Theater Resources Unlimited Hosts The TRU Writer-Director Communications Lab

Theater Resources Unlimited hosts a Writer-Director Communications Lab presented virtually on Sunday, December 11, 2021 from 1pm-7pm ET.

This is an amazing opportunity for directors and writers to meet and hone their ability to talk productively with each other! The workshop will be held on Zoom to enable artists beyond the New York area to join. Seven directors are confirmed with availability for three more. Writers must submit and be accepted before registering. The deadline for writer submissions is Wednesday, December 1, 2021. For more information and to submit, visit https://truonline.org/events/writer-director-virtual-lab-2021/.

One of the most important - and most sensitive - relationships in theater is that between playwright and director. In some ways, the entire success of a show can hinge on the shared understanding, trust and mutual respect between these two artists. The director and the writer need to see the show with the same eyes, otherwise their collaboration won't work. This is important to establish in the initial meetings. TRU's program will train theater artists in the crucial skills of communication. The event will be led by commercial producer and communications expert Ric Wanetik (Tony nominated Twilight Los Angeles: 1992, Broadway's Marlene, Off-Broadway's Jolson and Company) and TRU executive director Bob Ost, with entertainment attorney/mediator Eric Goldman.

In this Lab we will team up to ten directors with up to ten writers prior to the Lab itself. OBSERVERS ARE ALSO WELCOME TO COME WATCH AND LEARN, LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE. Playwrights will email us a synopsis, pitch and production history, plus 5-10 sample pages of a script; directors will select a project that interests them from those submitted, request and read the script and prepare for a preliminary director-writer discussion about the play. We will watch and guide that discussion in the Lab. You will:

• Discover your personal communication style

• Learn to identify the style of the person you are with, and adjust to it for maximum mutual

understanding

• Explore non-threatening ways of discussing text, communicating and listening

• Identify your domain of authority, and determine protocols

Confirmed directors: Andrea Andresakis, Dennis Corsi, Ryan Cupello, Brian Daye, Miriam Eusebio, Jesica Garou, Chris Michaels. 3 slots are available. Other directors (as well as writers) are encouraged to attend as Observers and join the conversations.

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