TRU to Present 'TRU-ly Thankful: A Conversation About Theater (and The World) With The TRU Board'

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 175 conversations and unlimited camaraderie since April 17, 2020. TRU hosts their Community Gatherings every Friday at 5pm ET via Zoom, to explore the creation of art and theater in the time of COVID-19, and to ensure that these crucial conversations continue going forward as theater reopens. Ask questions, bring answers, be part of a community – it’s an opportunity to network with theater professionals and talk about how we kept theater alive during shutdown, and what we are doing now, going forward.

To receive the Zoom invitation for future 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.

11/24 - TRU-ly Thankful: A Conversation about Theater (and the World) with the TRU Board. In the room: TRU board chair Sandy Silverberg (producer The Way Out, tech consultant); board members: Broadway producer Margot Astrachan (upcoming: The Outsiders, Broadway, Spring 2024. Previous: Diana, The Prom, A Gentleman's Guide...), indie/off-Bway producer John Lant (Frankenstein, Wicked Frozen, It Came from Beyond, Wicked City Blues, Fabulous; Earnestly LGBTQ+, XIMER), actress/producer/singer N'Kenge (Caroline or Change revival, Motown: The Musical, Dandridge: A New Musical, Dangerous), producer Neal Rubinstein (On the Town, Hedwig..., 39 Steps), playwright and TV soap Emmy nominee Scott Sickles (General Hospital, One Life to Live), and longtime TRU officer Courtney Sweeting. What do our board members think about TRU? Why do they contribute their time to us? What do they see as the key issues in our business today? Why does theater matter? And what are YOU thankful for in these troubled times? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

UPCOMING:

12/1 – The Ramifications of the Settlement of the Writer and Actor Strikes. In the room: Dauna Williams, entertainment, tech and IP attorney. In the room: Dauna Williams, entertainment, tech and IP attorney and founder of LawTechLearn. Strikes brought areas of our industry to a standstill. Writers were on strike 143 days, and SAG/AFTRA shut down for an overlapping 118 days. What was finally resolved? What is still uncertain? And how will it all affect the entertainment industry now and in the future? Our conversation will include a particular focus on how the law is dealing with AI, and if it is even possible for it to keep up with an ever-evolving technology. Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

12/8 - Exploring the Nature of Live Performance: A Conversation with Orietta Crispino (to be confirmed). In the room: Orietta Crispino, theater artist and actress, artistic director of TheaterLab, a women- and artist-led laboratory dedicated to researching the nature of live performance, including theater, music, and hybrid forms.

12/15 - A Conversation with Producer/General Managers Martin Platt and Dave Elliott of Perry Street Theatricals. Confirmed, details to follow.

Check back at TRU’s web page for the 2023 schedule: truonline.org/tru-community-gathering.

Videos of past Community Gatherings may be viewed on TRU’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/channel/UC43rsChi4fA23dNLeloaF_A/. And a new 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-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, Writer-Producer Speed Date, 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.

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