TRU to Host Writer-Producer Virtual Speed Date
Eleven confirmed producers, including Blair Russell and Tony Castrigno, will join the virtual pitching event.
Theater Resources Unlimited has announced their 2026 Writer-Producer (Virtual) Speed Date, set for Sunday, October 4, 2026, from 2-7PM EST, including an hour of coaching plus 90 minutes of pitching. Get more information here.
You meet a producer at a party and have two minutes to interest him in your work. Do you have the skill to sell yourself? Here's a chance to practice your pitching with real producers who are open to and interested in meeting you. Okay, they probably won't option you on the spot, but they'll give you valuable feedback about your work and your ability to talk about it. And you'll have the opportunity to start developing a relationship. And that's what this business is all about. Relationships.
The Speed Date is the only event I know of that gives writers the chance to meet high level producers one-on-one in a room. To me, that's what makes the Speed Dates so valuable. And you do it with kindness, which I value in life. ~Vincent Amelio (How Alfo Learned to Love)
Click here: WriterSpeedDateApp-100-75 for application. Please fill out and email to TRUStaff1@gmail.com (PLEASE - add your name to the document name and put your name FIRST on the line when you 'save as').
Eleven producers will be lined up, from both the commercial and not-for-profit worlds, all with an interest in new projects; we also may have eleven aspiring producers from our Producer Development program. So you'll be pitching to as many as 22 producers in total! Come with a willingness to learn, because the real value is the chance to practice your pitching. And you'll be getting invaluable coaching from experts, as well.
Confirmed Producers Include:
- Blair Russell, producer & developer, from fringe festivals to Broadway (recent: Still off-Broadway with Melissa Gilbert; also Slave Play on Broadway; Lizard Boy, Pop Off, Michelangelo! and Jackie!!! at Edinburgh Fringe, Sweeney Todd off-Broadway);
- Tony Castrigno of MTTM Theatricals (Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort at the Edinburgh Fringe, award-winning Mexodus off-Broadway), with a background in set and lighting design for both theater and corporate events;
- Merrie L. Davis, producer (Just In Time, 2 Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), Giant, Liberation, Alice In Never Land; ART; Tony nominated Dead Outlaw; Tony award for Parade, Tony award for Company Broadway, Olivier award for Company; DATA; London Cabaret, The Who’s Tommy, Eclipsed, Gigi; off-Broadway: Himself and Nora; Museum of Broadway);
- Jane Dubin, producer (Still off-Broadway, Is This a Room, Dana H., The Prom, Tony winning The Norman Conquests, An American in Paris, Farinelli and the King, Bandstand, Peter and the Starcatcher, Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, The 39 Steps, Ann; upcoming: The Village of Vale, an original fantasy musical);
- Gene Fisch, Jr., Broadway Producing Team (High), 100+ Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway productions, Carnegie Hall concert Producer, Director of the New York New Works Theatre Festival, Director of 4 episodes of the TV series, 'Two Many Moms'; currently developing The Last of the Red Hot Mommas musical about Sophie Tucker;
- John Lant, producer/SDC director/showrunner/consultant specialist for musicals/plays off-Broadway; (18 off-Broadway shows including Marilyn Monroe Exposed, Frankenstein, Wicked Frozen, It Came from Beyond, Wicked City Blues, Earnestly LGBTQ+, XIMER), artistic director Write Act Rep NYC/LA (23 years); 2-time NAACP, 4-time DramaLogue & 4-time CA for the Arts Winner; PM Carnegie Hall (13 years), TV/Film Studio Operator for 2 Studios for stage to screen or film productions NY & NJ;
- Evan McGill, international theater producer (Tony Awards for Parade revival, The Outsiders and Sunset Blvd., plus Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, upcoming Evita revival; North American tours of The Outsiders, Monty Python's Spamalot; West End Evita, Allegra, current revival of Rent and High School Musical), founder of the Broadway Investment Alliance;
- Tamra Pica, TV, film and theater producer and casting director for Write Act Repertory;
- Markus Potter, theatre and artistic leader; director/producer (off-Broadway Stalking the Bogeyman - New York Times Critics’ Pick, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), producing team (The Velocity of Autumn on Broadway), founding artistic director of NewYorkRep, artistic director at the University of Kansas;
- Mark Rubinsky of MTTM Theatricals (Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort at the Edinburgh Fringe, award-winning Mexodus off-Broadway), with a background in stage management and producing corporate events;
- Ken Waissman, producer (Josephine, original Grease, Agnes of God, Torch Song Trilogy, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little).
Coaches: Gary Hughes, Emileena Pedigo, Daniel Takacs
Training Producers: Jesse Ayala*, Dan Flanigan*, D.W. Gregory*, Kipp Koenig*, Patricia Krahnke*, Patrick O'Leary*, others tbd
[*members and alumni of TRU's Producer Development program]
