TRU Announces TAKING THE LEAP FROM SHOWCASE TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCING Panel & Discussion for May 22

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents its next monthly networking panel, Taking the Leap from Showcase to Commercial Producing: A Change of Perspective, Pitch and Priorities, a discussion focused on the transition from producing at the showcase level to the commercial level. The panel will take place at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, NYC. Doors open at 7:00pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm.

Panelists will include Maren Berthelsen (Yank!); Van Dean of the Broadway Consortium (Tony nominee for The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, Gore Vidal's The Best Man and Evita; plus a producer of Bonnie & Clyde, Ching-lish, Rooms, a Rock Romance); R.K. Greene (Tony nominee for Peter & the Starcatcher; also Room Service, Love Child); Theresa Wozunk (Liberty, the Musical).

Producers will talk about how raising larger sums of money affects the producing process. They will discuss the challenges of transitioning from being the lead on a showcase to an associate on a commercial production, and the effects of this change on your thinking and goals. The panel will also look at the advantages and disadvantages of producing in festivals such as FringeNYC, MITF and NYMF, how to build a brand that is commercially viable, and the importance of having a development plan in place even before your showcase goes up.

Admission is $12 (free for TRU members). Please RSVP by email to TRUnltd@aol.com or by phone at (212) 714-7628 at least a day in advance.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is a twenty-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 the TRU VOICES Annual New Musicals Reading Series, new works series in which TRU underwrites developmental readings to nurture new works as well as new producers for theater; 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. In addition to new works development, TRU serves writers through a Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop and a new Director-Writer Communications Lab. TRU programs for actors include an Annual Audition and TRU partners with Weist-Barron Studios to offer quarterly Resource Nights and "Speed Dating" as well as free monthly actor workshops.

TRU's monthly panels have been a core program of TRU since its inception, and in recent years executive director Ost has partnered with Back Stage to generate topics of interest to both TRU members and Back Stage readers. Founded in 1960, Back Stage is the world's most trusted name in casting, auditions, and entertainment-industry opportunities. "Through TRU, Back Stage is able to reach beyond its actor base to a wider theater community," said Ost, "and we get more visibility through the Back Stage connection." For information about Back Stage, visit http://www.backstage.com

Built in 1907 and converted into a theatre in the late 1940's, The Players Theatre, host of the monthly TRU panels, has been a jewel in the midst of beautiful Greenwich Village, serving as a magnet for performing artists and their audiences. The theatre has been home to such long run productions as An Evening with Quentin Crisp, Psycho Beach Party and Ruthless starring an 8 year old Brittany Spears, Natalie Portman and Legally Blonde the Musical's Laura Bell Bundy. For more information, please visit www.theplayerstheatre.com.

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 NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as generous support from the Friar's National Foundation Association.

For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit www.truonline.org or call 212-714-7628.

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