Theater Resources Unlimited to Host TRU Producer Boot Camp: Weekend Intensive for Showcase Producing, 5/30-31

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is offering some much-needed guidance for anybody who is thinking about putting up a showcase production in New York: the 2015 TRU Producer Boot Camp: Weekend Intensive for Showcase Producing, on Saturday and Sunday, May 30 - 31, 2015 from 10am - 6pm at the Desotelle Studio/NuBox Theatre, 300 W. 43rd Street, 3rd floor, New York City.

This essential TRU Boot Camp for producers as well as self-producing actors, writers and directors offers training geared to those working at the reading and Equity Showcase level, and perfect for anyone planning to produce either in festivals or independently. Featuring a phenomenal lineup of experts covering everything from Production Timeline and Budgeting to Raising Money and Marketing, every aspect of showcase producing is broken down into easy-to-understand step-by-step modules. Featuring a special keynote speech by Darren Lee Cole, producer and executive director of The Soho Playhouse.

"So many people who jump into the murky waters of producing really need help navigating. TRU has identified some basic teachable skills to help them manage both their productions and their expectations, as well as save them a whole lot of time, effort and money," says TRU executive director Bob Ost. "I can't tell you how many early-career producers have told me they wish they'd found TRU before attempting their first showcase."

Cost to attend is $270 for non-members; $225 for TRU members. You can also join TRU at a discount and get the Boot Camp: Membership/Workshop Package costs $290. FESTIVAL SPECIAL: registrants accepted into Planet Connections, MITF, Fringe or NYMF, $195. Click here for the application and here to pay at the TRU Store.

The curriculum for Saturday, May 30th includes:

• "Clarifying Your Goals: Why Are You Producing This?" with Patricia Klausner (Pippin, Stick Fly, The Scottsboro Boys) and managing director of Shotgun Production, and Patrick Blake (Bedlam Theatre's Hamlet/St. Joan, Play Dead, The Exonerated, In the Continuum) and founder of Rhymes Over Beats.

• "What You Need to Know Before Asking for Money" with attorney LisaRoxanne Walters. Investments, donations and gifts - do you know the difference?

• "Legal Schmegal: Contracts, Options, Underlying Rights and More" with attorney Eric Goldman. Additional legalities to consider.

• "Box Office and Ticketing Options" with general manager/producer Dan Irwin (Theatre at St. Luke's, the Actors Temple) Which ticketing service will best serve your show?

• "Watching Your Figures: Putting Together a Smart Budget" with producing consultant Erin Craig of La Vie Productions. An overview of basic line items in a showcase budget, and a realistic look at what things actually cost.

• "Creative Fundraising (Please Don't Put It on You Credit Card!)" with financial advisor Bailie Slevin. How to just get over it and ask for the money you need..

• "Producing Smart: Fringes and Festivals, or On Your Own?" with John Chatterton (Founding Artistic Director of Midtown International theatre Festival), R. Erin Craig (former GM and Production Manager for NYMF), Jeremy Handelman (NYMF: F@#king Up Everything; also FringeNYC, MITF, Capital Fringe), Jay Michaels, Suellen Vance (NYMF: Central Avenue Breakdown, others). There are advantages to producing in the Fringe or a festival, but there are also trade-offs.

The curriculum for Sunday, May 31st includes:

• "Product Management: Setting Timelines, Managing Teams, Defining Outcomes" with Dickson Lane. It pays to get the order right. How far in advance do you book a space? Hire your creative staff? Start the marketing? Basic systems of product management can be applied to theater production to generate better outcomes.

• "Putting Together Your Production Team" with John Lant, technical director of Carnegie Hall, artistic director WriteActEast. Things to consider when hiring your design team, and what your designers need from you.

• "How to Find (and Book) the Right Space" - with John Lant. Black box or proscenium? Wing space, fly space, lighting and tech requirements, location and more.

• "The Biggest Bang for Your Buck: Securing Resources at the Best Price Possible" with John Lant

• "Union Codes & Contracts: Equity, SDC, DG, 802" with attorney Diane Krausz, Esq.

• "How to Run an Efficient Audition, and When, Why and How to Use a Casting Director" with casting director Jamibeth Margolis

• "Finding Your Audience: An Overview of Marketing" with Sindy K. Schneider, Partner & Co-Founder of In Focus Marketing. Defining the basics: marketing, advertising, PR.

• "The Essentials of Successful PR" with Michelle Tabnick of Michelle Tabnick Communications. What goes into an effective press release?

• "Next Steps: What Happens After That Showcase (and How to Prepare)?" with Evan Bernardin (My Mom Is Trying to Ruin My Life, The Bad Years, The Dodgers), Sharon Fallon (NYMF: NERDS://A Musical Software Satire, Three Sides, Like You Like It), NYMF producer Suellen Vance. A panel of producers will talk about the steps they took to grow their brand beyond a showcase.

For a full schedule, please visit the TRU website. Curriculum and instructors are subject to change.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is a twenty-three 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 theater. 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; TRU 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 and a Director-Writer Communications Lab; programs for actors include the Annual Combined Audition and quarterly 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) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, 9th district Council Member Inez Dickens; plus The Montage Foundation.

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