Theater Resources Unlimited to Present 'Women Producers Take The Stage (The Conversation Continues)'

Theater Resources Unlimited will present a TRU Town Hall: Women Producers Take the Stage (The Conversation Continues), on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in-person at Polaris North Theatre, 245 West 29th Street, 4th Floor, NYC and virtually via Zoom. Networking begins at 6:30pm and discussion begins at 7pm ET. Everyone who registers will also receive the Zoom link. Live and virtual attendance is free for TRU members, in-person tickets are $15 for non-members and virtual tickets are $12.50 for non-members. For more information and to register, visit truonline.org/events/town-hall-women-producers/.

Co-hosts to include: Nicolette Blount, composer, lyricist, playwright, producer-investor at Take My Shot Productions, member of the Chickasaw tribe; Jane Dubin, producer (Is This A Room, Dana H.; The Prom, Tony winning The Norman Conquests, An American in Paris, Farinelli and the King, Bandstand, Peter and the Starcatcher, Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, The 39 Steps, Ann); Sharon Fallon, producer (Indecent, Beautiful Broadway, London & National Tour, Matilda The Musical, Lysistrata Jones) and general manager; N'Kenge, actress (Motown: The Musical, Caroline, or Change, Sondheim on Sondheim) and producer (Forever Summer, Lights of Broadway, The Dolly Sisters, Lucky Numbers); Jana Robbins, actress (Gypsy, Tale of the Allergist's Wife) and producer (Drama Desk winner Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, Tony and Olivier winning Company revival Broadway and West End, Ragtime revival, Little Women; UK developmental productions of The Jazz Age, The Astonishing Times of Timothy, upcoming Rose in West End with producer partner Haley Swindal; producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld (Tony awards for The Gershwins Porgy and Bess, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, All the Way, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike; plus A Steady Rain, Caroline, or Change, Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels). The forum will be moderated by TRU co-founder and vice-president Cheryl Davis and TRU co-founder and executive director Bob Ost.

Is theater producing still a "boys' club?" Are there still obstacles to overcome when a woman takes the lead? What steps towards parity have women taken in this and other areas of theater? Is there farther to go? The goal of these discussions is to elicit proactive conversations that can benefit artists, producers, administrators and our industry. We invite all members of the theater community to join us and welcome allies to attend.

For in-person attendees, proof of vaccination is required and masks are recommended.

About the Co-Hosts

Nicolette Blount is a proud voting tribal member of the Chickasaw Nation, a musical theatre composer, lyricist, writer, performer, producer, investor, mother to three girls, and starbucksaholic who doesn't sleep. As a creative, she is a classically trained vocalist, but often performs in local musicals and loves singing jazz and blues. Some of her music she has written was recently performed at Women of the Wings Vol 4 at 54 Below and she has performed at Ben Cameron's Broadway Sessions. She is the co-writer, composer and lyricist for Savage the Musical that recently received honorable mention in the American Playwriting Foundation's Relentless Award. She is also currently working with an all female team on, Red, the story of the Queen of Hearts. As a producer, she started producing in 2005 while living in Hawaii when she started a nonprofit that put on yearly arts festivals featuring artists, musicians, actors, and dancers with all original work. She started the LLC Take My Shot Productions and through that she produced Savage the Musical's first developmental production (Ja'Duke Theater, MA). The show received standing ovations to packed houses at each of the 4 productions, received 11 Broadway World Boston Regional Nominations and won several runner ups including first runner up in Best New Musical, only losing first by 1%! In addition, she self produced Savage the Musical 's Original Cast EP and has received 39K streams to date. The EP has no record label or Broadway singers. Nicolette co-produced A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet with Jo-Ann Dean. She is an investor for the upcoming Off Broadway show, Millennials are Killing Musicals and soon will be joining the co-producing team. She is also an investor for the Museum of Broadway. Nicolette started the company Underground Demos to help composers and writers early in their process record quality demos with great talent and economical prices. In her spare time, she is in charge of all of Savage the Musical's social media on FB, IG, and Tik Tok that currently has a total of 9K followers and counting. Nicolette is a member of Dramatist Guild, ASCAP, Maestra, Beyond Music, Songwriters Guild of America, and the Parents Advocacy League for Performing Arts and Media. She continues to write, perform, songwrite, and continues to look for important original works by females and marginalized people to champion, uplift and help move forward to the next step.

Jane Dubin is a TONY Award-winning producer and the President of Double Play Connections, a theatrical production and management company committed to supporting emerging artists and playwrights in the creation and development of new works. Jane is a graduate of the Commercial Theatre Institute's 14-week (NYC) and O'Neill Center Intensive (CT) Producing Workshops and Director of Theater Resources Unlimited's Producer Development Program Master Class. Ms. Dubin is Chair of the Board of Directors of Houses on the Moon Theater Company. She is a member and recent Board member of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a member of the Broadway Women's Alliance and the Off-Broadway League. For two years she was co-curator of the Hudson Valley Writers' Center New Play Reading Series. She co-produced Hudson River Rising, presenting events in Westchester for One Billion Rising (V-Day). She was a strategic consultant to SPACE on Ryder Farm, an artists' residency in Brewster, NY and a member of the Grand Jury for New York Musical Festival's 2015 - 2019 seasons. She served as an evaluator for a NAMT innovation grant panel and is a juror for Bethany Arts Community residency program. She is a frequent panelist and guest lecturer on theater-related matters. Before embarking on her career in theater, Ms. Dubin spent over 20 years in the financial services industry. Productions: Upcoming: The Village of Vale. Recent: Is This A Room, Dana H., The Prom (Drama Desk Award Best Musical, now on Tour), Farinelli and the King (starring Mark Rylance, nominated for 5 Tony Awards), An American in Paris (4 TONY Awards, plus London and National Tour), Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Westside Theater and on Tour), Ann, starring Holland Taylor (Lincoln Center); Bandstand (Broadway), Beebo Brinker Chronicles (2008 GLAAD Media Award for Theatre); Groundswell (The New Group), Peter and the Starcatcher (Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tour), winner of 5 TONY Awards; The Norman Conquests (TONY Award, Best Play Revival), The 39 Steps (OB, Tour); The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (London). Film: Radium Girls.

Sharon Fallon, Sharon Fallon Productions, is an independent Theatre Producer, General Manager, and Theatrical Consultant. Celebrating 20-plus years in the entertainment industry, working both in the commercial and non-profit theatre industry, Sharon brings a unique perspective to her work. In 2015 she created a boutique theatrical productions/ general management company with a mission to bridge the gap between art and business allowing productions to be financially viable and artistically satisfying. Taking a holistic approach - from page to stage and everything in between, she works directly with early-career producers and artist-driven niche projects (showcases, readings, early development workshops, etc.) as well as on larger union and non-union projects. She has worked in the theatre as an actress, director, general manager, managing director, and producer. Broadway credits include Indecent, Beautiful, Matilda the Musical, and Lysistrata Jones. In addition to producing commercially, Sharon served as the Associate General Manager of both the Helen Hayes Theatre and Lyric Theatre in New York. Currently, she is the executive producer on a number of projects in development. Sharon is a Board Member-elect of NAMT, the National Association of Musical Theatres, co-chair of the Festival of New Musicals Committee, and a dedicated and lifelong supporter of social justice, cultural equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Jana Robbins is the recipient of the 2017 TRU "Spirit of Theater Award" and is both a Broadway actor and producer having played leading roles on Broadway in Good News, I Love My Wife, Crimes of the Heart, Gypsy (playing the "bump it" with the trumpet stripper Mazzeppa while covering Tyne Daly as Mama Rose) and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (covering both Linda Lavin and Michele Lee and starring opposite Valerie Harper in the National Tour). Jana founded Better World Productions in order to "present theater that not only entertains, but also educates; and inspires us to create a Better World." She made her Broadway producing debut with Little Women. Other Broadway producing credits include the revival of Ragtime and a financial stake in War Horse and Something Rotten (currently on National Tour). Off-Broadway productions include I Love You Because, Through The Night and White's Lies. She's also a producer on Marianne Elliot's Heisenberg and Company in London as well as the Broadway production. Shows in development include: Roof of the World (World Premiere at KC Rep), The Astonishing Times of Timothy Cratchit (developed at The Workshop Theater) and The Jazz Age (World Premiere at 59/E59th). For more info: www.janarobbins.com

Following a career in publishing, Cheryl Wiesenfeld began her theatre producing career in 1998. Broadway: The Great Society, The Heidi Chronicles, All The Way, Rocky, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, A Steady Rain, Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 'night Mother, Caroline or Change, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, and Hedda Gabler. Off Broadway: 10th Anniversary Exonerated, Play Dead, In The Continuum, Shockheaded Peter, Talking Heads, The Exonerated, The Waverly Gallery. Film: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me. Current: Ain't Too Proud- The Temptations musical. Upcoming: The Harder They Come. Cheryl has produced shows that have spawned national and international tours and sit down productions, regional productions, and London engagements which have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. Cheryl has won numerous awards for her productions including the Drama League, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics Awards and 4 Tony Awards. She has been honored by Theater Resources Unlimited with "The Spirit of Theater" award in 2007, and The Houses on The Moon Amplify 2015 Award for her support in championing the unheard voice. Her board commitments: Theater Resource Unlimited where she co-founded the TRU mentorship program. The program to date has mentored over 200 commercial producers and self Producing Artists. Cheryl is on the board of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, and is on the Honorary Council of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven Connecticut. Cheryl continues her mentoring work and speaks at universities, on panels and for different organizations. She is in her second year of curating a theatre program with the title - Theatre that changes OUR World- at The Quick Center at Fairfield University.

Cheryl L. Davis received the Kleban Award as a librettist for her musical Barnstormer, (written with Douglas J. Cohen) about Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman flyer. The show received a Jonathan Larson Award through the Lark Play Development Center. Her play Maid's Door received great reviews, won seven Audelco Awards, and was a finalist for the Francesca Primus Prize. Her play The Color of Justice (commissioned by Theatreworks/USA), received excellent reviews in the New York Times and Daily News, and tours regularly. Her musical Bridges, which was commissioned by the Berkeley Playhouse, received its world premiere in February 2016 to great reviews and three award nominations from the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. She received a Writers' Guild Award for her work on "As the World Turns", and was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award. Her work has been read and performed internationally, including at the Cleveland Play House, The Actors Theatre of Louisville, and the Kennedy Center. She is the General Counsel of the Authors Guild.

Theater Resources Unlimited

(TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a twenty-nine-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.