TRU Presents From Table Reading to Tony Award: A Long Way to Memphis 9/29

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU), The Players Theatre and Back Stage present the industry panel From Table Reading to Tony Award: A Long Way to Memphis on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 7:30pm at The Players Theatre, 3rd Floor Loft Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street (below W. 3rd Street), NYC.

The road to success is not an easy one. At TRU's September Industry Panel, audiences will hear a frank discussion of the twists and turns involved in bringing the musical Memphis to Broadway, a meticulous step-by-step examination from table read to industry readings to not-for-profit allegiances and finally the Great White Way. Various members of the producing team will be on hand to discuss when and how they came on board, and how they work together. What were the lessons learned? Is this the current best model for new work development? Would the producers have done anything different if they knew then what they know now?

With Memphis producers Sue Frost (former associate producer Goodspeed) and Randy Adams (former managing director Theatreworks, Palo Alto) of Junkyard Dog Productions (Memphis, Vanities the musical); Barbara Freitag (Memphis, Looped, The Miracle Worker, Impressionism, Legally Blonde, Passing Strange); and general manager Carl Pasbjerg of Alchemy Production Group.

Doors open at 7pm for networking and refreshments, panel starts promptly at 7:30pm. FREE for TRU members; $12 for non-members. Please call at least a day in advance for reservations: 212/714-7628; or e-mail TRUnltd@aol.com.

TRU was founded in 1992 to promote a spirit of cooperation and support within the general theater community by providing information and a variety of entertainment-related services and resources that strengthen the business capability of producing organizations, individual producers, self-producing artists and other theater professionals. The company holds monthly seminars on a wide range of subjects important to theatrical producers and artistic directors conducted by panels of experts from both the commercial and not-for-profit segments of Broadway, Off-Broadway and the motion picture industry. These educational forums have been a core program of TRU since its inception, and in recent years executive director Ost has partnered with Ms. Eaker to generate topics of interest to both TRU membership and Back Stage readers. "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."

The historic Players Theatre is a landmark theater on Macdougal Street, a space for New York performances and rehearsals and the home to TRU. The building includes, a main stage 184 seat Off Broadway theatre, a 50 seat Off Off Broadway black box theatre, four rehearsal studios, an office suite for arts organizations and the famous Cafe Wha?, which has been a Greenwich Village mainstay since the 1960's. Built in 1907 and converted into a theatre in the late 1940's, The Players Theatre 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 Britney Spears, Natalie Portman and Legally Blonde the Musical's Laura Bell Bundy.

TRU also publishes a monthly email community newsletter of services, goods and productions. In addition, TRU served as the umbrella organization for a co-production by several of its member companies as a part of the first annual New York Fringe Festival. From that experience, the organization has expanded its production efforts by creating the TRU VOICES Annual New Play Reading Series and the TRU VOICES Annual New Musicals Reading Series in which TRU underwrites developmental readings of new works for theater. In 2001, TRU began giving annual scholarships to The Commercial Theater Institute, to encourage the development of aspiring producers, created a Producer Mentoring Program whose mentors are among the most prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop the business skills they need. In March '08, TRU was associate producer of its first Equity showcase, Missives at 59E59 Theatre, a play that was developed in the 2006 TRU reading series. TRU programs for actors include an Annual Audition Event, Resource Nights and "Speed Dating" as well as free monthly actor events, including workshops.

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, visit www.truonline.org or call 212-714-7628.

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