A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is celebrating its fifth year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings, having offered to date over 250 conversations and 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/new-stops-on-the-road-to-success/ 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 ticket, making a donation or joining as a member.

1/16 – New Stops on the Road to Success: Rethinking the Development Process. In the room: producer Jane Dubin (Is This a Room, Dana H., The Prom, Tony-winning The Norman Conquests, Farinelli and the King, Bandstand, Peter and the Starcatcher and An American in Paris; upcoming: The Village of Vale); Markus Ferraro(Ximer the musical)producer R.K. Greene, producer (Beau the musical, Harmony, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Lightning Thief tour, Farinelli and the King, A Time to Kill, Cougar: The Musical, Room Service); writer 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). Producing has become madly expensive. We know. Are there other effective ways of getting your show seen without breaking the bank? Our guests will talk about the actual costs of workshops and regional productions as compared to new approaches, including film, podcast and even a comic book series. Click https://truonline.org/events/new-stops-on-the-road-to-success/ to register and receive the link.

UPCOMING

1/23 – Free Introduction to the TRU Producer Development & Mentorship Program. In the room: Master class instructor Jane Dubin, producer (Is This a Room, Dana H., The Prom, Tony winning The Norman Conquests, Farinelli and the King, Bandstand, Peter and the Starcatcher and An American in Paris; plus off-Broadway Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, The 39 Steps, Ann) and Foundations instructor Blair Russell, Tony-nominated producer whose experience ranges from fringe festivals (Edinburgh) to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows (Slave Play, Still and Sweeney Todd). A free meet-and-greet info session about our Producer Development and Mentorship Program, the only theater production program to offer in-depth instruction from accomplished producers at an affordable price. The fall semester will start in Late February or March … Click here to read more, register and receive the zoom link.

1/30 – tba

2/6 – Keeping Ahead of the Curves: Supporting the Future of American Theater. In the room: Josefina López​, writer of the film and Broadway musical Real Women Have Curves, and the founder of Casa 0101, dedicated to “nurturing the future storytellers of Los Angeles.” We talk about her experiences both in film and on Broadway with the adaptations of her play, whether the productions adequately addressed the need for authentic voices in the room as well as authenticity on the stage. Were there compromises, and were there outside eyes that brought positive enhancements to her original work? How comfortable were the collaborations, and how does the creative process differ in collaboration versus from the isolated experience of writing? Click here to register and receive the zoom 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; 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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