Join Tisch West for The Business of Live Theatre: From Page to Stage, an engaging panel exploring the logistical, creative, and financial realities of independent theatre production.
Cost: $6.00/attendee
Guest Panelists
Maria Alexandria “Alex” Beech — Panelist
Maria Alexandria “Alex” Beech is a Venezuelan American writer and producer whose work spans television, film, theater, and musical theater. She is currently the executive producer of Legal Queens, an unscripted legal docuseries on CheraTV.
Her screenplay Constance is in preproduction with director Mark Pellington and Prolific Content, with Debra Winger attached. Her theatrical work has been produced internationally, including her award-winning play Infinity Pond, which received the Aspen Theater Masters’ Visionary Award.
Alex is a graduate of Columbia University’s Playwriting Program and NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program (Cycle 21). She has taught playwriting and screenwriting and continues to develop projects across television, film, and theater.
A bilingual and bicultural Venezuelan American artist, Alex brings a distinctive multicultural perspective to her storytelling.
Doug Haverty — Panelist
Artistic Director, Group Repertory Theatre
Doug Haverty is a playwright, librettist, actor, and graphic artist who has been a member of Group Rep since 1982.
His plays and musicals have been produced at Group Rep and Off-Broadway. His play In My Mind’s Eye premiered at Group Rep in 1984 and is published by Samuel French. His musical Inside Out, co-written with Adryan Russ, premiered at Group Rep in 1989 before moving Off-Broadway to the Cherry Lane Theatre. An original cast recording of the Off-Broadway production was released by DRG and later remastered and rereleased by Kritzerland Records.
Other Group Rep productions include Next Window, Please, The Ghost of Gershwin (book and additional lyrics), A Carol Christmas (book), and Love Again (book and co-lyrics).
As an actor, Doug has appeared extensively at Group Rep in productions including Lend Me a Tenor, The Dining Room, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, Comic Potential, Rumors, Otherwise Engaged, And Then There Were None, Sherlock’s Last Case, and Another Antigone, among many others.
Doug’s decades-long career at Group Rep reflects his deep commitment to the development and production of new theater.
Gary A. Watson, Esq. — Panelist
Entertainment Attorney
Gary A. Watson, Esq., is an entertainment attorney with nearly 25 years of experience representing artists, producers, and entertainment companies in a wide range of transactional matters. His practice spans music, film, television, new media, and live entertainment.
Gary has represented major entertainment clients including Motown Records, Def Jam Recordings, Tommy Boy Records, Flyte Tyme Records, Dr. Dre, BET, and Yahoo!, as well as filmmakers, producers, actors, writers, and other creative professionals.
For theater artists, Gary brings valuable expertise in the business and legal aspects of creating and producing entertainment, including contracts, rights, negotiations, intellectual property, and the protection of artists’ and producers’ interests.
He is the owner and operator of Gary A. Watson & Associates, based in Century City, Los Angeles.
Suzy London — Moderator
Suzy London’s favorite theatrical credits include leading roles in Marat/Sade (national tour; ACTF Outstanding Actor Award), The Threepenny Opera, Intent to Murder (Drama-Logue Award for Best Performance), Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, Man of La Mancha, West Side Story, H.M.S. Pinafore, Moon Over Buffalo, Stepping Out, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
As a singer, Suzy opened for Frank Sinatra at the Sahara Hotel and toured throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Japan, and Europe. She was also a member of Hodges, James and Smith, whose recordings included two Top 40 hits.
Her additional credits include numerous commercials, voice-over performances, and animation projects. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
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