As part of their monthly series of informational panels, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents Dust off Your Dreams: The Long-Awaited Return of Our Favorite Festivals on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 via Zoom. The panel speakers will include Cate Cammarata, literary manager TRU Voices Reading Series; Gene Fisch, Jr., festival director New York New Works Theatre Festival; Dennis Corsi, artistic director of Fresh Fruit Festival; Glory Kadigan, founding artistic director of Planet Connections Festivity/Zoomfest; a rep from the Dream Up Festival at Theatre for the New City; and Van Dirk Fisher, artistic director of Strawberry One-Act Festival and Strawberry Theatre Festival. Reserve a spot on the TRU event page at truonline.org/events/dust-off-your-dreams, or by emailing TRUStaff1@gmail.com to be put on a list to receive the Zoom link.

The shutdown certainly changed the way we do things, and put a damper on one of our basic stepping stones for the development of new work: the festival. How did our favorite festivals weather the pandemic? Did they use this imposed time off for planning ahead or for reinventing themselves virtually? Do they have plans for coming back? And what did they learn in the last year that they might incorporate going forward? We’ll also check in on who’s open for submissions, and whether their mission and guidelines have been affected by the ongoing shocks of political and social upheaval in our country.

Doors open at 5:00pm for networking and roundtable introductions of everyone in the room – come prepared with your best 20-second summary of who you are, and what you need. Panel will start at 5:30pm. Free for TRU members, $15 for non-members. Please use the bright red reservation box on the web page, or email or phone at least a day in advance (preferably sooner): e-mail TRUStaff1@gmail.com or phone 833-506-5550.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to rethink all TRU programs for Zoom presentation. Turns out that what seemed at first to be a drastic inconvenience has paid off with surprising benefits,” said Bob Ost, executive director of TRU. “We now have extended our reach well beyond the New York area, throughout the US and as far away as England, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. This panel focuses on festivals in the New York area, but sheds light on what theater has been going through everywhere. Which companies survived, thrived and are coming back? Which companies have moved to virtual? Each one has a story to tell.”