Theater Resources Unlimited to Present Town Hall on Gender Disparity And Ageism This Month

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) has announced its return to live monthly panels/discussions on Thursday, October 19th, with simultaneous streaming for friends outside of New York City. Co-hosted by Rose-Marie Brandwein, writer, president of the board of Polaris North Studio, the panel town hall will include a zoom component for those outside of NYC, and will feature special guest speakers including writer Cindy Cooper, co-initiator of Honor Roll!/The Profiles Project, Emma Davidov, actress, founder of The Aurelians Collective and The Pearl Agency, Nico Juber, writer (Millennials are Killing Musicals), Ludovica Villar-Hauser, founder, artistic and executive director of Parity Productions, among other incredible guests. The town hall will be moderated by Cheryl L. Davis and Bob Ost of TRU.

TRU monthly conversations continue about issues of current cultural significance. We expand our conversation about the ongoing uphill battle for gender equality, and we add in the inequities of ageism. These fights have been part of our political fabric for generations and they continue to influence and impact the arts and specifically, for us, theater. We will look at the ongoing struggle for equal pay, the resistance to women being accepted in positions of power, the cultural trap of double standards, and the undervaluing of experience in the workplace. Our guest "co-hosts" span several generations in an effort to consider whether the perception of these issues differs from generation to generation, and to examine ways in which generations can help and influence each other. Attendees are encouraged to talk about their own experiences with gender discrimination and ageism. TRU offers this as an opportunity for everyone to learn from actual experiences and find ways to support each other while exploring initiatives that might bring us closer to genuine respect and acceptance.

Doors open at 6:30pm for networking and roundtable introductions of everyone in the room - come prepared with your best 20-second summary of who you are, and what you need. The Open Forum will start at 7:00pm. Free for TRU members and not-for-profit theater companies; $15 for non-members. To register, visit https://truonline.org/events/town-hall-gender-disparity-ageism/

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.