The BGA (formerly Broadway Goes Green) was launched in 2008 as an ad hoc committee of The Broadway League. The BGA brings together all segments of the theatre community, including producers, theatres in New York and around the country, theatrical unions and their members, and related businesses. Working closely with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the BGA identifies and disseminates better practices for theatre professionals and reaches out to theatre fans throughout the country.
The Broadway Green Alliance is co-chaired by Charlie Deull and Susan Sampliner.
Charlie Deull is an Executive Vice President with Clark Transfer, Inc. He served for many years as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Scholastic Inc. and before that practiced law with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton. He has taught courses and volunteered for many years with not-for-profit organizations involved in international development and is the co-author of Working Together; NGO Cooperation in Seven African Countries.
Susan Sampliner is the Company Manager of the Broadway company of Wicked. She has company managed many Broadway and off-Broadway shows since 1984 - highlights include A Chorus Line, Contact, The Graduate and Lily Tomlin's Search for Signs. She is a graduate of Brown University, and has a Certificate in Arts Management from SUNY Purchase. She is a proud member of ATPAM, and has guest lectured at NYU and Brown.
The Broadway Green Alliance primarily operates through committees covering key aspects of the initiative:
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH, headed by Seth Greenleaf of GFour Productions, deals with getting the word out to our audiences, as well as partnering with other members of the entertainment industry beyond Broadway. This committee has spearheaded collaboration with other organizations, including working with Mayor Bloomberg's office as part of PlaNYC (the citywide green effort initiative) and collaborating with the Times Square Alliance to find ways to promote the new pedestrian plaza in Times Square while encouraging mass transit to bring audiences to Broadway. The committee worked with the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing to make the 2009 Tony Awards the greenest yet, including hybrid limousines for guests, recycling bins in the offices and lobby, a red carpet made from recycled materials, and renewable power donated by Suez Energy. For the first time, Playbills for the 2009 Tony Awards were printed on 30% post-consumer recycled content. The Committee initiated the creation of a state-of-the-art BGA mobile site (reachable by texting BGA to 99222) and can also be found on Twitter at "broadwaygreen."
MEMBERSHIP, headed by Jeff Lee of Disney Theatrical Productions, deals with expanding BGA membership and developing and disseminating appropriate information to theatre professionals and fans. Current members include all Broadway venues and many theatres in New York and throughout the country; producers, directors, managers, actors and individuals involved in the production of Broadway shows; theatrical industry labor unions, including Actors' Equity Association, Local 802 AF or M, ATPAM, SDC, Local One and Local 764 TWU; set production, costumes, lighting, sound, public relations, advertising, transportation and other companies that work primarily with Broadway.
PRE-PRODUCTION/POST-PRODUCTION, headed by Bob Usdin of Showman Fabricators, promotes greener building and disposal of physical productions through making available greener resources for shops, designers, and technical directors. Led by this committee, the Broadway community has adopted greener methods of disposing of sets from closing productions. For example, 88% of scenery from shows closing in January 2009 was recycled or reused, instead of going to landfill.
PRE-PRODUCTION, co-chair Donyale Werle is a set designer in NYC working to promote ideas of sustainable design. Some recent projects, which have utilized upcycling and salvaging as both an aesthetic and dramaturgical concept, are Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (The Public Theater), Broke-ology (Lincoln Center), Jollyship the Whizbang (Ars Nova) and Dance Dance Revolution, (Les Freres Corbusier).
PRODUCTION, headed by stage manager Andrea "Spook" Testani Gordon and actor Bret Shuford, deals with improving the practices of running shows, starting from rehearsal and going through their run. This committee identifies and disseminates better practices to shows running on Broadway and touring throughout the United States through the BGA website and a bi-monthly newsletter called The Green Sheet that is distributed digitally to over 500 shows, theatres, League members, and other subscribers. Backstage, many participating productions now use water filtration systems, turn off and unplug electrical devices, and limit paper and battery usage.
TOURING, headed by Jill Kratish of The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, deals with national tours and theatres throughout the country. This committee is identifying and disseminating better practices and is surveying Broadway League members on the road to assess greening efforts. Touring shows participating in Touring Green have offset over 4,000 tons of carbon emissions from moving their equipment by investing in wind power, methane digesters and other projects through Native Energy.
VENUES, headed by Jennifer Hershey of Jujamcyn Theaters, deals with all aspects of running greener theatres. This committee includes all the major Broadway houses, large not-for-profit theatre groups and larger venues such as Radio City Music Hall, and identifies and disseminates better practices for running greener facilities. Participating venues have begun major recycling and energy curtailment programs, as well as switching to more eco-friendly cleaning products and appliances. Examples include the conversion of over 97% of the marquee and outside lighting of Broadway theatres to LEDs or CFLs.
