Theater Resources Unlimited to Explore the Legal Perspective on the Current State of the Arts

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is now into its second year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings this Friday, having offered to date over 150 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.

7/21 - A Legal Perspective on the Current State of the Arts 

In the room: attorneys Gordon Firemark (based in LA) and Eric Goldman (based in New York). The entertainment industry has been rolling with the punches, first adapting to the restrictions of a world in shutdown, and now adjusting to the changes that have been wrought in our business as a result. Streaming now out-performs network TV, and competes with film studios for both audience and awards; live performance is struggling to bring back an audience that has been steeped in home entertainment for nearly three years. Changes now have to be made, as evidenced first by the writers' strike and now amplified by SAG/AFTRA joining the protests. What are the legal underpinnings of this turmoil? Is mediation possible? And what are the specific changes in the way we now do business? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

Upcoming:

7/28 - Outside the Box: Alternative Spaces and Site-Specific Theater. In the room: Anita Durst, founding artistic director of ChaShaMa, a company that "helps create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world by partnering with property owners to transform unused real estate" into space for creatives; and Anne Hamburger, founding executive artistic director of En Garde Arts, an artist-centric company that "uses the city as our stage to offer accessible theatre that explores the salient social issues of our time." Anita interned with Anne when she was 18, and developed a fascination with renovated performance spaces through her work with En Garde Arts. Many years later both women have had a profound impact on the New York theater scene. How have these women influenced each other? Where do their visions diverge? The art they have both created and helped nurture used to be called "avant-garde." Has yesterday's avant-garde become a more widely accepted form of art? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

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 atyoutube.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.