TRU Holds Merchandising Panel, 11/17

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU), The Players Theatre and Back Stage present the industry panel Merchandising: Secondary Revenue Stream and Promotional Tool on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 7:30pm at The Players Theatre, 3rd Floor Loft Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street (below W. 3rd Street), NYC.
 
Panelists will provide insights into how merchandise can be a key component of the branding strategy for a show and an opportunity for additional revenue.  Topics include when the planning for merchandise should begin, incorporating merchandise into the overall marketing strategy, what types of merchandise best serve the brand, what to sell and what to give away, costs, distribution, and the structure of merchandise agreements with third parties.
 
The panel will include Martin Cribbs, president of Cribbs Consulting; Randi Grossman of Max Merchandising; Scott Kirschenbaum, President of K2 Enterprises; Matt Murphy of Marquee Merchandise, LLC.
 
Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm. Tickets are FREE for TRU members; $12 for non-members. Please call at least a day in advance (preferably sooner) for reservations: 212/714-7628; or e-mail TRUnltd@aol.com.
 
TRU was founded in 1992 to promote a spirit of cooperation and support within the general theater community by providing information and a variety of entertainment-related services and resources that strengthen the business capability of producing organizations, individual producers, self-Producing Artists and other theater professionals. The company holds monthly seminars on a wide range of subjects important to theatrical producers and artistic directors conducted by panels of experts from both the commercial and not-for-profit segments of Broadway, Off-Broadway and the motion picture industry.   These educational forums have been a core program of TRU since its inception, and in recent years executive director Ost has partnered with Sherry Eaker to generate topics of interest to both TRU membership and Back Stage readers.  "Through TRU, Back Stage is able to reach beyond its actor base to a wider theater community," said Ost, "and we get more visibility through the Back Stage connection."
 
The historic Players Theatre is a landmark theater on Macdougal Street, a space for New York performances and rehearsals and the home to TRU.  The building includes, a main stage 184 seat Off Broadway theatre, a 50 seat Off Off Broadway black box theatre, four rehearsal studios, an office suite for arts organizations and the famous Cafe Wha?, which has been a Greenwich Village mainstay since the 1960's. Built in 1907 and converted into a theatre in the late 1940's, The Players Theatre has been a jewel in the midst of beautiful Greenwich Village, serving as a magnet for performing artists and their audiences.  The theatre has been home to such long run productions as   An Evening with Quentin Crisp, Psycho Beach Party and Ruthless starring an 8-year-old Britney Spears, Natalie Portman and Legally Blonde the Musical's Laura Bell Bundy. The NY debut of Play Dead by Teller (of Penn and Teller) is scheduled to begin a commercial run there this fall.

TRU also publishes a monthly email community newsletter of services, goods and productions.  In addition, TRU produces the TRU VOICES Annual New Play Reading Series and the TRU VOICES Annual New Musicals Reading Series in which TRU underwrites developmental readings of new works for theater.  In 2001, TRU began giving annual scholarships to The Commercial Theater Institute, to encourage the development of aspiring producers, created a Producer Mentoring Program whose mentors are among the most prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop the business skills they need.  In March '08, TRU was associate producer of its first Equity showcase, Missives at 59E59 Theatre, a play that was developed in the 2006 TRU reading series. TRU programs for actors include an Annual Audition Event, Resource Nights and "Speed Dating," as well as free monthly actor events, including workshops.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by public funds awarded through the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as generous support from the Friar's National Foundation Association.
 
For more information about TRU membership, visit www.truonline.org or call 212-714-7628.