2006 Meetings/Events

Tuesday evening, December 12th, 7:30 pm
Festivals and Fringes:
How to Get in Them,
What to Get Out of Them?
So many festivals, so little time. Which ones to apply to? How much will it cost you? And what are the right reasons (and wrong reasons) for submitting? Panelists: John Chatterton, Midtown International Theatre Festival; Teresa Fischer, associate producer Spotlight On... Festival; Elena Holy, NY International Fringe Festival; Carol Polcovar/Jeff Leeds, Fresh Fruit Festival; Gerald Van Heerden, NYMF.

The Players Theater, 115 MacDougal Street (south of West 3rd Street)
in the heart of Greenwich Village

Tuesday evening, November 28th, 7:30 pm
Dancing Beyond Broadway:
Alternative Venues for
Developing New Musicals.
A lot of Broadway hits aren't playing on the road, and some big touring shows never make it to Broadway. Are certain shows developed just for NYC? Are other shows now to be developed for "the rest of the USA"? How do writers and producers pick the correct market for their new show? And is this a solid new trend in musical theatre, or a temporary red-state blue-state schism? Panelists: Sherry Eaker, editor-at-large BackStage, board of National Music Theatre Network; Tiffani Gavin, director of professional licensing for Theatrical Rights Worldwide; Nancy Golladay of the BMI Librettists Workshop; Tim Jerome, executive director of National Music Theater Network; Carl Levin, producer Prospect Pictures (Rock of Ages); Daniella Topol, artistic program director for the Lark Play Development Center, formerly with National Alliance for Musical Theatre.

Theatre Row Studio Theatre, 410 W. 42nd Street, 4th floor

Wednesday evening, October 25th, 7:30 pm
Which Way to Go:
Fiscal Sponsorship or Not-for-Profit?

Are you ready to get your 501(c)3 not-for-profit status, or would life (and producing) be simpler with a fiscal sponsor? Okay, what IS a fiscal sponsor? What are your responsibilities, and what are theirs? What does it take to become a not-for-profit company, and what are the advantages and disadvantages?Panelists: Lou Rodgers, artistic director Golden Fleece Limited; Susan Fenley, artistic director Sundog Theatre Co.; Tanya Calamoneri of The Field; Howard Blau, attorney, Blau & Kayman.

The Sage Theater, 711 Seventh Avenue (betwn 46th & 47th)

Tuesday, September 26th at 6:30pm:
Meet the Funders.
(So What Do They Want from You?)
Co-presented with The Field and BackStage. Opportunities to meet grant makers and learn about their funding programs. What do these programs offer you? What do they expect from you? What makes a strong proposal? What else is important: how much weight does the proposal have compared with your work samples, track record, etc.? Panel to include: Emilya Cachapero, Theater Communications Group; Diane Vivona, fundraising consultant David Bury & Associates; Robert Zukerman, New York State Council on the Arts.
The Richmond Shepard Theater, 309 E. 26th Street
(bet 2nd & 3rd Ave, Manhattan), NYC

Tuesday evening, July 18th, 7:30 pm:
"I Produce Dead People" ...
The Challenges of Bringing the Classics to Life.
Produced in association with Sherry Eaker, editor-at-large of Back Stage. Advantages and disadvantages of working with large casts... the challenges of language... researching and understanding the details of period... creating period feeling through design... do you stay true to the author, or bring out contemporary relevance in the text?... how do you present a classic that has been done and seen a hundred times before, and make it your own?... where does your audience come from? Confirmed panelists: Melody Brooks of New Perspectives, Hamilton Clancy of The Drilling Company, Seth Duerr of York Shakespeare, Julie Halpern of Lovestreet Theater, Cara Reichel of Prospect Theater Company, Joanne Zipay of Judith Shakespeare.
The Producers Club, 358 W. 44th Street, NYC

Tuesday evening, June 27th, 7:30 pm:
Deconstruction and Reconstruction:
The Razing and Raising of Off-Off-Broadway.

Left to right: Bob Ost; host Ron Shetler, Shetler Theater/Studios; Paul Adams, Emerging Arts Theatre; Kathy Towson, Creative Place Theatre; Melody Brooks, New Perspectives Theatre; Catherine Russell, Snapple Theater Center; Melba LaRose, NY Artists Unlimited, formerly at the Downeast Arts Center; Richmond Shepard, The Richmond Shepard Theater; John Chatterton, Where Eagles Dare Theater/Studios.

Theatre 54 at Shetler Studios, 244 W. 54th Street, 12th floor

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

Hosted by Ron Shetler of Shetler Studios. Where have all the affordable theater spaces gone? Some theater companies who have recently lost their theaters will talk about their experiences losing their homes and finding new ones. And some people who are building new theater spaces will talk about how to find a promising space and what goes into renovating and running it.

Wednesday evening, May 24th, 7:30 pm:
Taking Care of Business:
Everything You Need to Know
to Produce Yourself.

Left to right: Co-moderator Annie Chadwick, Up-to-Date Theatricals, career consultant; Carolyn Montgomery, MAC Award winning performer/self-producer; Margot Astrachan, producer; Scott Barbarino, performer, co-president MAC; Sue Matsuki, performer/self-producer; Jana Robbins, producer (Little Women, I Love You Because...), performer (Gypsy, Tale of the Allergist's Wife); Bob Ost; and the evening's producer and moderator Richard Skipper, entertainer/self-producer, vice-president MAC.

Theatre Row Theatres, Studio Theatre, 410 W. 42nd Street, 4th floor
Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

A primer for self-producing performers. Because it takes more than talent to make it in this business. Tips on finding the right venues and booking yourself, from cabaret to concert hall... effective ways to market your show... how to budget smartly... photography and press packets... effective use of the internet... getting and using reviews... and more.

8th Annual TRU Voices
New Plays Reading Series

Theater Resources Unlimited presents our annual FREE evenings of new plays, followed by "Dollars and Sense" panel discussions plus reception. Panels feature prominent commercial producers, not-for-profit artistic directors plus general managers discussing the producing aspects of the play: marketing, budgeting, venue, etc. Reservations essential. Call 212/714-7628. The readings will be at 7:00, the dates and shows are as follows:

Monday, May 8th: The Loyalist
by Louis Lippa
Presented by Josef Reiter
Directed by Richard Sabellico
What's more important: your family... or your dreams?
with Daren Kelly, Kate Kearney-Patch,
Lexy Fridell and Frank DiSpigno

• "Dollars and Sense" panel: Alexa Kelly, artistic director Pulse Ensemble Theatre; Jennifer Manocherian, producer (Caroline or Change, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Stomp, The Crucible, Adrift in Macao); Brent Peek, producer (Epic Productions, The Gorey Details, Abyssinia, Quartermaine's Terms), general manager (Once Around the Sun, Menopause the Musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Three Tall Women); Anita Waxman, producer (Topdog/Underdog, Bombay Dreams, revivals of Flower Drum Song, Gypsy, Noises Off).

Tuesday, May 16th: Missives
by Garret Groenveld
Presented by Jared Cohen
Directed by Jimmy Bohr
What is it about mistakes we just can't forgive?
With Trevor St. John (One Life to Live), Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: SVU), David Ryan Smith, Andrew Calabrese, Ashley West

• "Dollars and Sense" panel: Pat Addiss, producer (Bridge & Tunnel, Little Women, Chita: A Dancer's Life); Michael Alden, producer (Bridge & Tunnel, Bat Boy the musical, The Last Session); Jack Batman, producer (Enchanted April, Clean Alternatives), marketing consultant for the Lark Theatre; Jane Bergere, producer (Caroline or Change, revival Glengarry Gloen Ross, The Exonerated, Metamorphosis); Peter Bogyo, general manager with the Sprecher Organization (Sly Fox w/Richard Dreyfus, Fortune’s Fool, Madame Melville, The Unexpected Man, The Joys of Sex, Swinging on a Star); Elysabeth Kleinhans, artistic director 59E59 and Animated Theater Works.

Monday, May 22nd: ain't really my birthday but i need a party awful bad
by L.E. McCullough
Presented by RK Greene and The StoryLine Project LLC
Directed by Kathleen Bishop
Two women. Two murders. When truth is the victim.
with Nell Gywnn, Casey Clark, Donna Moore, Michael D. Cleef,
Christopher Heffron, Joan Preston, Darcy Fowler,
David Sitler, Hallie Claire Waltzko

• "Dollars and Sense" panel: Georgia Buchanan, managing director Playwrights Theater of NJ, former GM Shakespeare Theater of NJ and Irondale Theater Ensemble; Erika Feldman, managing director Theatre Row Theatres, for managing director Theater for a New Audience; Seth Goldstein, producer/general manager The Splinter Group (UK premiere of Shakespeare's R&J, Christine Jorgensen Reveals); Nancy Richards president The Richards Group marketing & promotions (Imaginary Friends, Enchanted April, Urban Cowboy, Def Poetry Jam, Amour, Topdog/Underdog); Cheryl Wiesenfeld, producer (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, The Exonerated, Caroline or Change, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, In the Continuum).

Refreshments, too. All panels subject to change due to availability of panelists. Readings are free, but reservations are essential. Call 212/714-7628.
Sage Theatre, 711 Seventh Avenue (47th/48th), 2nd floor
(not handicap accessible)

This series made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Wednesday evening April 26, 7:30 pm:
Maximum Exposure on a Minimum Budget:
Smart Ways to Market
Yourself and Your Production.
When you're on a limited budget, where is your money best spent... effective ways to use the internet to gain visibility: emails and website presence... how important are those reviews... alternative ways to market: special promotions, barter and more. Panelists to include: Darren Sussman, founder/president and Alison Albeck, senior account executive of Theatermania.com; Beck Lee, publicist with Media Blitz Inc.; Hugh Hysell of HHC Marketing.

The Producers Club, Crown Theater, 358 W. 44th Street

Tuesday evening, March 21st, 7:30pm
Handicap or Asset:
The Advantages and Ease of Working with the Disabled

With Stephanie Barton-Farcas, artistic director of Nicu's Spoon; Christine Bruno, disability advocate for the Nontraditional Casting Project; Anita Hollander, East Coast National Chair AFTRA Performers With Disabilities; Jason Matthews, Director of Admissions, National Theater Workshop for the Handicapped); June Rachelson-Ospa, producer/writer (Welcome to Tourettaville!); Ike Schambelin, artistic director Theater by the Blind; Dario Vaccaro, dancer/choreographer (Torino Paralympics, David Parsons dance); Garrett Zuercher, actor/writer (Huck Finn in Big River tour).

We'll discuss what accommodations are needed to hire the disabled, and how the costs are surprisingly nominal and outweigh the benefit of working with some extraordinary talent. Plus the added dimension that can be brought to a work through non-traditional casting.

Snapple Theater Center (Duffy Theater), 1627 Broadway at 50th Street,
2nd floor (elevator entrance around the corner on 50th Street)

ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL MEETING FOR ACTORS!
Your Best Audition Ever:
It Takes More Than a Monolog
Monday, March 6th, 7:30PM

ATTENTION ALL ACTORS! In preparation for the upcoming TRU Combined Audition Event, we have put together a special evening about all aspects of auditioning. To prepare you for our audition... and every audition! We've hand-picked a team of experts to talk about audition technique and material selection, of course. But also headshot and resume advice, how to work with an accompanist you've never met, presentation skills and what casting people look for.

Confirmed panelists: Barry Burns (Headshot Photographer), Michael Cassara (Michael Cassara Casting), Lewis Chambers (Theatrical Agent, Acting Teacher), Judith Fredricks (Vocal/Audition Coach), Ellis Gaskell (Headshot and Theatrical Photographer), Roger Hendricks Simon (Acting Teacher/Coach), Catherine Henry Lamm (Audition Coach), Hal Hochhauser (Shakespeare Mailing, Marketing and Resume Consultant), Barry Morgenstein (Headshot Photographer), C. Colby Sachs (Composer, Arranger and Coach), Deborah Jean Templin (Acting Coach).
Where Eagles Dare, 347 West 36th Street, ground floor theater

Tuesday evening, February 28th:
So You Wanna Be a Producer.
So What Are You Gonna Produce?

Where do projects come from? We'll talk about the different ways to find a property to produce, from optioning an original work to obtaining rights for existing works, from shopping festivals and regionals to having your own brainstorm and putting together the creative team.

Snapple Theater Center (Duffy Theater), 1627 Broadway at 50th Street,
2nd floor (elevator entrance 210 W. 50th Street)

Above, left to right (on the set of "The Perfect Crime" at the Duffy Theater): TRU's Bob Ost; Cheryl Wiesenfeld, producer (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, The Exonnerated, In the Continuum, Hedda Gabler); Randall Wreghitt, producer (Little Women, Beauty Queen of Leenane, Lieutenant of Inishmore, Hedda Gabler); John Skolits, producer/actor (1984). Seated: Chase Mishkin, producer (Urban Cowboy, Prymate, Little Women, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

Monday evening, January 23rd, 7:30pm
Not Just for Playwrights:
Why You Need a Dramaturg
on Your Creative Team.

Produced in association with the Literary Managers & Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA). Co-moderated by Bob Ost of TRU and Elizabeth Bennett of Second Stage Theatre.

Producers Club, Crown Theater, 358 W. 44th Street

Left to right: Elizabeth Bennett, Literary Manager Second Stage Theater; Lisa McNulty, Assoc. Artistic Director, The Women’s Project; Anne Cattaneo, Dramaturg for Lincoln Center Theatre; Greg Gunter, Vice President of Creative Affairs, Disney Theatricals; Catherine Sheehy, Chair of the Dept. of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at the Yale School of Drama; Morgan Jenness, Agent, Abrams Artists Agency.

Morgan Jenness.

Catherine Sheehy.

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

CLICK HERE FOR 2007 MEETINGS AND EVENTS.

CLICK HERE FOR 2005 MEETINGS AND EVENTS.