Thomas Green, Founder of Thomas Green Entertainment, Opens New Management Company in the City

 

Thomas Green, Founder of Thomas Green Entertainment (Photo Courtesy) 

Thomas Green, Founder of Thomas Green Entertainment, Opens New Management Company in the City

Thomas Green, founder of Thomas Green Entertainment, understands the complexities of navigating the entertainment landscape in 2024 and beyond. That’s one of the driving forces behind his setting up a new management company focusing on multi-hyphenate talents, including traditional actors across television, film, and theater who also have a passion for writing or directing.

The company also covers sports and music, including two Team USA athletes in the new Olympic sport of breaking, commonly referred to as “breakdancing,” although that community doesn’t warm to that particular label.

Green understands the underlying mental processes of performers, having been a theater actor himself. The lack of diversity and inclusion (still) presents challenges for anyone who endeavors to step into a healthy and financially viable career in sports and entertainment. That’s one of Green’s passions: to create more opportunities in as many ways as possible and to step into his role as an advocate for a myriad of underrepresented artists.

In the Broadway community, he’s known in the producers' circle, having made his debut as an associate producer on Thoughts of a Colored Man.

To ensure that he’s adding value not only to his clients but also to the creative community across the board, he will produce alongside clients with the production arm.

The Amsterdam News caught up with Thomas Green of the newly minted Thomas Green Entertainment to discuss his new company.

NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS: How would you describe your management company? Is it strictly for thespians only, or are you casting a wider net?

THOMAS GREEN: So, to start, the focus is multi-hyphenate. That includes traditional actors across television, film, and theater who also have a passion for writing or directing. These are areas I'll continue to build out as those passions grow. Additionally, I cover sports and music. I'm particularly excited about merging music artists into the mix. Also, I have two Team USA athletes, which is thrilling. You may not be aware, but “breakdancing” is set to become an Olympic sport.

AMN: Say what, now? Did you say that breakdancing is an Olympic sport?

TG: Yes, but the dancers in that community prefer it be called breaking.

AMN: Hold on. This I have to Goggle search. And here is what I found: The 2024 Summer Olympics will introduce the sport of breaking (also called b-boying, b-girling or breakdancing) to the Summer Olympic program for the first time. There will be two medal events, one each for men and women, with 16 "b-boys" and "b-girls" competing. Pin that for another time.

AMN: Refresh our memory about your journey in the entertainment industry, how it landed you here. Let's move the clock back a little bit.

TG: I’m originally, I'm from Syracuse, New York. I was a theater kid growing up in upstate. I come from a large family, one of 12 siblings. It's quite a big family. My perspective as a queer person of color, looking back as a child, of course, hindsight's 2020. I didn't fully understand it then, but it definitely shapes who I am as an adult and influences the type of work and projects I pursue and want to collaborate on. After college, where I studied theater, I didn't see myself represented in the industry at the time. This was many years ago, before Hamilton and the strides we've seen in diversity. There's still a significant lack of representation. Yes, there have been some changes since I was actively pursuing theater, but it remains a major issue. I've always been interested in creating more opportunities, but then I shifted my focus to advocating for the underrepresented. Drawing from my experience as a former performer, I believe I bring a level of compassion, empathy, and understanding to artists that is both valued and reciprocated in my journey. Specifically, during the pandemic, my business, which heavily relied on theater, was significantly impacted, as the industry was one of the first to shut down.

AMN: Share a little bit about your role as a Broadway producer.

TG: So, coming out of that experience, I enthusiastically made my associate producer debut on the Broadway production of 'Thoughts of a Colored Man,' which was incredibly rewarding and enlightening. Working alongside Scott [Steve Broadnax III] , our director, was a fantastic learning opportunity. My mentor, Ron Simons, the lead producer on the project, generously provided me with invaluable access and allowed me to develop my skills. It was truly a formative experience.

AMN: Nice. Sum up the direction that you want Thomas Green Entertainment to go, please.

TG: Yeah. So from that side, I will manage and produce alongside clients. And so the production arm will be both client-driven projects, and again, not working as production services, but my access to talent and the IP. We then engage the different partners at the right percent project, and I'm excited to be able to do that under my banner as a way to, again, have more ownership from the beginning. If you understand how to do that even slightly on the foundational level, it may set you up for more ownership and oversight as these projects are moving forward.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.