A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is in its sixth year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings, having led over 300 consecutive conversations. The series has offered the theater community unlimited camaraderie since April 17, 2020. TRU hosts these Community Gatherings every Friday at 5pm ET via Zoom, originally presented to explore the creation of art and theater in the time of COVID-19, and now to ensure that these crucial conversations continue going forward.

Click https://truonline.org/events/do-the-songs-tell-the-story/ to receive this Friday’s Zoom link. These gatherings are a service for the theater community and are offered free for TRU members; non-members may also attend for free, but we ask that non-members help keep us running by buying a $12 ticket, making a donation or joining as a member.

5/15 – But Do the Songs Tell the Whole Story? The Challenges of a Concert Reading. In the room: Michael Colby, lyricist and musical playwright (Charlotte Sweet, TRU Voices winner Meester Amerika, Tales of Tinseltown, North Atlantic, Ludlow Ladd), vice-president of Urban Stages, founding member of the original non-profit organization to develop new musicals, The Stuart Ostrow Musical Theatre Lab; Nico Juber, writer (Millennials Are Killing Musicals, Winner); Michael Roberts, award-winning off-Broadway composer, lyricist, author, musical director (Golf the musical, NY Fringe best musical The Fartiste, Goldstein, Greed; upcoming: London Swings). One of the (relatively) economical steps for the development of a new musical is the concert reading. But step carefully! There are union rules and limitations that can require creative problem-solving. Our guests have all had successful concert readings and will share some secrets of their success. What are the limitations, and how do you overcome them? Just what can you learn from a concert reading, what are the right reasons for doing one and how do you move your show to the next step? Click https://truonline.org/events/do-the-songs-tell-the-story/ to register and receive the link.

UPCOMING:

5/22 – Happy Anniversaries! Two Theater Companies, and How They Are Celebrating. In the room: Emily Joy Weiner, co-founder and artistic director of Houses on the Moon, now observing a milestone 25th anniversary; and Ludovica Villar Hauser, founder and artistic executive director of Parity Productions, now reveling in its 10th anniversary. Meet two New York companies with community-centered missions: Emily’s company amplifies unheard voices and confronts social issues in order to unite communities through the sharing of untold stories, and Ludovica’s company promotes gender parity by empowering women, trans, gender-expansive, and intersex artists in theater… Click here for more info, and to register and receive the link.

5/29 – One Word, So Many Meanings: Licensing. In the Room: James Rocco, director, choreographer, former producing artistic director of the Ordway Center for the Peforming Arts, founder of Thirty Saints Productions (Come from Away, Magic Mike, creator of The Broadway Songbook Series) and the newly formed Thirty Saints Music Licensing; Charles Perry, founder of Premiére Theatrical Licensing, a theatrical publisher and performance rights licensing agency for plays, musicals, short plays, theater for young people, theater for seniors, and other genres of theatrical entertainment…. Click here for more info, and to register and receive the link.

6/5 – Accruing Fringe Benefits ’26: The Edinburgh Experience and How to Work It. In the room: Catherine Lamm, director, audition coach, dramaturg and Edinburgh Fringe reviewer for the British Theatre Guide; Michelle Mangan, Edinburgh Festival Fringe publicist representing major Fringe venues as well as individual shows; Samantha Streit, Fringe solo actress (Letters to Joan, returning this year). Catherine started attending and reviewing at the Fringe in 2001 and has been helping artists navigate this opportunity for most of these years. Michelle has been a publicist with EdFringe for over ten years. Samantha debuted in the Fringe last year and will talk about finding a commercial producer who is bringing her back this year…. Click here for more info, and to register and receive the link.

More information about upcoming interviews is available at: truonline.org/tru-community-gathering.

To receive the Zoom invitation for weekly meetings, email TRUnltd@aol.com with “Zoom Me” in the subject header. These gatherings are free for TRU members, non-members are asked to make an optional tax-deductible donation or consider joining TRU at truonline.org/membership to support the organization’s ongoing service to the community.

Videos of past Community Gatherings may be viewed on TRU’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/channel/UC43rsChi4fA23dNLeloaF_A/. And a podcast series, TRU Talks About Theater, featuring 2023 Community Gathering conversations, is available wherever you get your podcasts; or tune in at ElectraCast: https://electracast.com/?s=Theater+Resources

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-three-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help producers produce, emerging theater companies to emerge healthily and all theater professionals to understand and navigate the business of the arts. Membership includes self-producing artists as well as career producers and theater companies.

TRU publishes an email community newsletter of services, opportunities and productions; presents weekly Community Gatherings about the arts, and monthly Town Halls about current social issues; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater; and presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices (adapting short plays into films), Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation, Merrie L. Davis, Dunbar Hofmann Productions and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit www.truonline.org.

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