Theater Resources Unlimited & The Playroom Theatre to Host 'Practical Playwriting: How to Write for Commercial Production,' 5/14

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) and The Playroom Theatre present Practical Playwriting: How to Write for Commercial Production, on Saturday, May 14, 2016 from 10:00am - 5:30pm at The Playroom Theater, 151 W. 46th Street, 8th floor, NYC 10036. The workshop is one of a series of TRU BEGINNINGS workshops, opportunities for early development of new work. For more details and to download an application, please visit http://truonline.org/events/practical-playwriting/

What often holds playwrights back is that they rarely consider the person who will buy and produce their product: the producer. With all the work, hope and sweat they invest in considering character, theme and plot, playwrights rarely take into account producibility.

This one-day intensive will be taught by Diana Amsterdam (The Dodgers, Fast Girls, Sex and Death, Carnival Round the Central Figure), TRU's Program Director for Playwrights. With segments of the workshop taught by commercial producer Patrick Blake (The 39 Steps, My Life Is a Musical, Bedlam Theater'sHamlet/St. Joan, The Exonerated, In the Continuum, Play Dead), founding artistic director of Rhymes Over Beats; TRU's Bob Ost and Gary Hughes offering marketing insights; and Gillien Goll who will teach you how to present yourself successfully.

The day ends with a panel of commercial producers who will offer feedback on writers' pitches as well as suggest appropriate markets for the works. Panelists will include producers Pat Addiss (Gigi, Buyer and Cellar, A Christmas Story the musical, Promises,Promises,Little Women), RK Greene of The Storyline Project (A Time to Kill, Peter & the Starcatcher), Robin Rothstein, director of Operations at Broadway Across America and Lorenzo Thione of Sing Out, Louise! Productions, lead producer of Broadway's Allegiance, also associate producer of Slava's Snowshow, Green Day's American Idiot and the tour of Xanadu.

Subjects covered:

* WHAT IS PRODUCIBILITY? The fact that producers always ask this question, and playwrights hardly ever do, causes a serious disconnect between the commercial producer and most playwrights.

* WRITING TO A MARKET - We will ask each playwright questions he or she has probably never considered before: Who is your market? Who is going to buy tickets? Who is this play written for?

* WRITING VIABLY - Creating writing that holds the attention of the audience with a strong storyline and defined events. This module will cover such primary writing elements as: arc, desire, motivation, conflict, and the clear delineation of theme.

* WRITING ECONOMICALLY - Number of characters, number of sets, extravagance of sets: all these are serious considerations for most commercial producers. Does the play require a casting director, or can it be done successfully by seasoned unknowns? Is there a chorus of thirty that can be pared down to two? Are you kidding yourself when you think one actor can play eight parts?

Visit http://truonline.org/practical-playwriting for full curriculum and faculty bios.

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FACULTY

Diana Amsterdam's plays have been produced in New York, London, Berlin, Montreal, Los Angeles and many American cities and been reviewed by the New York Times and Washington Post. Full-lengths and one-acts are published by Samuel French, Broadway Play Publishing, Playscripts Inc. and Smith and Kraus. Her new play, The Dodgers, is slated to open at the Hudson Theater in LA on January 21, 2016, produced by AKA Studio Productions and directed by Dave Solomon. She is currently writing a commission for Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company in Houston, TX.

Patrick Blake is a writer/producer based in New York and San Francisco, and Founding Artistic Director of, Rhymes Over Beats, a hip hop theater company. In New York theater, he is a producer of the off-Broadway revival of The 39 Steps, the off-Broadway transfer of Bedlam Theater Company's dual productions of Hamlet and Saint Joan, and is currently producing My Life Is a Musical(from the TRU Voices series) which had a debut production at Bay Street Theatre. He was one of the producers of Play Dead! at The Players Theatre, he has produced In the Continuum at Perry Street Theatre, Noah's Archive, Joe Fearless, The Exonerated (Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Court TV's Scales of Justice Award) and The Soap Myth at Southstreet Seaport. He also produced Dirty Works at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He is the founding artistic director of Rhymes over Beats, a hip hop theater company, and was Executive Producer for the short film, The Igloo, and the feature film Mr. Smith Gets a Hustler. Patrick is a proud board member of TRU.

Gillien Goll is both an acting teacher & acting coach. As a teacher, she can help you connect emotionally & truthfully to your role. As a coach, she can guide you to an audition that is truly exceptional and unique to showcasing your strengths and talents. With an additional background in coaching presentation techniques, she can help you overcome stage fright and nerves. As a produced playwright and TV & Film Story Editor (for Emmy winning producer Linda Yellen), she is adept at cutting & pasting dialogue together to create original monologues. She has taught courses in monologues, acting technique, scene study, voiceover, & on-camera acting, and has taught and/or lectured at Fordham University, AMDA (where she has been teaching since 2001), The Centaur Stage (at which she is Artistic Director), Barnard College, Wellesley College, and for ACTRA (the Canadian Actors Union), among others. She has also been an on set coach and cast a PBS movie. Having worked as a Casting Assistant for TV pilots and as a director (M.A. in Directing), she has been on the other side of the audition process and has a clear idea of what does and doesn't work. (She has watched literally thousands of hours of acting presentations at AMDA over the years!) Her clients appear in every medium: Broadway, films, TV shows, soap operas, commercials, first national tours, etc. An actor herself, she has appeared in film, television, and on stage; check out her website atwww.gilliengoll.com

PRODUCERS

Patricia Flicker Addiss was a producer, most recently of Gigi and Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike. Other Broadway productions include A Christmas Storythe Musical, Promises, Promises,The 39 Steps, Bridge & Tunnel, Passing Strange, Spring Awakening, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life and Little Women. Off-Broadway: the long-running The Fantasticks at the Snapple Theatre Center, Shout the Mod Musical and Housewives of Mannheim. She has produced several readings for the TRU Voices Series including Sparks, Cheese, and the musical At the Back of the North Wind. Ms. Addiss served for many years on the board of Theater Resources Unlimited, and was the 2010 recipient of the TRU Spirit of Theater Award. Ms. Addiss is a member of The Broadway League. On the board of NJ Rep and the League of Professional Theatre Women, at present she is working on an Anti bullying campaign EMBRACE THE DIFFERENCES.

RK Greene is a producer of the Broadway and off-Broadway hit Peter & the Starcatcher as well as Cougar The Musical. He is an entrepreneur having started several businesses over the years. A theatre professional since 1978, he was a founding member of the Seattle Group Theatre, a multi-cultural ensemble that produced its own work. As an actor, he appeared in numerous productions Off-off Broadway, on tour and in regional theater, producing several projects including a multi-state tour of Mass Appeal. In 2000, he founded The StoryLine Project, LLC, a commercial theater production company, to develop new plays and musicals. The StoryLine Project made its debut as an above line producer for the Off Broadway hit, Room Service, and went on to produce Love Child and A Time to Kill. Previous credits also include Rocket to the Moon at St. Clement's. In the non-profit world, R.K. is the Marketing Director at The Directors Company and helped to transfer Irena's Vow to Broadway. TDC's The Road to Damascus also played at 59E59 Theaters.

Robin Rothstein is a commercial theatre professional and writer based in New York. Producing credits include: MAD LIBS LIVE! (World Premiere Off-Broadway/New World Stages) which will launch a national tour in 2017 represented by the booking agency, Brad Simon Organization. MAD LIBS LIVE!was also picked up by the esteemed Rodgers & Hammerstein: An Imagem Company (R&H) for publication and inclusion in their licensing catalog. In addition to co-producing MAD LIBS LIVE!, Robin is also the show's book writer and lyricist. Other producing: The award-winning When Last We Flew by Harrison David Rivers (FringeNYC 2010) and The Average-Sized Mermaid by Jessica Fleitman (FringeNYC 2011.) Robin is also Director of Operations at Broadway Across America, the leading presenter of touring Broadway, with a presence in 40 regional markets, and she was formerly a Booking Associate at The Road Company where she booked the North American tour of famed illusionist, David Copperfield. She is a member of the advisory board for the historic Cherry Lane Theatre, Chair of the Arts & Institutions Committee for Community Board 2 Manhattan and a proud graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Lorenzo Thione has been part of the production team of numerous productions on and off Broadway since 2008. His Broadway and Touring credits include the 2008 Broadway production of Slava's Snowshowand the 2009 Broadway debut Green Day's American Idiot, both of which were nominated for Tony Awards as best productions in their respective categories, as well as the national tour of Xanadu (all as Associate Producer). As the lead producer of Allegiance, Lorenzo assembled an experienced and veteran Broadway team, and brought a fresh and creative perspective to the challenges of commercial theater production. Mr. Thione is an experienced entrepreneur, a product and marketing expert, and is the co-founder and Chief Executive of The Social Edge, an innovative media & digital marketing company that spearheaded the marketing and social media reach for both George Takei's brand and Allegiance.

The Playroom Theater, a small theater with a purpose on West Forty Sixth Street. Created by longtime theatrical producer Eric Krebs, The Playroom Theater features a 62-seat boutique theater, appropriate for rehearsals, readings, auditions, producers' presentations and workshop productions. Conceived of as an artists' workspace for writers, directors, composers, actors, producers and others committed to the professional theater arts and its industry. "The idea of The Playroom has grown out of my desire to create a small and financially manageable space in the heart of the theater district," commented Krebs. "I want this to be a place where industry professionals can pop over for a reading, a backer's audition or a small production of a work in progress." For more information on The Playroom Theater, call Frankie Dailey, General Manager, at 212-967-8278.

Theater Resources Unlimited(TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a twenty-four 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 whose mentors are among the most prominent producers and general managers in New York Theater, and also presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop the business skills they need. 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, Resource Nights and "Speed Dating" as well as free actor workshops.

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 and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, 9th district Council Member Inez Dickens; and with support from the Montage Foundation and the Friars National Association Foundation.

For more information about TRU membership and programs, visitwww.truonline.orgor call (212) 714-7628.