TRU to Present 'The Arts And Activism: How Theater Can Open (and Change) Minds'

A dependable haven for artists in isolation, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is celebrating its fifth year of non-stop weekly Community Gatherings, having offered to date over 250 conversations and unlimited camaraderie since April 17, 2020. TRU hosts these Community Gatherings every Friday at 5pm ET via Zoom, originally presented to explore the creation of art and theater in the time of COVID-19, and now to ensure that these crucial conversations continue going forward.

Register here to receive a Zoom link. These gatherings are a service for the theater community and are offered free for TRU members; non-members may also attend for free, but we ask that non-members help keep us running by buying a ticket, making a donation or joining as a member.

9/12 - The Arts and Activism: How Theater Can Open (and Change) Minds

In the room: Kaci M. Fannin, producer, multi-disciplinary artist, actor, community organizer, social justice advocate; and Dominique Sharpton,actor, Tony-winning producer and activist, national director of membership for National Action Network, one of the nation's oldest legacy civil rights organizations. From its very roots in ancient classics that often shaped current as well as historic events into life lessons, to Shakespeare's portraits of royal villains and heroes, to the cool-eyed issue plays of Brecht and the agitprop of Odets, theater has always been a political medium. Even when it is not overtly political, theater can be subversively persuasive as it invites us to empathize with characters and dares us to understand human behavior in its full spectrum of moral shades. Now, in a time when the arts are being defunded, DEI initiatives are being neutered and hard-won freedoms are being overturned, what can we, as artists, do to hold on to our values and protect our communities? Our courageous guests will offer a look at the "good fights" they are fighting every day and suggest ways we can all help to effect change and make our voices heard. Click here to register and receive the zoom link.

UPCOMING

9/19 - More Stories from the Trenches: Behind the Scenes at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

In the room: Claire Feuille and Josh Dooley of Feuille Dooley Productions (I Was a Teenage She-Devil and How Not to Fund a Honeymoon at the Ed Fringe, upcoming Relative Motion at London's Southwark Playhouse; co-producers on Operation Mincemeat); Michelle Mangan, Fringe publicist; Molly Morris and Chris Crouch of Ghostlight Global, a company that books tours of the Edinburgh Fringe for US theater companies and others. This will be a followup look at the Edinburgh Fringe from the business and producer perspective, and an insider's look at how it happens and how to succeed. We'll talk about the need for a press person, and how Michelle splits her time between representing shows and representing venues. Plus how Claire and Josh use festivals as a step in the development of new works and the division of responsibility between them and their artists. What kinds of shows interest them, and how do they decide which pieces are a good fit for Edinburgh? Click here to register and receive the zoom link.