The Broadway Community Project, a new interactive map representing hundreds of jobs supported by the theater industry, launches today.
As a collaboration between manager Tiffani Gavin and producer Greg Schaffert, the Broadway Community Project is a visual representation of the larger Broadway ecosystem and all the positions, organizations and small businesses that come together to support an industry that contributed more than $14.7 billion to the New York economy in 2019.
The Broadway Community Project was designed by Situation Interactive and will rely on members of the community to add additional careers, submitting changes and corrections, and providing content for the growing map.
The Broadway Community Project can be accessed here.
At launch, more than 170 roles are represented in the Broadway Community Project, accounting for more than 100,000 individual jobs – from actors, producers and general managers, to house managers, concessions, milliners, ushers, musical contractors, insurance brokers, stage doormen, and everyone in between - with the intention of adding many more additional careers to make it as representative as possible. The map also puts faces to the varied job titles and shares a personal, human story about those that make up the Broadway community and the role each of them play in creating the iconic status Broadway has around the world. Currently, the site includes more than 50 videos from top Broadway professionals including Rick Elice (Book Writer), Kenny Leon (Director) Paloma Young (Costume Designer), Camille A. Brown (Choreographer), Faye Armon-Troncoso (Production Properties Manager), Emily Grishman (Music Copyist) and many more.
“So many of the jobs that theatre supports are behind-the-scenes, and those outside of the Broadway community are likely not aware of the devastating impact the Broadway shutdown has on thousands of jobs in the industry and affiliate industries,” Damian Bazadona, Founder and President of Situation Interactive, said. “We hope that this map will help provide a 30,000- foot view of Broadway, to help consumers and government officials alike understand just how many livelihoods are put at risk as a result of the shutdown if additional support is not provided.”
In addition to the short-term goal of lobbying for additional Pandemic Relief for industry members, the map is also meant to be a tool to educate the average ticket buyer and for those interested in the theater industry, who may want to pursue a more behind-the-scenes path.