TRU Talks About Theater

In the room: Robyn Busch, program officer/International at Mid Atlantic Arts, known for their work in international cultural exchange and model programs in performing arts touring; and touring solo artists Valerie David (The Pink Hulk) and Heather Massie (Hedy! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamar). Robyn talks about the artists Mid Atlantic Arts serves, how they nurture and fund the creation and presentation of diverse performances, and how they connect people to meaningful arts experiences within and beyond their area of funding. Valerie and Heather talk about their successes in touring their solo shows - most recently to Europe - and building their brand and their audience.

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In the room: Tim Jerome, president of Main Street Musicals which promotes development opportunities for original stage musicals throughout regional America; and John Sparks, founding director of NMI (NewMusicalsInc) which is working with Shanghai Grand Theatre and Beijing Damai Culture of Alibaba to nurture writers and their writing in an ambitious plan to create stageable new works of musical theatre in China.

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In the room: Joe Barros, artistic director of NY Theatre Barn which is focused on the development of culture shifting musicals during incubation; Aaron Salley, president and managing director of Musical Theatre Factory, an inclusive community wholly dedicated to the developmental process of innovative new musicals by early-career artists. Learn about the development process used in each of these organizations, how to become a part of it and what they look for when they consider bringing in and/or showcasing new shows. 

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In the room: Aimee Todoroff, managing director of the League of Independent Theater, and Carla Hoke-Miller, Director of Theatre Programs and Partnerships for the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. What is New York doing to support the return of theater? Is it working? Is it enough? What else should we ask for, and what are the most effective channels to go through to initiate necessary changes? We'll look at city agencies and initiative, plus take a broader look at ways in which theater artists – and all artists – can be proactive throughout the country

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In the room: Anne Morgan, program director for NNPN and Stephen Kaplan, playwright. Learn about the many programs and services NNPN provides for the theater industry, including the Rolling World Premiere initiative and the New Play Exchange®, a cloud-based script database, enhanced with a robust search-and-filter mechanism, crowd-sourced recommendations of plays, and personal script and coverage information storage. Plus the connectivity of a social networking site. These services have helped the development of new work: writers have a credible site for posting their work, and producers and theater companies can look for works of interest. Anne and Stephen also talk about Stephen's upcoming Rolling World Premiere and how that came about as well as the role of NPX in connecting writers and producers.

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In the room: Adam Hyndman, board member and Tara Moses, advisory board member of Broadway for Racial Justice, fighting for greater equity and inclusion by providing immediate resources, assistance, and amplification for BIPOC in the Broadway and theatrical community at-large. Though its nickname referred to the bright lights on its marquees, intentional or not, white privilege and perspective have shaped Broadway and our business from its very beginnings. On June 8, 2020, the pandemic already raging, the BIPOC proclamation "We See You, White American Theater" challenged theater to acknowledge the problem and address it. The current commercial season boasts 7 plays by BIPOC writers, and regional theaters have announced their most diverse seasons to date. Is it enough? And is our current COVID world stifling progress? Bob and his guests wade into the deep waters of controversy and face both the challenge and the necessity of facing the roadblocks in the way of having a true equity and inclusion in our business and our world

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In the room: Jim Kierstead (Tony winner for Hadestown, Kinky Boots and Pippin; plus Ain't Too Proud, The Inheritance, Waitress) talks about moving his energies into the virtual world with Broadway Virtual, a new company specializing in streamed and video content, as well as educational opportunities to help artists master the new technologies. He'll also share his journey balancing the two sides of his ambitions: playwrighting and producing. Plus his plans for coming back to live performance. With a side trip into the current controversies within our slow-to-change business.

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In the Room: Kathryn Jones, leader and Innovator in live-streaming, virtual fundraising and social-first content, founder of Collective Agency. Two years in shutdown has pushed us to expand our creative skill set. Kathryn and Bob look at the virtual tools that can still serve us going forward, and how they can contribute to our future success in theater, from livestreaming as a supplementary revenue stream to online fundraising to new ways to approach marketing and increase awareness of our product

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In the room: entrepreneur, producer, writer and groundbreaking theater manager and owner Eric Krebs talks of a dedicated life in New York theater. Co-founder of the George Street Playhouse, and manager for years of the John Houseman and Douglas Fairbanks Theatres, Eric has been a part of the evolution of off-Broadway, through the creation of Theatre Row to running several of his own theater spaces including the current Theatre 555 on West 42nd Street. He shares his experiences with candor and offers insights into the challenges of maintaining off-Broadway as a viable environment for developing theater artists and art.

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