MITF Announces The Inclusion Of Ten TRU Sponsored Productions 7/13-8/2

The Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival (MITF) announces the inclusion of ten productions that have been helped along by Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) as part of the MITF's 2009 Season, running from July 13 - August 2, 2009. Tickets are available at www.midtownfestival.org or by phone at 866-811-4111.

TRU is a not-for-profit service organization that provides educational and support services for the performing arts with a focus on the business side of the arts. Their mission of "helping producers produce" is clearly at work in this summer's festival, having matched several shows with producers through the TRU Producers Circle, supporting others as a fiscal sponsor, with several MITF shows being produced by members of the TRU Producer Mentorship program. In addition, other shows have been written by TRU members and associates.

Assholes and Aureoles, By Eric Pfeffinger, Produced by InterAction Theater, Inc. & Off The Leash Productions (TRU mentorship program producer Jeremy Handelman)
July 27 - August 2
The Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor, NYC
taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo...taboo.
Two women, thirteen taboos and countless laughs you'll feel guilty about tomorrow. Sharp, hair-raising and smart, these vignettes are hand-crafted for two powerhouse actresses who launch physical comedy and character acting into the stratosphere.

Connect / Disconnect, Music by Jan-Erik Sääf, Book and Lyrics by TRU member Owen Robertson, Based in part on a Swedish version by Jan-Erik Sääf and Ola Hörling, Produced by Teater Omen, and TRU member Rick Jacobs with sponsorship from TRU.
July 21 - August 2
The June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor, NYC
One man. One Woman. Four Stories.
It's 2009. In London, a policewoman is looking for a real man, and a young lad is looking for fun. In New York, a husband is seeking his true self, and a wife is afraid to shatter a perfect illusion. What will it take for them to connect, reconnect and disconnect when there are a million ways to communicate but only one way to talk face-to-face? Connect/Disconnect... A new musical having its world premiere at the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival. A referral from TRU's musicals series.

Crossroads, by TRU member Meri Wallace, Produced by TRU member company Howling Moon Cab Company
July 16 - August 2
The MainStage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor, NYC
The place to get a cut, a perm or change your life.
There's trouble at Crossroads hair salon. Wing wants to sell. Angela is trying to leave her husband. Nicole is having an affair. Frank wants to be white and Guisseppe discovers that Manhattan women want lawyers, not hairdressers. When someone trashes the shop, the culprit must be found and the rest help each other to make over their lives.

Gentleman's Wish, By Lawson Caldwell, Co-produced by Lawson Caldwell and TRU mentorship producer Anthony Francavilla
July 30 - August 2
The MainStage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor, NYC
A play about the ever-changing world of politics, sexuality, love and integrity.
A senator's picture-perfect life evaporates when his wife outs his 20 year affair with his best friend. As he and his staff descend upon his mother's estate to work on spin and damage control, a visit from his wife and son spill out into a well publicized press conference.

The Lincoln Continental, By TRU member Kathy Kafer, Directed by Steven Yuhasz, Produced by Shadow Productions + Kramis Productions (TRU mentorship producer Marie Reynolds)
July 18 - August 2
The MainStage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor, NYC
A father, a daughter and the car that drives their relationship through three decades.
In 1974, Murray teaches 16-year-old Rachel how to drive his pride and joy - a brand-new Lincoln Continental! He wants the radio off, she wants it on. So off goes the radio, on goes the engine, revving up a battle of wills that spans thirty-five years. Along the road Rachel encounters the challenges of growing up while Murray tackles the trials of growing old. Their relationship with each other and the car survives several crises, crashes and a few hundred thousand miles.

A Night in the Kremlin, By Bernard Besserglik and Bob Barton, Produced by AFK Productions, with TRU General Manager Anthony Francavilla of the mentorship program.
July 13 - August 2
The June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor, NYC
America's greatest clown takes on the ogre in the Kremlin.
Harpo Marx, visiting Moscow, rides to the rescue of a pair of star-crossed lovers. Jokes and songs, thrills and spills as Harpo confronts a grieving Stalin in his lair. A political parable recounted in the manner of a Marx Brothers movie. A referral from TRU's musicals series.

Pizza Man, By Darlene Craviotto, Produced by ULU Theatre Collective (TRU producer Susan Rankus), with sponsorship by TRU.
July 19 - July 31
The Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor, NYC
Sex. Pizza. Happiness. How far would you go for a slice?
Start with one woman on the verge of a late-twenties breakdown, whisk in a neurotic roommate, pepper with broken hearts, knead in one cocky pizza man, bake at 400 degrees and watch the hilarity sizzle.

Pound: The Poet on Trial, Written and directed by TRU member William Roetzheim, Produced by American InterNational Theatre, INC.
July 20 - July 26
The Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor, NYC
Poet Ezra Pound stands trial for high treason, with the audience as the jury.
Ezra Pound was a key figure in the birth of modernism at the start of the twentieth century, and he was an active proponent of the Social Credit economic movement during the depression. Leading up to and during World War II he made radio broadcasts from Italy that were offensive and unpatriotic. And then he was charged with treason, but ultimately the government avoided a trial by locking him in an insane asylum for eighteen years instead. This play rewrites history and gives Ezra Pound the trial that he never had.

Requiem for a Marriage, By TRU member J.B. Edwards, Directed by Linda Selman, Produced by Many Hats Productions (TRU mentorship producer Linda Selman) & Third Avenue Productions
July 16 - August 2
The MainStage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor, NYC
Will Adam and Jean Smiley's shocking secret shatter their daughter Erica's existence?
Adam and Jean Smiley find their thirty year marriage hangs in a state of limbo because of a shocking secret they share about their daughter Erica. Will this knowledge shatter Erica's existence? Or will their world fall apart when Margo, a young interloper, sets her sight on Adam?

Seal Songs, By TRU Voices finalist Jennifer Fell Hayes, Produced by Thisbe Productions
July 13 - July 31
The Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor, NYC
Two tales of love lost and found by the sea.
Two funny, touching short plays, set in the same house by the English seaside - a lonely spinster finds love after a chance encounter with a seal, and an abandoned husband rescues a mysterious woman from the sea.

The MITF's 2009 Season runs from July 13 - August 2, 2009 at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the MainStage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor; the Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor; and Where Eagles Dare Studio Blackbird, 347 W. 36th Street, 13th floor, NYC.

The Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival, now in its tenth year, celebrates the diversity of theatre. The MITF welcomes theatrical storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres, forms, identities, cultures, and appetites. The MITF seeks to nurture these new ideas, perspectives, and stories on its stages, with an eye set on guiding these productions toward future success and longevity. The festival, traditionally held in summer, represents a fantastic, often paradoxical, adventurous and intriguing cross-section of the forefront of the Theatre World. The MITF proudly hosts production companies from across the country and around the globe, uniting talent in one of the biggest theatre capitals in the world.

Mr. Chatterton created the MITF in 2000, a Midtown alternative to other theatre festivals, as a way to present the finest off-off Broadway talent in convenience, comfort, and safety. All theatres are located near the MITF offices at 347 W. 36th Street (home of Mr. Chatterton's Where Eagles Dare rehearsal studios and theatre).

For more information, visit www.midtownfestival.org.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is a not-for-profit service organization that provides educational and support services for the performing arts with a focus on the business side of the arts. In particular, TRU helps producers, theater companies and self-producing artists navigate the business of making theater in the New York area and beyond, as well as providing networking opportunities. Programs include Boot Camps about producing skills, monthly educational panels, a play and musical developmental reading series, producer mentorships, an annual combined audition event, free workshops for actor members and a community newsletter of services, good, opportunities, ticket discounts and more. TRU also maintains a referral database of over 6000 arts professionals.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by public funds awarded through the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), as well as generous support from the Friar's National Foundation Association.

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