TRU to Present SPA Day (Essentials Of Successful Self-Producing, That Is)

On Sunday, December 14, 2025 from 12-6:30PM, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) will host their annual SPA Day, doling out the Essentials of Self-Producing to all our Self-Producing Artist friends. In this game-changing workshop, participants will look at how artists successfully take on the challenging role of "producer" to generate their own opportunities. The ones who are most successful have to master a range of business skills, don a variety of hats, and learn to be expert jugglers. The event will be led by TRU executive director and writer-producer Bob Ost and feature a variety of guest speakers. For more information and to purchase tickets ($135, $95 for TRU members), visit https://truonline.org/events/self-producing-2025/.

Come learn to view creative work from a business perspective and understand the need to think differently. Make smarter choices, not only now but also for the future of your show. It all seems a little overwhelming at times, but TRU will break it down into easily digestible bites.

"I just want to thank you for [this] amazing workshop .... It was the best six hours I have ever spent on Zoom ... I was so riveted by all the speakers that I didn't collapse until after it was all over.... I have been taking other workshops as well, but these particular speakers presented super useful information in a very relatable form - not too didactic or formal, but also without a lot of filler. Just straight-up, useful information." - Daphne White (in CA)

"I can't thank you enough for the opportunity today. It was just so informative and inspiring!" - Angela Polite

Guest speakers will include:

• Victoria Cairl, marketing expert founder and CEO of Table 7 Strategy;
• Charlotte Cohn, producer (Here Lies Love on Broadway; Without You with Anthony Rapp, Handle with Care, Church and State; upcoming: The Sound, a new musical and The Whole Shebang);
• Eric Goldman, entertainment attorney;
• Emileena Pedigo, CEO/Founder of The Show Goes On, building supportive environments to develop, incubate, showcase and launch creative expression using #AnotherWay;
• Blair Russell, production advisor/strategist, founder of Show Shepherd, a strategic theatrical development company, and producer (Slave Play, off-Broadway's long-running immersive Sweeney Todd; Still off-Broadway; Lizard Boy, Jackie! and Pop Off, Michelangelo at the Edinburgh Fringe) and the leader of TRU's producer development program's Foundations of Producing. www.blairrussell.net
• Bailie Slevin, financial advisor and recovering stage manager.

Curriculum

(subject to change)

11:45

Check-in

12:00-12:15

Intro and "Why Are You Doing This?" with Bob Ost

• If you don't know where you're going, you can't know how to get there.
• How your goals affect your choices.
• Understanding your property and identifying your audience.
• Wearing many hats, but one at a time.

12:15-1:00

"Legal Pitfalls and Protections" with attorney Eric Goldman

• Agreements: collaborator, options, contracts, and more.
• What you need to know when you ask for money. And what your responsibilities are.
• Underlying rights, intellectual property protections, licenses.

1:00-1:45

"Let's Talk about Money. (Please Don't Put It on Your Credit Card!)" with Bailie Slevin

• Banishing the myth of the starving artist.
• Understanding how money works.
• What you believe is what you get.
• Understanding the investor's perspective, and learning to talk the same language.
• "Selling" is just talking with a purpose.

1:45-2:15

LUNCH BREAK

2:15-3:00

"Raise Money from Anyone, Anywhere for Any Project!" with Charlotte Cohn

• Where/how to find the money
• Where/how to pitch
• How to close
• Q&A

3:00-3:45

"A Brief Overview of Marketing" with Victoria Cairl

• Branding: The 4 most important brand assets for your show.
• Audience: Identifying your ideal audience.
• Digital Marketing: Finding your ideal audience online.
• Budgeting: The marketing mix and how to spend your lean budget.
• Partnerships: Using their audience to build yours.

3:45-4:30

"Planning Ahead and Making it Happen" with Blair Russell

• Having a vision of what this play could be and how far it can go.
• Thinking and planning beyond your current production.
• Finding your team. It's never a one-man show (even if it sometimes feels like it).
• Developing leadership and management skills.
• How much do things really cost? How much should you pay people? How to have those conversations and more.

4:30-5:15

"Self-Producing in the 21st Century: Using Technology to Work Globally" with Blair Russell

• Making markets: New York is not the only place to produce theater, get your show produced in the UK, Germany, Mexico, and around the world.
• Software and hardware tools all self-producers need.
• AI as a tool for production, not a replacement for art.
• Virtual development and production
• Best practices for social media

5:15-5:30

Break

5:30-6:15

Keynote panel: "Successful Self-Producers Share Their Secrets" - TBD

6:15-6:30

Q&A/Networking

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a thirty-three-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 about the arts, and monthly Town Halls about current social issues; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and a series of Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, TRUSpeak: Hear Our Voices (adapting short plays into films), Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.