Theater Resources Unlimited to Present 'Theater Collaboration That Stirs Controversy and Changes Lives'

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 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.

8/11 - Theater Collaboration That Stirs Controversy and Changes Lives.

In the room: Peter Van Heerden, executive director of Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts, and Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Broadway producer (Pictures from Home, 4-time Tony winner for Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, All the Way and Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike; plus off-Broadway's The Exonerated) and curator of the Quick's Global Theatre: Performance Series. Winning Tony Awards is certainly gratifying, but one of Cheryl Wiesenfeld's proudest achievements was being on the producing team of The Exonerated, a play that literally changed lives and laws, and forced many to rethink our prison system. Theater as a means of social change is her passion, and years later she has found a perfect partner for pursuing that passion: Peter Van Heerden at Fairfied University. Together they help give voice to an ongoing series of theater works intended to spur conversation. How do they find these plays? What informs their decision to produce this reading series? Visit https://truonline.org/events/theater-that-changes-lives/ to register and receive the zoom link.

UPCOMING:

8/18 - Listen Up: 21 Successful Years of Radiotheatre NYC. In the room: Dan Bianchi, artistic director. Though focusing on text and sound for storytelling, Radiotheatre has traditionally done live performances with minimal visual effects (though lighting is always involved). Was this award-winning company well-positioned for an unexpected 2 year shutdown? How hard was it to adapt to the limits of virtual performance? We will also talk about the art of radio performance and the secrets of telling your stories successfully through text and sound. Is there any difference between radio plays and the current prevalence of podcasts? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

8/25 - Balancing Act: A Conversation with Actor and Director Austin Pendleton. In the room: Austin Pendleton, prolific character actor of stage (Oh Dad, Poor Dad..., Fiddler on the Roof, The Last Sweet Dyas of Isaac, Educating Rita, Grand Hotel, Straight White Men, Choir Boy, The Minutes) and screen (What's Up Doc?, Catch-22, My Cousin Vinny, Amistad, A Beautiful Mind, Finding Nemo) and an equally prolific director (Shelter, Tony nomination for The Little Foxes, 2011 Obie Award for The Three Sisters, Between Riverside and Crazy off- and on Broadway). Also a longtime member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater Company where he has directed and acted since 1979. 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.