Theater Resources Unlimited Announces February Panel

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents the February Panel, Solo Success: Telling It, Selling It, Booking It on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 7:30pm (networking at 7pm) at Polaris North, 245 W. 29th Street, 4th floor, NYC, 10001. This panel is free for TRU members; $12.50 for non-members in advance ($15 at door). Please reserve using the bright red reservation box at https://truonline.org/events/solo-success/ or e-mail TRUStaff1@gmail.com.

Panel to feature Valerie David, solo artist, self-producer (The Pink Hulk); Aizzah Fatima, solo artist, self-producer (Dirty Paki Lingerie); Ingrid Griffith, writer, performer and self-producer (Demerara Gold); Kurt Johns, writer (Hello Kitty Must Die), director (Churchill, The Unfortunates), co-founder SoloChicago Theatre Company; Jessica Sherr, solo artist, self-producer (Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies); others tba.

Though creating and performing a solo show is one of the most rewarding experiences for an actor, it does present unique challenges for both creator and audience. Often it is written and performed by the same person (though there are many examples of writer-actor collaborations). And in spite of the dream of having someone to guide a show into production and success, most solo artists find they must add self-producer and marketer to their hyphenate job title. One-person shows tend to be tricky commercially, unless they are driven by star power. So how can a relative unknown make the most of their moment in the spotlight, and generate interest and opportunities to attract attention and extend the life of their show? What are the secrets that help engage an audience in what is often a very personal story? What are the techniques that make a solo show more than a monologue? How do you make it accessible and identifiable to a broader audience, and where do you find that audience? From fringes and festivals to the annual APAP conference and tours, our panel will discuss their own successful strategies of development, as well as how they managed to extend the life their shows into a fulfilling part of their career.

Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments, roundtable introductions of everyone in the room will start at 7:30pm - come prepared with your best 30-second summary of who you are, and what you need. Free for TRU members; $12.50 for non-members in advance ($15 at door). Please use the bright red reservation box at https://truonline.org/events/getting-past-the-gatekeepers/TRUStaff1@gmail.com

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a twenty-six year old 501c3 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, goods and productions; presents the TRU VOICES Annual New Play Reading Series and Annual New Musicals Reading Series, two new works series in which TRU underwrites developmental readings to nurture new shows as well as new producers for theater; 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 a Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab; programs for actors include the Annual Combined Audition.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by public funds awarded through the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, as well as the Montage Foundation and the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation.

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