Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces TRUSPEAK… Hear Our Voices! 2025, an evening of virtual short plays, followed by a virtual after-party, set for Sunday, November 16, 2025 from 5–7PM. TRUSpeak is a fundraiser for Theater Resources Unlimited. Admission price is a donation and may be fully tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Join TRU for an evening to raise awareness of current social issues, as well as awareness of the work TRU has been doing for the theater community for over 30 years. The event features four short plays adapted and filmed for virtual presentation, plus a VIRTUAL AFTER-PARTY hosted by Write Act Repertory, the chance to meet and chat with actors, writers, directors, producers and tech teams, and each play with its own breakout room.

TRU executive director Bob Ost explains the origins of TRUSpeak: “Shutdown forced us to find alternatives to live presentation, and virtual was our (often reluctant) go-to solution. What many of us learned out of necessity has now become part of our artistic vocabulary. TRUSpeak will continue to offer our theater community an opportunity to explore the possibilities of film and develop new skill sets, and hopefully offer our audiences powerful glimpses of the world around us.”

The event is executive produced by Bob Ost, Carley Santori, and Janel C. Scarborough. Tamra Pica is the technical coordinator. TRU gives thanks to SAG-AFTRA for enabling them to produce TRUSpeak using the micro-budget agreement which makes it possible to use the talented union actors who perform in these films.

TRUSpeak Lineup

PYOTR & DMITRI by Clinton Festa

Soviet suppression nearly silenced the music. The ghost of Tchaikovsky appears to a desperate Shostakovich in an artistic dance of survival, directed by Kingsley Lims Nyarko and produced by Amy Drake. With Douglas Fries and Stephen Woosley.

Director of Photography: Andrew Collins

Editors: Ernest K., Kingsley Lims Nyarko

Assistant Producer: Patrick Thibodeaux

Script Supervisor: Regan Jordan

Sound: Amene Alshaer

Set Dressing: Gaynelle Sloman

Camera Assistant: Brett Seimer

Production Design: Ross Osterholt

SAFE HARBOR by James McLindon

Life, death and the Texas legislature. A doctor and a hospital attorney clash over the fate of a young, endangered mother. Directed by Megan Hess and produced by Tony winner Cady Huffman. With Tony-nominee Veanne Cox, Kiana Kabeary and Tony winner Tonya Pinkins.

Director of Photography: Jeanette Bears

Editors: Ryan Alberti, Carley Santori

Co-producer: Wendy Waring

Sound: Ryan Alberti

Production Designer: Scotty Salame

Costumes: Donald Sanders

RECKONER by Scott C. Sickles

When words fail the consequences can be explosive. A violent day of reckoning for a young trans girl and her family, directed by Janet Bentley and produced by Carolyn M. Brown. With Wesley Han, Jon Okabayashi, Mike Roche and Lori Vega.

Director of Photography: Andy Evan Cohen

Editor: Joshua Santora

RIDING LESSONS by Brett Hursey

Boy meets girl meets clown. A three-part duet of self-acceptance directed by Misti B. Wills and produced by Mike Katona. With Sky Lakota-Lynch, Dick Monday and Elizabeth Teeter.

Director of Photography: Christopher Smith

Editor: Matthew Brennan

Assistant Director: Kayla Katona

Production Coordinator: Rachel Bass

Sound: Eliza Carlisle

Assistant Camera: Luka Vonier

Background: Max Reihs

Hair and Makeup: Rachel Toledo

Production Assistants: Jay Chacon, Max Reihs

Visual Effects: Jack Bellomo, John Laidlaw

Music Composition: Brian Katona

Graphic Design: Kristen Thompson

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-two-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 a series of 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 Montage Foundation, The Storyline Project and 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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