Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces their 2026 Writer-Producer (Virtual) Speed Date, set for Sunday, October 4, 2026, from 2-7PM EST, including an hour of coaching plus 90 minutes of pitching. Get more information here.

You meet a producer at a party and have two minutes to interest him in your work. Do you have the skill to sell yourself? Here’s a chance to practice your pitching with real producers who are open to and interested in meeting you. Okay, they probably won’t option you on the spot, but they’ll give you valuable feedback about your work and your ability to talk about it. And you’ll have the opportunity to start developing a relationship. And that’s what this business is all about. Relationships.

The Speed Date is the only event I know of that gives writers the chance to meet high level producers one-on-one in a room. To me, that’s what makes the Speed Dates so valuable. And you do it with kindness, which I value in life. ~Vincent Amelio (How Alfo Learned to Love)

Click here: WriterSpeedDateApp-100-75 for application. Please fill out and email to TRUStaff1@gmail.com(PLEASE – add your name to the document name and put your name FIRST on the line when you “save as”).

We’ll have eleven producers lined up, from both the commercial and not-for-profit worlds, all with an interest in new projects; we also may have eleven aspiring producers from our Producer Development program. So you’ll be pitching to as many as 22 producers in total! Come with a willingness to learn, because the real value is the chance to practice your pitching. And you’ll be getting invaluable coaching from experts, as well.

Confirmed producers include (subject to change):

Blair Russell, producer & developer, from fringe festivals to Broadway (recent: Still off-Broadway with Melissa Gilbert; also Slave Play on Broadway; Lizard Boy, Pop Off, Michelangelo! and Jackie!!! at Edinburgh Fringe, Sweeney Todd off-Broadway);
Tony Castrigno of MTTM Theatricals (Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort at the Edinburgh Fringe, award-winning Mexodus off-Broadway), with a background in set and lighting design for both theater and corporate events;
Merrie L. Davis, producer (Just In Time, 2 Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Giant, Liberation, Alice In Never Land; ART; Tony nominated Dead Outlaw; Tony award for Parade, Tony award for Company Broadway, Olivier award for Company; DATA; London Cabaret, The Who’s Tommy, Eclipsed, Gigi; off-Broadway: Himself and Nora; Museum of Broadway);
Jane Dubin, producer (Still off-Broadway, Is This a Room, Dana H., The Prom, Tony winning The Norman Conquests, An American in Paris, Farinelli and the King, Bandstand, Peter and the Starcatcher, Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, The 39 Steps, Ann; upcoming: The Village of Vale, an original fantasy musical);
Gene Fisch, Jr., Broadway Producing Team (High), 100+ Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway productions, Carnegie Hall concert Producer, Director of the New York New Works Theatre Festival, Director of 4 episodes of the TV series, “Two Many Moms”; currently developing The Last of the Red Hot Mommas musical about Sophie Tucker;
John Lant, producer/SDC director/showrunner/consultant specialist for musicals/plays off-Broadway; (18 off-Broadway shows including Marilyn Monroe Exposed, Frankenstein, Wicked Frozen, It Came from Beyond, Wicked City Blues, Earnestly LGBTQ+, XIMER), artistic director Write Act Rep NYC/LA (23 years); 2-time NAACP, 4-time DramaLogue & 4-time CA for the Arts Winner; PM Carnegie Hall (13 years), TV/Film Studio Operator for 2 Studios for stage to screen or film productions NY & NJ;
Evan McGill, international theater producer (Tony Awards for Parade revival, The Outsiders and Sunset Blvd., plus Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, upcoming Evita revival; North American tours of The Outsiders, Monty Python’s Spamalot; West End Evita, Allegra, current revival of Rent and High School Musical), founder of the Broadway Investment Alliance;
Tamra Pica, TV, film and theater producer and casting director for Write Act Repertory;
Markus Potter, theatre and artistic leader; director/producer (off-Broadway Stalking the Bogeyman – New York Times Critics’ Pick, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), producing team (The Velocity of Autumnon Broadway), founding artistic director of NewYorkRep, artistic director at the University of Kansas;
Mark Rubinsky of MTTM Theatricals (Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort at the Edinburgh Fringe, award-winning Mexodus off-Broadway), with a background in stage management and producing corporate events;
Ken Waissman, producer (Josephine, original Grease, Agnes of God, Torch Song Trilogy, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little).

Coaches: Gary Hughes, Emileena Pedigo, Daniel Takacs

Training Producers: Jesse Ayala*, Dan Flanigan*, D.W. Gregory*, Kipp Koenig*, Patricia Krahnke*, Patrick O’Leary*, others tbd

[*members and alumni of TRU’s Producer Development program]

At TRU they not only provide you with the opportunity to meet 11 different producers, but they provide you with tools and coaching to make your pitch night a success. They also bring producers that love the educational aspect of the pitch night and genuinely love meeting new writers. So, even if you don’t walk away with an option, which they tell you not to expect, you walk away with a better pitch, new ideas, and a bigger network.~Kenady Sean, musicalwriters.com

I really am impressed with the info and support from TRU. I’ve done several of these with [another] group. I quit last year. With you guys it’s like you’re setting us up for success, what a concept. ~Kurt Johns (Hello Kitty Must Die)

We really felt supported the whole way through, and we feel so much better prepared to market our show after getting the chance to practice pitching. If there’s anywhere we can write a review or something for this experience, please let us know. ~Daniel Rosen & Alara Magritte (Safe Hands)

Producers

TONY CASTRIGNO is an award-winning producer with 50 years of wide-ranging experience. He began as a set and lighting designer working on Broadway, at BAM, Arena Stage, Lincoln Center, City Center, the Kennedy Center, Goodspeed, and internationally. His studio created designs for over 500 projects. Tony and his partner Mark Rubinsky make up MTTM Theatrics, lead producers of Last Night at the Rue Bayou, a fully immersive and site-specific new musical, and the (Edinburgh) “Fringe Cult Hit” Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort. They also have Your Friend, Julia, a period-driven play, in development. MTTM proudly serves as a Co-Producer on the award-winning off-Broadway hit, Mexodus, now on national tour, and co-produced Rock & Roll Man at New World Stages and A Christmas Carol on Broadway starring Jefferson Mays. Executive Producer credits include the new musical, Bojangles of Harlem, and The Meeting: The Interpreter off-Broadway.

MERRIE L. DAVIS is a Tony & Olivier Award-Winning Creative Producer New York & London. Her award-winning productions include: Parade, Broadway, Best Musical Revival 2023; Company Broadway, Best Musical Revival 2022, West End, Olivier Award Winner Best Musical Revival 2019. Other Broadway Productions: Just in Time; 2 Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York); Cabaret; Dead Outlaw; The Who’s Tommy; Working Girl; Giant; Liberation; Eclipsed with 6 tony nominations; Gigi, the Musical. London: The Code; Farewell Mister Haffmann; Dr. Semmelweis; The Picture of Dorian Gray. National/ International Tours: Dear Evan Hansen; Company; Parade; Moulin Rouge; To Kill a Mockingbird; Come From Away; The King and I; The Talented Mr. Ripley. Merrie is also a Co- Producer on the Museum of Broadway. She is an Out-of-the-Box Marketer who founded Next Act 2 Follow, a marketing /producing company, utilizing her unique creative talent to help generate inventive ideas that introduce fresh concepts to the Broadway scene. For over 20 years, prior to her career change into producing, Merrie owned her own Visitor Magazine Publishing Company, IN New York and WHERE Magazines, which were distributed in the Hotels, Cunard Lines, British Airways and over 300 other points of distribution. She had the pleasure of working with New York City’s Tourism & Hospitality industries, including the Theatre agencies and the Concierge Community. Merrie is an Honorary Concierge and continues to support the Concierges in their interactions with the visitor markets and theater community. Merrie is on the Board of TRU, Abingdon Theatre Company, The Broadway Association and Big Apple Greeter.

JANE DUBIN is a Tony, Drama Desk and Drama League Award-winning producer and the President of Double Play Connections, a theatrical production company committed to supporting the development of new work. Jane is a graduate of the CTI 14-week (NYC) and O’Neill (CT) Producing Workshops and Director of TRU’s Producer Development Master Class. Ms. Dubin is co-Chair of the Board of Houses on the Moon Theater Company, a past Board member of the League of Professional Theatre Women and was a Tony voter for seven years. She is a member of the Broadway Women’s Alliance, Off-Broadway Alliance, LPTW and Off-Broadway League. She serves as an evaluator for Bethany Arts Community’s residency program. She is a frequent panelist and guest lecturer on theater-related matters. Jane serves on the advisory boards of Elizabeth Mascia Child Care Center, Axial Theatre and Dirty Laundry Theatre. Jane has an MBA in Finance from NYU and was a partner in an investment advisory firm prior to her theater career. Productions: Recent: The Village of Vale – an original fantasy musical (Adirondack Theatre Festival), Still, starring Melissa Gilbert and Mark Moses. Broadway: Is This A Room, Dana H., The Prom(Drama Desk Best Musical), Farinelli and the King (Mark Rylance), An American in Paris (4 TONY Awards, London, National Tour), Ann, (Holland Taylor) (Lincoln Center), Bandstand, Peter and the Starcatcher (5 TONY Awards), The Norman Conquests (TONY). Other: Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, Beebo Brinker Chronicles (GLAAD Media Award), Groundswell, The 39 Steps, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (London). Film: Radium Girls.

GENE FISCH JR. has been a passionate fan of the arts his entire life. Though only as a hobby these past ten years, he has either produced, directed, or invested in 100+ shows during that span, most all at the Off Broadway and Broadway levels. Philanthropy being his primary focus, he was the lead producer for Carnegie Hall performance / Album that donated the proceeds to establish music programs in NYC schools. He has two television pilots in his repertoire, one of which was his directorial debut that was funded for four episodes by a group who worked for ABC. Fisch is particularly fond of his work directing the Off Broadway parody of the television show, “Dexter”. Subsequent to being part of the Broadway producing team for High starring Kathleen Turner, Gene founded The New York New Works Theatre Festival, helping over 1,000 artists by giving them a shot on a top tier stage (historically the Duke and Acorn Theaters). Three shows from NYNW’s stages are on their way to Broadway and one (“12 Angry Voices” produced by his mentor and panelist, Lauren Class Schneider) is generating traction for its national tour. Submissions are free and NYNW outlays most all of the upfront costs with the hopes that the NYNW stage is only the first step of the project’s journey (Numerous shows have moved forward). Every submission is reviewed by at least one Broadway producer. Gene has led a wonderfully diverse career outside of the arts and currently teaches Engineering Technogenesis at the Stevens Institute of Technology. “The bottom line is that theatre is awesome and if there is a way that we can help someone take their art to the next level while having a ton of fun, we’re all in!” nynwtheatrefestival.com

JOHN LANT Producer/Director, Consultant specialist for musicals/plays off-Broadway and TV/Film Studio Operator for 2 Studios for stage to screen or film productions NY & NJ. 43-year veteran in the entertainment in over 750 television, film, theatre/music tours, and live theater. Production Manager at Carnegie Hall since 2006-2020 season for over 2,000 events. Award-winning producer, director, writer, lighting/set designer; Interlochen, Cal Arts, Ricardo Montalban, Hollywood Playhouse, Long Beach Playhouse, Glendale Center, Jewel Box Theatre Center and Write Act Repertory garnering DramaLogue, Diamond, ADA, NAACP Awards, LA Weekly and Backstage Pick of the Week, Garland and Valley Theatre (LA) nods. Executive Radio Producer New Frequency – Theatre of the Mind for SIRIUS/XM Radio – Ranked #1 Radio show. Mentored with Jonathan Sanger/Chanticleer Films for two shorts (Emmy & Oscar Winners), Howard Storm CBS Radford and TRU PDMP Master Fellow under Jane Dubin and Jennifer Issacson. Directed TV / Pilots Symphology, Carrot Talk, BET JAZZ Master Awards (1&2), Toronto Independent Shorts Awards, Funiki-Jam Season 2, and Anonymous Confessions. 17 Off-Broadway Lead Producer / Director (AEA/Non-union) credits include Fabulous!, 2By Tennessee Williams, Lili Marlene, Frankenstein, It Came from Beyond, Wicked Frozen, Teen Party Massacre, Swing!, Wicked City Blues, Geeks! TV/Film Credits include King of New York, The Freshman, Army of Darkness, Renegade, Power Rangers, and HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant (CCO Supervisor). Tours include Phantom of the Opera, Singin’ in the Rain, Gypsy and Evita. Current money raise – Pearl Bailey Musical (with Tony winning team members of Dreamgirls! and Hamilton). Development Director/Consultant for TV Film – Twisted Media NYC, Nathan Murphy Prod, Gatehouse Entertainment, Tin Mirror Prod and Trinity Theatrics network and streaming content for 3 TV pilots & 2 feature film currently in pre-production. COVID Compliance Supervisor certified for Film/TV/Broadway Theatre.

EVAN MCGILL is a three-time Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Drama League Award-winning theatrical and music producer whose work spans Broadway, the West End, and Australia. He is a member of the Broadway League and the founder of Evan McGill Productions, where he has played a pivotal role in shaping some of the most celebrated theatrical productions in recent years. On Broadway, his producing credits include Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York, Parade (2023), The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window (2023), The Outsiders, and Sunset Blvd (2024), and he has held a stake in numerous other commercial productions. Across the pond, McGill is involved in the West End revivals of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express (2024) and Evita (2025), among others. In Australia, he has been involved with Hamilton, MJ, and Beetlejuice. In addition to his work on stage, McGill has produced successful Broadway cast albums including The Music Man: The 2022 Broadway Cast Recording and Funny Girl: New Broadway Cast Recording — both of which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Cast Albums chart. In the world of entertainment finance, McGill serves as a general partner in Tanninger Fund II, an SEC-registered investment vehicle that supports live entertainment ventures on a global scale. His work has earned him three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical for Parade at the 76th Tony Awards, Best Musical for The Outsiders at the 77th Tony Awards (in collaboration with Tanninger Entertainment), and Best Revival of a Musical for Sunset Blvd. at the 78th Tony Awards. He also received a Drama Desk Award for Paradeand a Drama League Award as part of the producing team behind Sunset Blvd. A native of Boston, McGill began acting at the age of six, performing in local community productions of The Who’s Tommy and Alice in Wonderland.

TAMRA PICA producer and casting director for Write Act Repertory. Tamra’s theater and television work spans 33 years and over 250 productions as a prop designer, AEA Stage Manager, producer and casting director of plays, musicals, dance and ice shows. She produces both Off Broadway, as well as, managing the Los Angeles theater presence for Write Act. Recent credits include the long-running Frankenstein, Wicked City Blues, and Swing. Other credits include: Lili Marlene, Caldwell’s Bomb for the New York Venus/Adonis Theater Festival, Renewal, Your Name on My Lips at Theater for the New City and the long running musical Fabulous! Queen of the New Musicalswhere she served as a casting director and producer. Alongside theater, Tamra’s work production, casting, and development television work can be seen for companies such as Disney, Sony, Cartoon Network, NBC Studios, TBS, CBS, MTV, ABC and FOX. She currently works on the animated Disney series Mira, Royal Detective.

MARKUS POTTER is the Acting Artistic Director or Center REP in the Bay Area and currently serves as Artistic Director at the University of Kansas. As a director, he received the Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, New York Times Critic’s Pick, and was a Callaway Award finalist for the off-Broadway production of Stalking the Bogeyman at New World Stages. Markus is the former Founding Artistic Director of NewYorkRep and Interim Artistic Director of Theatre Aspen. Other directing projects include Church & State at New World Stages (Off-Broadway Alliance Nominated for best new play), Why You Beasting? (Time Out NY Critics’ Pick), and the Associate Director for the Donmar Warehouse production of Blindness at the Daryl Roth Theatre. Regional: Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods by Tammy Ryan at The Portland Stage Company, London’s Southwark Playhouse (Off-West End Award nomination for Best Production and Best Direction), Red Speedo at Center REP (Shellie Award nomination for best direction), Kansas Repertory Theatre production of Chasing Gods by Paris Crayton III. As an actor, several seasons at The Guthrie, Denver Center, Long Wharf, tour of Death of A Salesman with Christopher Lloyd, and many more. As Producer, he was on the team that brought the Arena Stage production of Eric Cobble’s The Velocity of Autumn to Broadway, starring Estelle Parsons, who received a Tony Award nomination. Markus received his MFA from Columbia University. MarkusPotter.com

MARK RUBINSKY began his theatrical career as a Stage Manager on and off-Broadway. Some of the shows he worked on include, Agnes of God, Honky Tonk Nights, Peg, Alone Together, Tap Dance Kid, & Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Cotten Patch Gospel, Kander & Ebb’s 2 by 5 off Broadway, On Your Toes & Grease, on the road. This was followed by a 30-year career as an Executive Producer for Corporate Meetings and Events working with Fortune 100 companies around the world, before returning to where it all began as a Theatrical Producer. Mark is one half of MTTM Theatrics, and along with partner Tony Castrigno they are lead producers of Last Night at the Rue Bayou, a fully immersive and site-specific new musical, and the (Edinburgh) “Fringe Cult Hit” Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort. They also have Your Friend, Julia, a period-driven play, in development. They co-produced the multi award-winning off-Broadway hit, Mexodus, now on national tour; co-produced Rock & Roll Manat New World Stages and A Christmas Carol on Broadway starring Jefferson Mays. Executive Producer credits include the new musical, Bojangles of Harlem, and The Meeting: The Interpreter off-Broadway.

BLAIR RUSSELL is a producer who specializes in developing new works for the theatre. Recent projects include the off-Broadway play Still with Melissa Gilbert which he found at a TRU Speed Date, new musical Lizard Boywhich has been performed in 4 countries including Off-Broadway, For Tonight, which premiered in concert on the West End at the Adelphi Theatre, DIVA: Live From Hell! (Edinburgh, Off West End), and Pop Off, Michelangelo!(Edinburgh, Off West End). He was a producer on Slave Play which held the record for most Tony-nominated play in history, is developing the new musical Salem which has over 50k followers on social media, and executive produced the first two concept albums in the EPIC series which have over 150 million streams globally. Other projects as co-producer / investor include The Wiz (National Tour/Broadway 2024), Sweeney Todd (Immersive Off-Broadway 2017), and Gypsy with Imelda Staunton (West End 2014). Blair is Co-Chair of the Board of The New Harmony Project and a member of the Board of Trustees of Goodspeed Musicals and SPACE. He is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Technical Theatre/Stage Management.

KEN WAISSMAN is one of only two producers in the history of Broadway to have a musical run over 3000 performances and a play run over 1000. (The other producer he shares this distinction with is the legendary David Merrick.) Waissman developed and produced the original Broadway production of Grease as well as two of Broadway’s longest running plays, Agnes of God by John Pielmeier and Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein.Waissman’s first Broadway credit was the 1971 Paul Zindel play And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little with Estelle Parsons and Julie Harris, and his prolific Broadway efforts have resulted in four motion picture features, a PBS TV special, 25 Tony Award® nominations, and 5 Tony Awards® including a Tony Award® as ‘Best Play Producer.’ His new musical, Josephine, inspired by Josephine Baker, had its World Premiere at the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida.

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 quarterly 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 Plays and Musicals 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, Stewart F. Lane & Bonnie Comley, 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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