Industry Theatre Newsroom Page 93

Casting Directors Geoff Josselson, C.S.A., and Katja Zarolinski, C.S.A., announced today the launch of JZ Casting, a New York-based casting office, with over 25 years of combined experience in the entertainment industry. Their new offices are located at 226 West 37th Street, Suite 604.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) will present a unique networking and educational opportunity for writers: TRU's renowned Writer-Producer Speed Date on Sunday, March 1, 2020 at Shetler Studios, 244 W. 54th Street, Penthouse.

One of Broadway's most decorated composers is giving an accolade of his own: The Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Teacher of the Year Award will represent the highest level of achievement for a middle or high school theatre teacher, with the winner receiving $5,000 and travel to the International Thespian Festival for the announcement and recognition.

The Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows program will begin accepting applications for the 2020-2021 Fellows class on Saturday, February 1st. They will close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 1.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) has announced the 2020 TRU Voices New Plays Reading Series, which will take place in June 2020. Submission deadline: January 31, 2020. (One-week extension for TRU members and plays with a producer attached.)

RWS Entertainment Group, a New York-based, full-service production company that creates award-winning custom entertainment, live events and branded experiences worldwide, announced today the launch of an innovative new program, RWS IGNITES. This first-of-its-kind program will provide career development and educational opportunities for the next generation of performers, musicians, technicians, and professionals.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents the February Panel, Festivals: Working Hard to Give Your Show a Chance, on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at The Actors Temple Theatre, 339 W. 47th Street, NYC. Doors open at 7pm for networking and the panel starts at 7:30pm.

Tom Viertel announces an industry reading of Joseph Dougherty's Chester Bailey, a new play about the power of the human mind. Directed by Ron Lagomarsino, it was previously presented at A.C.T. in San Francisco and at the Contemporary American Theater Festival where it was critically acclaimed as being a?oeprofoundly movinga?? (BroadwayWorld)

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) will present the workshop How to Write a Musical That Works Part Two: Conflicts & Obstacles on Sunday February 23, 2020 from 10am to 6pm at Studios 150, 150 W. 46th Street, 7th floor, NYC. Submission deadline is Wednesday 2/12. E-mail TRUStaff1@gmail.com or register online at https://truonline.org/events/feedback-workshop2-2020/.

NewYorkRep, in association with Bill DeSimone and Jenna Grossano, will present two industry readings of Just Between The All of Us, with book & lyrics by Kellen Blair (Murder For Two) and Sarah Ziegler Blair, and music by David Christensen. The reading presentation will take place Monday, February 3 at 3PM and 7PM at the Manhattan Theatre Club Studios (311 W 43rd St.) To RSVP, email GM@NewYorkRep.org.

The International Committee of The League of Professional Theatre Women (Shellen Lubin and Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents), an organization which has been championing women in the professional theatre for over three decades, is pleased to announce that Hanane Hajj Ali of Lebanon has been chosen to receive the 2020 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award.

The Dramatists Guild Opera Committee's Librettist Initiative premieres the short film a?oeCredit the Librettist: Conversations with Today's Opera Makersa?? at Opera America's New Works Forum on Thursday, January 16 at 10am at the National Opera Center, 330 7th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York.

The Kleban Foundation celebrates the 30th anniversary of the annual Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre with the announcement of the 2020 prize winners.

StateraArts is calling for a fundamental shift in the American Theater: we need to transform the work-week. Statera posits that this call-to-action isn't about needing larger budgets or more time, but is centered on how we choose to treat each other. The theatre work force, like all work forces, must be treated with dignity and compassion. Odd hours, long hours, short breaks, and zero flexibility upholds an industry-wide ethos of expendability and maintains supremacy structures. Statera's call to action is an invitation to interrogate and disrupt outdated scheduling practices and implement humane work week processes that support everyone in the theatre work force.

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) has secured worldwide licensing rights to the new musical She Persisted, The Musical.

Actors' Equity Association will celebrate its fifth annual Swing Day on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, honoring the hard-working performers who stay ready to go on at a moment's notice, for multiple roles.

Producers Brennan T. Jones and Danielle Demisay have announced the first New York presentation of Grace McLeod's acclaimed New Play, Herland, directed by James Fleming. Herland is cast by Hano Casting.

Bernie Telsey is one of the biggest names in the business. You may not see him on stage but he has introduced the world to some of the biggest names on Broadway.

The Broadway League is pleased to announce that Lauren Reid, Chief Operating Officer, the John Gore Organization, was recently voted Chair Elect of the Board of the Broadway League. Ms. Reid will take over the role of Chair of the Broadway League from Thomas Schumacher, President & Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, following the completion of Mr. Schumacher's full three-year term at the end of 2020.  

A developmental reading of the new musical 57 BUSby RYAN M. LUEVANO and JILL HOFFMANNwill be held in New York City on Monday February 24th. The reading will be directed by JUSTIN BRAUN, a NYC-based director who recently directed the Memphis premiere of Be More Chill. He holds an MFA in directing from the University of Memphis.

The Broadway League has announced that Lauren Reid, Chief Operating Officer, the John Gore Organization, was recently voted Chair Elect of the Board of the Broadway League. Ms. Reid will take over the role of Chair of the Broadway League from Thomas Schumacher, President & Producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, following the completion of Mr. Schumacher's full three-year term at the end of 2020.

In its third year, the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Theatre Wing have partnered again to produce the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge. This program gives the next generation of musical theater songwriters a chance to showcase their work, be mentored by musical theater professionals, and record a master of their song with Broadway musicians & vocalists to be released nationally.

Situation, a leading digital marketing agency, has announced the opening of a London office. Group Director Pippa Bexon, who has been in the NYC office since 2015 and has previously worked in the West End, will take the new title London Head of Account Management. Bexon will lead the UK-based accounts with a local London team in addition to the support of the US operations.

BroadwayHD debuted their slate of digital captures with Broadway & Beyond Theatricals at The APAP Conference at the Midtown Hilton to an extremely receptive and enthusiastic crowd. The BroadwayHD and Broadway & Beyond Theatricals partnership provides an opportunity for participating performing arts venues to attract new audience members in their communities. Theaters can offer these screenings featuring marquis talent at more flexible times and a lower cost to patrons than a live stage show, which could appeal to less traditional theater audiences such as college students and young professionals. The digital captures of these Broadway hits also provide theaters with the opportunity to introduce new audiences to their venues, alongside a variety of other programming and potentially create return customers for future events.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Shellen Lubin and Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents), an organization which has been championing women in the professional theatre for over three decades, is producing an Oral History Project event with renowned Broadway publicist Irene Gandy on Monday, February 10 beginning at 6pm in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (111 Amsterdam Avenue at 65th Street). Admission to the event is FREE and seats are available on a first-come-first-seated basis. Doors will open at 5:30pm.