Theater Resources Unlimited To Host TRU Community Gathering: How Many Black Female Producers Can You Name?

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 these 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.

11/15 - How Many Black Female Producers Can You Name? Start with This One. In the room: Jamila Ponton Bragg (Pass Over, revival of Death of a Salesman, Tony Award-nominated Fat Ham). She's the founder of JamRock Productions LLC, a theater production company committed to works for women, about women and by women. Commercial theater has become uncomfortably conscious of a dearth of BIPOC producers, particularly on Broadway. A momentary correction seemed to take place at the end of the shutdown with a parade of black-led Broadway productions, including Pass Over, the first post-shutdown play to open, and Bragg's first Broadway venture. Was this a blip, or has this opened up meaningful opportunities for underrepresented voices to be heard? Bragg came to producing after 20 years in the not-for-profit world and was the 2022 Prince Fellow at Columbia's MFA theater program. How does her background influence her approach to producing, and what has fueled her journey and shaped her vision? Click here to register and receive the event link.

UPCOMING:

11/22 - What Does It Take to Be a Producer? And Why Do We Do It? In the room: Michael Alden (Broadway: Come From Away, Pulitzer Prize winner Disgraced, Grey Gardens, Tony winner Bridge & Tunnel; West End: Come From Away, David Seidler's original play The King's Speech, Bat Boy The Musical; off-Broadway: Not That Jewish, Becoming Dr. Ruth, Admit One, The Last Session, Spalding Gray: Stories Left To Tell; film: From the Shadows, Studio One Forever, Estella Scrooge, Death Metal, My Beautiful Stutter, Just Cause, Stephen Daldry's The Hours, Kissing Jessica Stein). We'll talk to Michael about his career path and what made him decide to produce in the first place. What are the basic skills needed to be a good producer? What is satisfying about it, and what is frustrating? So many names above the title simply raise money for shows. How does that differ from being a lead producer and developing new works for stage and film?

More information about upcoming interviews is available at: 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's ongoing service to the community.

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 about social issues, Writer-Producer Speed Date, a 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; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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