Sunday, January 27th, 10am to 6pm
Studio 353, 353 W. 48th Street, 2nd floor

Click here for curriculum and speakers
Click here to register (please fill out the registration form and pay using the red ticketing box on this page)

It's more important now than ever for the voice of theater to be heard, so get ready to move ahead with passion and a plan. For producers, one important step is finding the money and resources to bring your projects into production. We invite you to acquire some basic tools and crucial information that will help you to overcome your money shyness and effectively reach out to supporters. From pitching techniques and presentation skills to legal requirements and business planning, plus a wealth of first-hand experience from more than a half dozen producers who are currently active in the Broadway and off-Broadway worlds, we promise you an informative, empowering and inspiring day.

Workshop faculty will include (confirmed so far): Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman (Be More Chill, King Kong, American Son, Carousel, Present Laughter, Natasha, Pierre..., On The Town), Suzanne Gilad and Larry Rogowsky (The Other Josh Cohen, Angels in America revival),  R.K. Greene (A Time to Kill, Peter and the Starcatcher, Cougar the musical, Room Service), Cody Lassen (Indecent, Significant Other, Spring Awakening revival), James Simon  (Pippin revival, Roof of the World, The Velocity of Autumn, Bells Are Ringing  revival; investor in Rent, Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike, Little Women), Ron Simons of SimonSays Entertainment (The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, A Gentleman's Guide..., Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, all black Streetcar Named Desire; Off-Broadway Turn Me Loose with Joe Morton, and Bedlam Theatre's Hamlet/St. Joan), Ken Waissman (Grease, Agnes of God, Torch Song Trilogy) and Cheryl Wiesenfeld  (upcoming Ain't Too Proud to Beg, Tony winner for All the Way, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty); plus entertainment attorneys  Eric Goldman and Lee Feldshon, and financial advisor Bailie Slevin of Entertaining Finance. (See full bios below.)

Applying by mail? Fill out registration online, or download this application: BOOT_CAMP_app19 and send with payment to: Theater Resources Unlimited/BCMoney, 309 W. 104th Street 1D, NYC NY 10025

$175 for non-members, $150 for TRU members
Special workshop/membership packages available 

Festival Discount, $135 (for anyone who has applied to any of the upcoming festivals - use Special Discount button)
Student Discount, $115 (use Special Discount button)
Email TRUStaff1@gmail.com with proof of your festival application, or a student ID, and we will provide you with a code to use with the Special Discount button in the bright red ticketing box on this page.

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SCHEDULE AND SPEAKERS (subject to change)

9:45am-10:00am - registration and check-in, coffee and cake/bagels
10:00am-10:15am - Keynote speech: Ken Waissman

10:15 to 11:00 - "Commercial and Not-for-Profit Asks: Defining the Differences"  with attorney Eric Goldman. We will define terms, then focus on the not-for-profit side: the legal paperwork and structure that is necessary in order to ask for donations, and the responsibilities to your donors, plus the ways in which not-for-profits and commercial companies can work together.

11:00 to 11:45 - "Commercial Financing: Formalizing Your Ask" with attorney Lee Feldshon. The required paperwork and structures at every level of development, from front money agreements to private placement to Federal filings. And the limitations placed on asking.

11:45 to 12:00 - BREAK

12:00 to 12:30pm - "Why Is This Show Likely to Succeed: Creating an Effective Business Plan" with R.K. Greene. Your business plan is your blueprint for success, and a compelling sales tool when approaching investors. It helps you understand your project and how best to pitch it. RK will offer a flexible template covering all the basic areas of information you need to include, as well as offering guidance in creating a plan that is professional looking and appealing. 

12:30 to 1:15pm - "How to Present Yourself to Investors" with financial advisor Bailie Slevin of Entertaining Finance. We will take a look at a basic money raising pitch both from your side and the investor’s side, learning how to speak the same financial language, exploring how to best communicate your proposal to your target audience. GETTING the money is what it is all about but HOW you go about the process makes all the difference. It takes simplicity, focus, structure, organization, and follow through to make it happen. This section will concentrate on "winning language" and "successful steps" to get the support for your creative projects.

LUNCH to 1:15pm to 2:15pm

2:15 to 2:45pm - "The Investor's Perspective: Why Your Show?" with James Simon. So what do you need to do or say to get an investor to write that check? Different investors have different reasons. Our guest speaker, active in commercial Broadway, will discuss why he picks the shows he picks, and what you might learn from his choices.

5:15 to 5:30 - Keynote Speech: Cheryl Wiesenfeld

5:30 to 6:00pm - RECEPTION

click here to register

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  LEE A. G. FELDSHON

  has over 25 years of experience in entertainment and corporate law. He launched his private practice, Feldshon Law PLLC, in 2018.  He represents producers, co-producers, composers, bookwriters, lyricists, directors, and other creatives in the live theatrical industry. He represented the New York Musical Theatre Festival from its 2004 founding to its dissolution.  He was production counsel for the Broadway revival of Pump Boys & Dinettes, and represented a Tony-award winning actor) in connection with the Tony-award winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  He represents the producers and/or authors of other live theatrical works including Stranger Sings! The Musical Parody, EPIC, Lizard Boy, Islander-A New Musical, Mozart-The New Musical, Dangerous-A New Musical, Who's Your Baghdaddy? Or How I Started the Iraq War, Desperate Measures (2018 Drama Desk Awards for Original Music and Original Lyrics), Rooms, and others. He is also co-producing Austen's Pride: A New Musical of Pride and Prejudice.  He negotiates screenplay option/purchase agreements and financing documents for film producers, and has worked as film production counsel for  Fly Away (SXSW Official Selection) and the documentary Darkon: An American Fantasy (2006 SXSW Audience Award). While Director of Legal Affairs and Business Development of the Radio City Entertainment division of Madison Square Garden, L.P., he worked on The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, A Christmas Carol, and Rockettes performances. As a Levine Plotkin & Menin associate, he worked on Rent (Broadway, touring), The Wild Party (Broadway), De La Guarda (Off Broadway), and other shows. He started his career as a corporate associate at White & Case.  In addition, he handles trademark and copyright registrations for clients, and represents talent management companies.  He received a B.A. from Columbia College in 1991 (magna cum laude, Rhodes Scholar State Finalist) and a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1994 (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar). Bar Admissions: New York.
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  SUZANNE GILAD

  is a Grammy and Tony Award-winning theatre producer. Broadway credits include: Angels in America (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play); Moulin Rouge!, Jagged Little Pill (Grammy Award), Company (starring Patti LuPone). Off-Broadway: The Other Josh Cohen, A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet. UK tour of Rock of Ages. West End production of The Last Five Years. New musical The Outsiders will premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. In development: Burlesque. Sue runs the US division of Creative Rights International, and is the Recruitment Co-Chair of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She is passionate about arts education and loves taking her children to age-inappropriate shows.  Visit www.InFineCompany.com for more info.
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  ERIC GOLDMAN

  For over 25 years, Eric has provided legal services to Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award winning talent, and to technology and internet entrepreneurs. Recent projects include representing the writers of the Broadway smash hit Come from Away and the producers of the highly successful Off-Broadway musical parody of the television show Friends. Before launching his own firm in 2011, Eric worked for 15 years as a Senior Associate for entertainment attorney Mark Sendroff of Sendroff & Baruch LLP. Eric also served as in-house counsel for St. Martin’s Press and Hertz Computer. His first job out of law school was working as an associate for copyright guru Stanley Rothenberg.  Eric is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law.
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  BRUCE ROBERT HARRIS and JACK W. BATMAN

  Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman are Tony Award-winning Broadway producers who have presented over 50 new plays, musicals and classic revivals, particularly for Broadway and the West End, plus many private and corporate events since forming their producing partnership in 2005. Their productions include - London/Berlin/Australia: Magic Mike Live; Las Vegas: Chris Angel Mindfreak; Broadway: Be More Chill (also London), Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus (Tony nomination), King Kong, American Son, Carousel (Tony nomination), Present Laughter (Tony nomination), Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Tony nomination), On The Town (Tony nomination), You Can’t Take It With You (Tony nomination), Pippin (Tony Award), Nice Work If You Can Get It (Tony nomination), Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Olivier Award) and Kander and Ebb’s The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway and in the West End (London Critics Circle and London Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical, Tony and Olivier Award nominations); Off-Broadway: My Trip Down the Pink Carpet (also London's West End), Straight, The 39 Steps, The Judy Show; Andrew Lippa’s I Am Harvey Milk at Lincoln Center; and Carrie the Musical (Los Angeles Critics’ Circle Award). Bruce and Jack have also produced five Original Broadway Cast albums (Grammy Award nomination) and were the Executive Producers of Gerald McCullouch's award-winning film “Daddy." sunnyspotproductions.com / sunnyspotcelebrations.com
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  CODY LASSEN

  is a Tony-nominated theatre producer and live entertainment consultant. Broadway productions include Indecent, the Deaf West Theatre revival of Spring Awakening, and the upcoming revival of Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive. Currently running off-Broadway A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet, the first new musical to open since the pandemic began. He has been part of the producing team for other Broadway productions including Tootsie, What the Constitution Means to Me, Torch Song, The Band's Visit, Macbeth and Significant Other. Upcoming: the first revival of Titanic, The Flamingo Kid, Steven Sater & Duncan' Sheik's Alice By Heart and Burt Bacharach's Some Lovers. In addition to producing his own projects, Cody consults for producers, theaters and agencies to help them discover how they should market their shows for the best chance of financial and critical success. Previously, he was the director of marketing for Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group and its three theaters: the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre. He is an active member of the Broadway League, the National Association of Musical Theatre, and serves on the Board of NY’s Vineyard Theatre. More info at codylassen.com
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  LARRY ROGOWSKY

  is a Grammy and multiple Tony Award-winning theatre producer  Broadway credits include: Angels in America (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play); Moulin Rouge! (10 Tony Awards including Best Musical), Jagged Little Pill (Grammy Award), Company (starring Patti LuPone), Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (starring Josh Groban), M. Butterfly (starring Clive Owen); Disaster! The Musical, and Significant Other. Off-Broadway: The Other Josh Cohen, A Commercial Jingle For Regina Comet. UK tour of Rock of Ages. New musical The Outsiders will premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Upcoming on Broadway this spring Funny Girl. Larry is on the Board of Broadway for Arts Education. Managing Partner at Creative Rights America, a development and licensing home for new theatre. Shows in development include the Broadway-bound musical Burlesque, adapted from the film starring Christina Aguilera and Cher.  Larry is a partner in MuseWorks, a creative NFT company for Broadway digital collectibles and beyond. Visit www.InFineCompany.com for more.
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  JAMES SIMON

  was a co-producer on the 2000 Tony and Drama Desk Award nominated revival of Bells Are Ringing, the 2014 play The Velocity Of Autumn and an associate producer of the Tony winning Broadway revival of Pippin, Play On!, and the West End production of Damn Yankees with Jerry Lewis.  Other Broadway shows in which he participated as a limited partner include Rent, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, Little Women - The Musical, Victor Victoria, Metamorphoses,  and many other Broadway, Off-Broadway, and international tours. He is currently being represented on Broadway with the hit comedy, The Play That Goes Wrong.
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  RON SIMONS

  is a four-time Tony Award-winning producer, four-time Sundance Film Festival selected producer and actor of stage, film and television. Ron is also the Founder and CEO of SimonSays Entertainment - A Film & Theatre production company with a mission to Tell Every Story™. SimonSays tells stories that examine the unheard voices of the American Tapestry. Broadway projects include the 2012 Tony-winning Broadway production of The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess and the all-black Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Additionally, Ron produced the Tony Award winning BEST PLAY and BEST MUSICAL winners Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Jitney revival and A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. Off-Broadway: Turn Me Loose with Joe Morton, and Bedlam Theatre's Hamlet/St. Joan. His film credits include Night Catches Us which premiered as a Grand Jury Nominee at Sundance and won both the FIPRESCI Award for Best American Feature and the 2010 African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Picture. Blue Caprice (Sundance premier) was sold to Sundance Selects/IFC, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Picture and nominated for the NAACP Image Awards' Outstanding Independent Motion Picture. Mother of George was a Grand Jury nominee in Sundance's U.S. Dramatic Competition earning Bradford Young an award for Best Cinematography. Mother of George was given the Best World Cinema honor by the African American Film Critics Association. Gun Hill Road premiered at Sundance as a Grand Jury nominee and was the winner of the IMAGEN Award for Best Film. It was released theatrically in the U.S. and abroad.
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  BAILIE SLEVIN

  is the founder of Financial Wellness Companion, Entertaining Finance, and is the current Sales Trainer at MediaRadar. She has made a study of language and how people communicate value, be it screenwriting, playwriting, sculpting, performing, painting, or commercial sales. Bailie helps to translate the creator’s passions to others in a business setting. With her15 years in the personal financial planning industry, Bailie developed a niche in the arts and freelance communities, specializing in working with people with an uneven income. She has also spent significant time in the theatre industry as a stage manager, general manager, and producer. She is a Life Purpose Life Coach and a New York Mental Health Peer Specialist. She lives in New York City with her rescue pup, Lorelai.
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  KEN WAISSMAN

  is one of only two producers in the history of Broadway to have a musical run over 3000 performances and a play run over 1000. (The other producer he shares this distinction with is the legendary David Merrick.) Waissman developed and produced the original Broadway production of Grease as well as two of Broadway’s longest running plays, Agnes of God by John Pielmeier and Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein.Waissman's first Broadway credit was the 1971 Paul Zindel play And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little with Estelle Parsons and Julie Harris, and his prolific Broadway efforts have resulted in four motion picture features, a PBS TV special, 25 Tony Award® nominations, and 5 Tony Awards® including a Tony Award® as ‘Best Play Producer.’ His new musical, Josephine, inspired by Josephine Baker, had its World Premiere in April at the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Deborah Cox played the title role and Joey McKneely directed and choreographed.
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  CHERYL WIESENFELD

  Following a career in publishing, Cheryl began her theatre producing career in 1998. Broadway: The Great Society, The Heidi Chronicles, All The Way, Rocky, Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, A Steady Rain, Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, ‘night Mother, Caroline or Change, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, and Hedda Gabler. Off Broadway: 10th Anniversary Exonerated, Play Dead, In The Continuum, Shockheaded Peter, Talking Heads, The Exonerated, The Waverly Gallery. Film: Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me. Current: Ain’t Too Proud- The Temptations musical. Upcoming: The Harder They Come. Cheryl has produced shows that have spawned national and international tours and sit down productions, regional productions, and London engagements which have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars. Cheryl has won numerous awards for her productions including the Drama League, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics Awards and 4 Tony Awards. She has been honored by Theater Resources Unlimited with “The Spirit of Theater” award in 2007, and The Houses on The Moon Amplify 2015 Award for her support in championing the unheard voice. Her board commitments: Theater Resource Unlimited where she co-founded the TRU mentorship program. The program to date has mentored over 200 commercial producers and self producing artists. Cheryl is on the board of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, and is on the Honorary Council of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven Connecticut. Cheryl continues her mentoring work and speaks at universities, on panels and for different organizations. She is in her second year of curating a theatre program with the title - Theatre that changes OUR World- at The Quick Center at Fairfield University.