing; 2) The impact of special effects such as smoke, fog, haze and carbon dioxide on musicians playing in the pit; and 3) New ideas and suggestions for the BroadwayMusicians.com website.

I would like to thank Wally Usiatynski, the outgoing chair of this committee, for his strong leadership and fair-mindedness throughout the last seven years and I also welcome the new vice-chair, Chris Reza. I want to welcome all of the newly-elected delegates and look forward to working with everyone on this committee.

–Jan Mullen