Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Flemming.
Hi Liz, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I caught the theater bug at eight years old when I saw a production of 42nd street at my local Dinner Theater. I was a chubby curly-haired kid with big glasses who was legally blind and desperately wanted to be seen and understood. The theater embraced me which I desperately needed as a kid who was picked on at school and had hard time with school assignments due to my extreme low vision.
I always knew I wanted to be an actor… I didn’t think I could do anything else… But life is funny it jolts you into things you never thought you’d do. However, good news my dream did come true- I am a Professional actor. What I wanted to do I accomplished professionally. But, after endless pre-college theater classes, getting a BM in Musical Theater at Rider University, touring, doing regional job after regional job… I started feeling like I was hiding who I was and it was getting hard. I was walking into job after job as a legally blind artist but I never told anyone because I thought I would be seen as weak or incapable. I was told in college that I needed to say yes and… so that’s what I did until I took a job that felt beyond unsafe. Not only was it an inaccessible environment where I was walking on stage never knowing where I was due to large costume pieces and an all white set but my colleagues also felt unsafe and abused. I had enough! I couldn’t do that anymore.
I decided to travel back to NYC and figure out what I really wanted to do. I spent some time with Casting Directors behind the table… That woke me up. What was being said about actors by those we regard with high esteem made me sick to my stomach. So, I started thinking about how I needed to create something separate from being a performer where I could make a difference. Shortly after this my company Out of the Box Theatrics was born.
Out of the Box Theater is a New York-based, not-for-profit Off-Broadway organization dedicated to producing new and classic works while challenging audiences to experience work outside of their expectations. Committed to lifting the voices of marginalized communities through the stories it tells, Out of The Box Theatrics allows audiences to experience work from a fresh perspective in site-specific locations. It started with one production You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown on playground. I thought I’d stop there but we kept going and are headed into our 6th Season.
If you had told me I’d be running a company seven years ago, I’d have told you- you no way me? But producing under real union contracts and having control of how the artists including myself are treated has been the most rewarding and important thing I have ever done. I cannot imagine doing anything else now.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been anything but smooth. Nobody understands how hard it is to produce theater. I didn’t actually know how hard it would be until I started doing it. It is more expensive then people realize and takes countless hours and a great deal of determination. I spent four years not paying myself and if I did get paid for any project, I donated it back to the company and took on other jobs so I could keep producing meaningful work.
We have grown FAST. Prior to the Pandemic, we had a production of a beloved show (Baby the musical) that had an enormous impact and was nominated by the Off-Broadway Alliance for Best Revival and we were going to remount that production in March 2020 and produce our very first extended run. However, the Pandemic stopped that production with a lot of funding already gone. I was scared but also determined to still be here when live theater came back.
We started Producing Virtual Content during the Pandemic through the help of the PPP Loan we were able to keep going. We also produced our most important piece of theater. A production of The Last Five Years that was truly a labor of love and incredibly rewarding. Although, we made it through our industry’s darkest time and are producing the show we were supposed to Produce pre-pandemic, I still worry constantly if I’ll be able to keep going. The constant wondering if we will make it to next year continues to be terrifying.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an Actor/Producer/Advocate. Aside from being an actor, I specialize in creating theater and work for underrepresented artists. I’m the most proud of my company. I created it from nothing and it has uplifted stories and artists I love and admire. I think that what sets me apart from others is my care for the work before the gain. I would rather fund the project and take a large risk then take funding from any person or organization that doesn’t align with our mission.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the food and theater life.
I don’t like the public transit system.
Contact Info:
- Email: liz@ootbtheatrics.com
- Website: www.lizflemming.com
- Instagram: @littlelizzybiz
- Facebook: @ootbtheatrics
- Twitter: @ootbtheatrics
- Youtube: @outoftheboxtheatrics
- Other: www.ootbtheatrics.com
Image Credits
Kyle Huey Michael Kushner
