TRU 2009 Panels & Events

2009 MEETINGS/EVENTS
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Thursday, December 17th at 7pm
Cooking from Scratch: How a Producer
Puts Together the Ingredients of a New Musical

Where do new musicals come from? Sometimes the ideas spring from the mind of a producer, not a writer. The art of creative producing is back and thriving. Meet some producers who come up with concepts, get the rights, hire a writing team and put all the pieces together to cook up a brand new musical. How involved do they get in the creative process? And how tricky is it to let go and let the writers do their job? How do they guide the process without being intrusive?

The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street, 3rd floor Loft Theatre

Above, left to right: Tom Polum, producer (The Toxic Avenger); Randy Adams, Junkyard Dog Productions (Vanities, Memphis); Ken Waissman, producer (original Broadway productions of Grease, Over Here!, Agnes of God, Torch Song Trilogy and the upcoming musical, Josephine); TRU's Bob Ost.

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

Wednesday, November 18th at 7pm
Career Paths to Producing:
Company Manager, General Manager, Publicist, More
Unless you happen to be very rich, it's hard to jump in and produce a commercial show first time out. You have to build a career and reputation, and gain important skills along the way. Not to mention the fact that a producer is the last person to get paid on a project! So how do you even afford to become a producer? We'll look at various career paths that can earn you a living and teach you what you need to know to succeed. And we'll also consider the shocking fact that there are very few African Americans and persons of color on this path. Why?

Left to right, above: Shirley Faison, executive director, National Black Theatre; Tom Smedes, producer (Ace the Musical, [title of show], Naked Boys Singing, Dog Sees God), general manager (Altar Boyz, Musical of Musicals), company manager (Show Boat); Tiffani Gavin, Sr. Director of Licensing for Theatrical Rights Worldwide, former executive producer at Clear Channel Entertainment, former company manager (Blue Man Group); Sheila Speller, producer/general manager (Another Man's Poison); Jamillah Lamb, producer (Platanos and Collard Greens); TRU president Bob Ost
Photo by Dan Miller.

The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street, 3rd floor Loft Theatre

Wednesday, October 21st at 7pm
"Where Do I Belong:
Off-Off-Broadway or Indie Theater?"
We'll attempt to define "indie theater", the new designation for showcase and off-off-Broadway productions, and compare it to off-Broadway. Are the differences mainly economic, or are there significant esthetic distinctions? Does "indie" necessarily encompass fringe and festival production? When planning a production of a new work, what are the reasons for aiming at one medium versus another? What economic impact does "indie theater" have on New York's economy? And how different is producing not-for-profit from producing commercially?

The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street, Mainstage Theatre

Above, left to right: Frances Black, Director of Member Services ART-New York; Martin Denton, Editor/Producer nytheatre.com and nytheatrecast.com; Paul Bargetto, Managing Director of Public Affairs, League of Independent Theater; Virginia Louloudes, executive director ART-New York; Stacey Cooper McMath, Associate Arts Program Specialist, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

Tuesday, September 22nd at 7pm
"Why Am I in Love with this Play?
And Should I Really Get Involved?"
What should a producer look for in a play, and how do you know (or think you know) a play will work when reading it? So many producers (and others) really don't know how to read a play, and can't identify structural and other dramaturgical flaws that probably doom the work. Get four perspectives: two commercial producers, an agent and a literary manager. Do they look at works differently? Or is a good play just a good play, whoever is reading it? Panelists will also talk about what personally turns them on about new work, as well as how to give input to writers and guide them to make their work more successful.

Left to right: Mitch Douglas, literary agent Mitch Douglas Literary & Theatrical, formerly with ICM (clients: Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Graham Greene, Lanford Wilson, Lawrence & Lee, Kander & Ebb, Dan Goggin of Nunsense); Randall Wreghitt, producer (Pure Country, Impressionism, Beauty Queen of Leenane, Lieutenant of Inishmore, Little Women, Gray Gardens, The Great Game); Annie MacRae, literary manager Manhattan Theatre Club; Cheryl Wiesenfeld, producer (A Steady Rain, Legally Blonde, Caroline or Change, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Exonerated, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty).

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.


Wednesday, July 22nd at 7pm
We'll look at different ways companies and producers are adjusting to the current economic crisis, including (but not limited to) collaborative producing and retooling seasons to accommodate tighter budgets. What is still working? What changes are we making to survive? Are projects being put on hold, or are we plunging ahead with new determination, and new producing models?	Stephen Burdman, artistic director NY Classical Theatre; Melody Brooks, artistic director New Perspectives Theatre; Duncan Pflaster, artistic director Cross-Eyed Bear Theatre; Mike Roderick, artistic director Small Pond Entertainment; Jason Schuler & Dori Ann Scagnelli, producers, The Operating Theater; Tony Sportiello, artistic director Algonquin Theatre Productions.
Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

Wednesday, June 17th at 7pm
Who Can I Turn To?
Resources to Make Your Producing Life Easier

Service organizations that help not-for-profits, some that help commercial producers, others with programs designed for individual artists. There are a surprising number of people out there who want to help you. Come learn the many and varied services available.

Co-moderated by Sherry Eaker, editor-at-large of Back Stage. Panel (at left, from left to right): TRU's Bob Ost; Emily Watts, Director of Liability Insurance of Fractured Atlas; Martin Denton, Executive Director, The New York Theatre Experience, Inc.; Ahmed Tigani, Direct Donations Coordinator of Materials for the Arts; Victoria Gettler and Lee Eagle from Theatermania and OvationTix; Jonathan Reuning, co-founder of United Stages; Hal Hochhauser of Shakespeare Mailing Services.

The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street, 3rd floor Loft Theatre

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

Wednesday, May 20th at 7pm
A Producer's Two Best Friends:
Lawyer and General Manager

Co-moderated by Sherry Eaker, editor-at-large of Back Stage. Featuring Roger Gindi, producer, Broadway: Jay Johnson: The Two and Only (Tony Award); off-Broadway, Shakespeare's R&J (Lortel Award), and the head of the theatrical producing and general management firm of Gindi Theatrical Management (Nunsense, King Hedley II, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom); and Bruce Lazarus, theatrical attorney for over 20 Broadway and off-Broadway shows including Blueman Group: Tubes off-Broadway and The Lion King, Aida and Beauty and the Beast in his capacity as Director of Business and Legal Affairs for Walt Disney Theatrical Productions.
The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street (below West 3rd)

We'll examine the intricate and essential partnership between a producer and both his attorney and his general manager. Who gets hired first? At what stage in development should each be brought on board? What is the division of responsibility? Who negotiates the contracts and cuts the deals? Both panelists are also producers, and will also discuss the pluses and pitfalls of wearing two hats on a production. Come prepared with lots of questions.

Photos by Ellis Gaskell.

Co-moderated by Sherry Eaker, editor-at-large of Back Stage. Featuring Suzanne Adams, Opening Doors Theatre Company (Closing Notice Series at the Duplex); Sharon Carr, producer (Glimpses of the Moon at the Algonquin); Bill Daugherty, self-producing artist (Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? at the Triad); Kevin Kennedy, managing director The Peccadillo Theatre (Talk of the Town at The Algonquin, Room Service); Richard Skipper, self-producing artist (An Evening with Carol Channing); Lee Summers, General Manager/Booker Triad Theatre, producer (My Home Town).

The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street (below West 3rd)

Photo by Blu Toth of Bluface Photography

In the current economy, more than ever before, producers (and writers) need economic ways of getting work up on its feet. Cabaret rooms have long been used for more than solo singathons, and long-run legends like Nunsense and Forbidden Broadway have been born there. These clubs provide affordable venues to develop new works, and an intimacy that works well for certain shows. With audience expectations so different, can production values be modest? At what point does the Equity Cabaret contract come into play, and how does it compare to the Showcase Code? Can runs be extended so word of mouth can be built? Are the limitations of the space worth the budgetary savings? And just how much does it cost to produce a full-fledged show in a cabaret, compared to a showcase?

Wednesday, March 18th at 7pm:
Getting Butts in Seats in a Butt-Ugly Economy.

The value of focus groups, and other ways of tailoring your product to your audience ... ticketing resources and papering services like Audience Extras ... using internet social marketing as an audience development tool... effective email marketing strategies, and more

Co-moderated by Sherry Eaker, editor-at-large of Back Stage. Featuring (above, left to right): Ken Davenport, producer (Altar Boyz, My First Time, Speed-the-Plow, Blithe Spirit); Hugh Hysell of HHC Marketing (Impressionism, Jersey Boys, 39 Steps, Irena’s Vow, Rooms; plus BroadwayBox.com, LunchTix.com, TicketsThisWeek.com, BroadwayInsider.com and TheMenEvent.com); Thomas Adkins, Associate Director of Ticketing for the Theatre Development Fund (TDF); and Bob.

The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street (below west 3rd)

All photos by Ellis Gaskell

Wednesday, February 18 at 7pm:
Pitch Perfect: How to Present Your Projects
(and What a Producer Should Be Looking for).
Co-moderated by Sherry Eaker, editor-at-large of Back Stage. Featuring Michael Feingold, literary consultant Theater for a New Audience, former literary manager Yale Repertory Theater, critic for the Village Voice, and Michael Nassar, producer and general manager, former Associate Artistic Director O'Neill Center, dramaturge Public Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club and 7 Devils PW Conference; other tba.

Why producers choose the projects they do....What makes a play viable and dramatic, and what producers should be looking for when reading scripts, including some of the basics of good playwrighting... What makes a play of interest to more than just the playwright and his immediate circle? Are "timely" and "controversial" plays hot tickets, or do they have a short shelf life? Are they often merely exploitative? ... We'll offer insights into good presentations versus messy or murky presentations of materials.... The producer-writer relationship, and their ongoing collaborative process. Do writers and producers speak the same language? And if not, how do they find their way to the same page?

The Players Theatre, 115 Macdougal Street (below West 3rd)

Sunday, January 11 at 11am:
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Road Show!
Featuring: two core members of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe staff; Paul Lucas, producer; Rachel Chavkin, Artistic Director, The Team; Ella Hickson, Author/Producer, Eight (which won the Carol Tambor Award this year to bring a show to NYC); Laura Mackenzie-Stuart, Managing Director, Hill Street Theatres in Edinburgh.

Did you know that Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2008 featured 31,020 performers from around the world, who appeared in 2,088 shows across 247 venues where they sold almost 1.7 million tickets? Learn how to be a part of the largest performing arts event in the world at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow Street
(at 7th Avenue, South of Christopher Street)