She Wants to Democratize Theater Access
Dramaturg, director and theater critic Molly Marinik loves stories, so it is no surprise that finding the best way to tell a tale is one of her passions.
As a resident director at the multi-award winning Flea Theater and Literary Manager at the Barefoot Theatre Company in New York City, Marinik has directed a host of one-act and full-length plays and has coordinated numerous staged readings. But although she finds it gratifying to steer, prune and orchestrate productions, Marinik also enjoys critiquing them, which is why, in 2007, she founded Theatre is Easy, a website devoted to reviewing the Off and Off-Off Broadway shows that mainstream media typically ignores.
“I want audiences to be smart consumers of the amazing plays in New York and have access to information to make informed choices about what to see,” she begins. “If one of our reviewers is really excited about a show that has no celebrities or glitz, we try to blast the review on social media. Obviously the advertising power of commercial productions is a lot higher than that of Off or Off-Off Broadway, so we try to even the playing field by promoting and publicizing this work.”
Theasy also tries to promote diverse voices – plays written by, starring, or directed by women, people of color, and ethnic minorities. “We’re totally independent so we don’t have to cater to anyone’s expectations,” Marinik continues. “This means we don’t need to prioritize big shows starring high-profile, Broadway actors. For example, we’ve featured the work of cultural organizations like LABA, which operates out of the 14th Street YMHA, the Irish Repertory, and the MA-YI Theater Company,” groups whose work tends to be off the radar of the New York Times, Time Out New York and Broadway.com.