TRU to Present Duet: A Conversation About Musical Theater Development, For Two Voices

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is now in its fourth year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings this Friday, having offered to date over 200 conversations and unlimited camaraderie since April 17, 2020. TRU hosts their 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 as theater reopens.

5/31 - Duet: A Conversation about Musical Theater Development, for Two Voices

In the room: James Morgan, producing artistic director of The York Theater Company on NYC; and Michael Unger, former associate artistic director of the York, current artistic director of the Skylight Music Theater in Milwaukee. Similar missions, very different cities. Jim and Michael will talk about how they engage their communities, build and nurture their audience base and maintain programs that have a successful subscription following, as well as educational programs that support the development of new works and new artists. And most of all: why musical theater matters. Click here to register and receive the link.

UPCOMING:

6/7 - TRU Diversity presents A Cross Cultural Exchange: Diversity in Translation

Hosted by the TRU Diversity committee: attorney/playwright Cheryl L. Davis, writer Scott Sickles and producer/dramaturg Janel C. Scarborough. In the room: Jamaican award winning theater maker David Heron, who is presenting the American premiere of McBEE a Caribbean adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth in tribute to the late playwright Alwin Bully, planned for Caribbean American Heritage month (June). mcbeetheplay.eventbrite.com The African Diaspora is vast, however non-American based stories very rarely appear on US main stages; while there are inherent universal commonalities, there are also specific nuanced distinctions which are ripe for exploration, discovery and discussion. Join us as we explore the Caribbean culture and it's place in our American theater. Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

6/14 - Theater in a Box: Yes, You Can Do It!

In the room: TRU board member John Lant, 17-time off-Broadway lead producer/director & film producer specializes in show-running, consulting, fiscal sponsorship, in depth development of production runs of plays and musicals in NYC and his theatrical space in LA. A detailed discussion for self-producers around basic bullet point "in's and out's" of what you want, thought you knew, and what you really NEED TO KNOW to run an effective production of your work. Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

6/21 - From Big Broadway to a Small West Coast Non-profit

In the room: Nancy Richards, an accomplished marketing professional with a distinguished 20-year theater career in New York (13 the Musical, Tony Award-winning Spring Awakening, Dance of Death, Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog, Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Jekyll & Hyde and more), followed by a decade at the non-profit North Shore Repertory Theatre in Solanas, California. How do marketing tactics change from one coast to another, from commercial to not-profit and from a Broadway house to an intimate space with a subscription base? Have audiences changed over the years, and particularly since shutdown? How did North Shore Rep adapt when live performance became impossible (oh yes, there was a Covid pivot), and are they back to business as usual yet? In addition, Nancy will share her producer side with us, including several productions she was part of in London. And her thoughts about a life in theater. Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

6/28 - Do All These Musicals Belong on Broadway?

In the room: Frankie Daily, new works director of NAMT (National Association for Musical Theater); and Peter Filichia, former New York-based theater critic for The Star-Ledger, writer and historian of the American musical theater. In 2023-24 season 15 new musicals opened on Broadway, the highest number since the 2016-17 season. Assumptions about what constitutes a Broadway musical have changed over the decades and the financial challenges of off-Broadway have lured some smaller shows into the commercial spotlight. Nevertheless, some musicals have found a level of success without the Broadway stamp of approval. Are there realistic criteria for success other than being a Broadway blockbuster? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

Check back at TRU's web page for future 2024 gatherings: 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 during these challenging times.

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 now 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-one 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; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and also 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 evening of short plays, Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.

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