OTRP HistoryI started Over The Rainbow Productions, Inc. (also known as OTRP) back in February of 1996. I had been working as a free lance Director when some actor friends encouraged me to start my own theatre company. I registered the name and it became a sole proprietorship business.
I named the company after my favorite song from the movie "The Wizard of Oz" because of the multi-talented Judy Garland (who played Dorothy). Miss Garland had given me hours and hours of enjoyment. I wanted to do the same for others.
The first two shows were performed at The Lakeside Manor Banquet Hall in Hazlet, NJ as dinner theatre. This space was not set up for a theater and whenever there was a party booked, our shows were cancelled. Realizing that this was not such a good idea, we went to the Senior Citizens Activity Network out of the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, NJ where we worked out a performance schedule. We did four shows a year out of their community room for two and a half years, until the Mall needed the room back. Once again we were on the road. This time, we found a great restaurant in Red Bank called The Oakland House, where we did three shows which included dinner. We did very well there until the owner sold the restaurant.
Instead of searching for another facility to house OTRP, my husband and I decided it was time to bite the bullet and find a new home. A place where we wouldn't have to move anymore, after all, "there's no place like home." This was how Over The Rainbow Productions, Inc. was born housed at the Eatontown Playhouse (which we built ourselves), in the Tower Market Shopping Center in Eatontown, NJ. Just before we signed our first five-year lease in Eatontown, we incorporated and set out to expand the company with my husband and I at the helm.
We are now in our second five-year lease. We do twelve main stage shows a year, running the gamut from musicals, to comedies, dramas and originals and I am one of many Directors, directing our shows. I now average directing four of our shows a year. We also have a youth theatre group called The Children's Entertainment Series. This is a group of youngsters between the ages of 5 to 18 that perform and tech most of their own shows. This group's performances include fairy tales and musicals (such as "Aladdin" and "Annie"). They perform 12 shows a year and are very popular with schools, camps and scout troops. We can also host your birthday parties.
In our last half of our second year lease, we have just formed a new teen theatre group called "Performance With Passion Teen Players. This group will be runed by a Board of Directors between the ages of 14-17 years old, with me as their Advisor. This griup is set up to take our teenagers to the next level of theatre, training them New York Style. They will also perform, direct and tech their own shows. There are certain qualifications for a teen to be accepted into this group. They have to have the talent, passion and be extremely serious about wanting to be a part of this. These teens will perform their shows in the evenings, during weekends that we don't have a regular main stage show going on.
We are a family-orientated theatre company, treating our patrons, actors, technical staff, producers, and directors as very special family members. We are communty-minded, always donating gift certificates to school auctions and raising money for charitable organizations. We have raised money for Breast Cancer Awareness, Education, 9/11 victims, mentally-challenged adults, Big Sister, and Amnesty International.
As we go into our second five-year lease our goals are not much different. We want to continue to offer children who are interested in the arts a safe place to be involved. We will continue to help charitable organizations meet their goals, to be a stepping stone for play-writers of original work, to bring quality theatre to the community, and to learn and grow as human beings while having fun. Won't you join us either as a volunteer or a patron. Our doors are always open.
History of OTRP President, Debby SchwartzAs a child growing up in the 1960's, my life was in turmoil. I was a victim of physical and verbal abuse by my parents. To survive, I escaped watching "The Million Dollar Movie." "The Million Dollar Movie" was a TV program that would show all of the classic 1920-1950's MGM musicals and movies of some of the greatest stars to date.
The first time I saw Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, and Gene Kelly do a movie, I was mesmerized and hooked. I wanted to do what they did for a living. As soon as I graduated from high school, I took a job in NYC and started school at the New York Academy of Theatrical Arts. Later, I enrolled at HB Studios, took private voice lessons, and dance classes at Carnegie Hall. I was determined to perform.
I was lucky enough to land some pretty good acting jobs in Summer Stock and Off Broadway. I was able to support myself and put my childhood behind me, not wanting to look back.
Some years later I met my husband, a rock and roll musician, we fell in love an married. I took a leave of absence from show business to raise two children, Jonathan and Lisa (the lights of my life).
When my children were old enough, I started to direct free lance, first with children (introducing them to Broadway musicals) and then with adults. I found I had a talent and passion for direction. My own children became a part of this as well. They had caught the acting bug too. My son played some great roles, such as Conrad Birdie in "Bye Bye Birdie" and Eugene Jerome in "Brighton Beach Memoires." My daughter's favorite roles were Anne Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank" and Nora in a completely different production of "Brighton Beach Memoirs." When my son left for college (USC Film School), I started Over The Rainbow Productions. My daughter and my husband were both involved.
After my daughter graduated from a performing arts high school, she was accepted to The New York School of Film & Television (also known as SFT) on the acting track. After completing the SFT program she moved to California to pursue and acting career in film and TV. Jonathan and Lisa now live in Los Angeles, California while my husband and I are here in New Jersey running OTRP.