Jim Byk and Shane Marshall Brown have founded The Press Room, a new theatrical and entertainment publicity office now open in Manhattan. The veteran Broadway press agents are joined by publicist Kelly Guiod, who serves as vice president for the company.

Brown, a senior press agent with Sam Rudy Media Relations, will work with Sam Rudy and The Press Room concurrently, before joining the latter full time in 2019.

The Press Room represents this season’s Broadway productions of Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery and King Lear (starring Glenda Jackson), plus the long-running, Tony-winning The Book of Mormon, and the Off-Broadway world premiere of Gloria: A Life. Other clients include The Royal Opera House’s Cinema Series for Trafalgar Releasing, Shakespeare’s Globe, Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful, the world premiere of Jessica Dickey’s The Convent, New York Classical Theatre’s 20th anniversary season, and the world premiere of The Unsilent Picture (starring Bill Irwin) for Historic Hudson Valley.

Byk has been a Broadway press agent for 28 years, handling over 60 Broadway shows, and 58 Off-Broadway shows. He spent 15 years at Boneau/Bryan-Brown. Brown began his career in theatrical publicity in 2005 and has been a senior press agent at Sam Rudy Media Relations for over six years. Guiod has been a theatre publicist for over 10 years, representing nearly 40 Broadway and more than 60 Off-Broadway productions.