TRU Community Gathering via Zoom: What More Can Government Do to Support the Reopening of Theater?

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is now into its second year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings this Friday, having offered to date over 70 conversations and unlimited camaraderie since April 17, 2020. TRU hosts their Community Gatherings every Friday at 5pm ET via Zoom, to explore the creation of art and theater in the time of COVID-19. These conversations will continue going forward as theater reopens. Ask questions, bring answers, be part of a community – it’s an opportunity to network with theater professionals and talk about keeping theater alive during shutdown, and what we are doing now, going forward. To receive the Zoom invitation for future meetings, email TRUnltd@aol.com with “Zoom Me” in the subject header. These gatherings are free for TRU members, non-members are asked to make a tax-deductible donation – or consider joining TRU – to support the organization during these challenging times.

10/29 – What More Can Government Do to Support the Reopening of Theater?
In the room: Erik Bottcher, Democratic nominee for the 3rd district of the New York City Council, and Carla Hoke-Miller, Director of Theatre Programs and Partnerships for the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. While government support for the arts is a given in many countries including the United Kingdom, America has been slow to step in and nurture the development of our cultural footprint. Though many politicians respect the arts, this touchstone of our national identity is rarely mentioned in political speeches about key issues that affect our country. In our schools, sports throttle the arts in the arena of funding. Is this a result of our political ideologies? Is it inevitable that other social issues be prioritized over the struggle of artists? In this post-COVID period of reopening, conscious efforts are being made in New York to support the return of live theater, a key component of the New York economy. How can we keep theater top-of-mind going forward into the future? CLICK HERE to register and receive the zoom link: https://truonline.org/events/government-support/.

UPCOMING
11/5 – Radical Hospitality: Consciously Welcoming the Theater Communities You Serve.
In the room Raymond Bobgan, executive artistic director Cleveland Public Theatre; Robert Barry Fleming, executive artistic director of Actors Theatre of Louisville; Jack Reuler, founder/artistic director of Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. Simply put, radical hospitality means welcoming people in a fundamentally different way that is specific to their culture and needs. We’ll look at how this applies to theater, from programming to ticketing. CLICK HERE to register and receive the zoom link: https://truonline.org/events/radical-hospitality/.

Videos of past Community Gatherings may be viewed on TRU’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/channel/UC43rsChi4fA23dNLeloaF_A/.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a twenty-eight-year-old 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to help producers produce, emerging theater companies to emerge healthily and all theater professionals to understand and navigate the business of the arts. 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 monthly panels as well as the new weekly Community Gatherings; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and also presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab. Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Montage Foundation, The Storyline Project and the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation. For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit www.truonline.org.