TRU Community Gathering via Zoom - Development Opportunities

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is now in its fourth year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings this Friday, having offered to date over 200 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, and to ensure that these crucial conversations continue going forward as theater reopens. 5/17 - Development Opportunities: Theater Festivals and How to Get the Most Out of Them. In the room: Suzanna Bowling, spokesperson for New York Theater Festival; Cate Cammarata, executive producing director of the Create Theatre New Works Festival; Clara Elser, festival coordinator for the Dream Up Festival at Theatre for the New City; Gene Fisch Jr., founding director of New York New Works Theatre Festival; Jimmy Lovett, FRIGID New York resident artistic director and curator of the upcoming Queerly Festival. We'll talk about the history and mission of Dream Up, plus other opportunities to use Theater for the New City ... the year-round opportunities (and awards) provided by New York Theater Festival's Spring/Summerfest, Fall/Winterfest and Musicfest ... the various festivals produced by FRIGID NY (including the NY Fringe) ... and the financial support Gene Fisch offers through NYNWTF. Each in its own way can be a stepping stone on the developmental path for new works. We'll also take a general look at expectations and best practices when you choose to participate in a festival, and how to make the festival experience positive and useful. Click here to register and receive the link: https://truonline.org/events/theater-festivals-24/. Check back at TRU’s web page for future 2024 gatherings: truonline.org/tru-community-gathering. To receive the Zoom invitation for weekly 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 an optional tax-deductible donation or consider joining TRU at truonline.org/membership to support the organization during these challenging times. SUZANNA BOWLING is dedicated to helping the development of new works as producing manager of NYTheaterfest, which offers seasonal festivals in a creatively supportive environment: Winterfest and Summerfest. She also co-owns and publishes the newspaper Times Square Chronicles or T2C. At one point a working actress, she has performed in numerous productions in film, TV, cabaret and theatre. She has performed at The New Orleans Jazz festival, The United Nations and Carnegie Hall. She has a screenplay in the works, which she developed with her mentor and friend the late Arthur Herzog.  CATE CAMMARATA is an Off-Broadway producer, director and dramaturg in NYC, dedicated to the development of new plays and musicals. She is the Founder and Executive Producer of CreateTheater's New Works Fest, the Associate Artistic Director for Rhymes Over Beats Hip Hop Theater Collective and has been the Literary Manager for Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) for over ten years. Off-Broadway: The Assignment, My Father's Daughter. Regional: My Life Is a Musical (Bay Street Theater). Cate's company CreateTheater, has been helping writers develop and produce new work since 2016. During the shutdown of 2020-2022 CreateTheater developed and/or produced more than 70 shows with online readings, workshops and dramaturgical guidance. For this work Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) has honored her with the TRU Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2022. Cate holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from SUNY Stony Brook and is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at CUNY Baruch College.  www.CateCammarata.com  www.CreateTheater.com CLARA ELSER is a New York based theatre and teaching artist. She received an M.F.A in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College, focusing primarily on new and devised work. For the past eight years, she has served as the Festival Coordinator for Theater for the New City's annual Dream Up Festival. She holds a B.A. in Drama from Kenyon College.  GENE FISCH JR. has been a passionate fan of the arts his entire life. Though only as a hobby these past ten years, he has either produced, directed, or invested in 100+ shows during that span, most all at the Off Broadway and Broadway levels. Philanthropy being his primary focus, he was the lead producer for Carnegie Hall performance / Album that donated the proceeds to establish music programs in NYC schools. He has two television pilots in his repertoire, one of which was his directorial debut that was funded for four episodes by a group who worked for ABC. Fisch is particularly fond of his work directing the Off Broadway parody of the television show, “Dexter”. Subsequent to being part of the Broadway producing team for High starring Kathleen Turner, Gene founded The New York New Works Theatre Festival, helping over 1,000 artists by giving them a shot on a top tier stage (historically the Duke and Acorn Theaters). Three shows from NYNW’s stages are on their way to Broadway and one (“12 Angry Voices” produced by his mentor and panelist, Lauren Class Schneider) is generating traction for its national tour. Submissions are free and NYNW outlays most all of the upfront costs with the hopes that the NYNW stage is only the first step of the project's journey (Numerous shows have moved forward). Every submission is reviewed by at least one Broadway producer. Gene has led a wonderfully diverse career outside of the arts and currently teaches Engineering Technogenesis at the Stevens Institute of Technology. "The bottom line is that theatre is awesome and if there is a way that we can help someone take their art to the next level while having a ton of fun, we’re all in!"  nynwtheatrefestival.com JIMMY LOVETT (they/them) is a New York City transplant from North Carolina by way of Massachusetts where they attended Hampshire College. Born into a family of teachers, artists, and writers, they learned to crawl up stairs in a theater and have generally refused to leave since. Jimmy has been working at Frigid New York since 2018 when they started as box office staff and have ended up in management through no fault of their own. They are proud to curate Frigid’s annual Queerly Festival in June. They are a writer, theater artist, and maker currently living in Brooklyn with their husband and two cats. You can check out their Instagram @jimmyclovett for crafting and cat pics. Videos of past Community Gatherings may be viewed on TRU’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/channel/UC43rsChi4fA23dNLeloaF_A/. And a podcast series, TRU Talks About Theater featuring 2023 Community Gathering conversations is now available wherever you get your podcasts; or tune in at ElectraCast: https://electracast.com/?s=Theater+Resources Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-one 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, opportunities and productions; presents 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, TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices evening of short plays, 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; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For more information about TRU membership and programs, visit www.truonline.org. http://www.eventsnearhere.com/find-events/NY/NEW-YORK/Art/Performing-Arts/addetail/246958/TRU-Community-Gathering-via-Zoom---Development-Opportunities-