PDMP Master Class Upgrade - auditor level, $295 
(you must also be a current TRU member and accepted into this program)
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PDMP BASIC CLASS

Overview: The PDMP Directors will present new plays and musicals that are actively in development.  PDMP Members will choose a first and second choice of the show they would like to develop, for a hypothetical ongoing classroom exercise in tandem with the show's actual producer.  Those choosing the same material will be put into groups and formulate a development plan that will be informed by the monthly panels. At the final session in June, Groups will present their development plan to a panel of commercial producers. Members with their own projects in development may be able to use those as their class project, subject to approval.

Mentorships: Members shall have the right to request a one-on-one mentorship with one of the Program Directors and will have access to mentorships as a group with industry professionals who participate on the panels. 

• Special monthly interactive seminars with various topics of discussion. Guest speakers are all respected theater professionals.

• Curriculum designed to cover all major aspects of producing, step by step, from project selection to legal issues to budgets to marketing. Seminars will be geared to offer members the information needed to put together a solid business plan for their own project.

• At the end of 10 months, all members will present their business plan for evaluation by the program directors and invited guest professionals. One team will be awarded automatic acceptance into PDMP Master Class for up to 2 members, with up to a $400 scholarship. In addition, members may submit a proposal for a work they are producing on their own, and one individual project will be selected and given an endowment of $500 (The "Randall Wreghitt TRU Producer Award") for a developmental table read with industry talkback, or other developmental needs.

• The opportunity for goal-oriented one-on-one mentorships and consultations between industry pros and aspiring producers. Not everyone who is accepted into the program will receive a 3-month mentorship, though every effort will be made to place everyone in meaningful consultations to help guide them in development.

• All career producer members are eligible for one-on-one mentorships after program review and member’s goals are clarified. If you are placed in a mentorship - if you have a specific project and need - you meet with your mentor once a month for three months; the rest is follow up phone calls or emails. If you have specific areas that you want to explore and want a one-time consultation with a producer, general manager, lawyer or other theater professional, we set that up for you. But you have to email and request it.

• All SPA members are eligible for one-time consultations (there can be multiple consultations). A one-on-one mentorship is available only when the PDMP Directors feel the SPA member has clarified a qualified need for a mentorship, and after program review.

• Occasional hands-on internships with theater professionals, as available.

PDMP BASIC CURRICULUM
(topics subject to change, classes will meet one Wednesday evening of each month, 6:30-9:30pm)

Introduction and Overview of the Program: Clarifying Goals, Collaboration and Partnering. Particular attention paid to “actionable goals”, the prevalence of producer partners and how to make it work, and determining what projects are in sync with your goals.
Team Projects will be pitched to members by active producers.

Assignment of Team Projects. Developing a Strategy: What Goes Into an Effective Business Plan? A detailed look at the usual components of a business plan, with examples. 
An Overview of Developmental Steps: Table Read, Stage Reading, Showcase, Festivals, Partnering with a Not-for-Profit. 

Who Loves Your Baby? Identifying Your Audience, and Finding the Market for Your Project. A critical and dramaturgical look at projects to help members determine reasonable goals and appropriate markets to inform their plan. Plus a dramaturge discussing the elements of a good play: structure, an engaging protagonist, dramatic arc.

DECEMBER networking social

Why You Need an Attorney, and When. Options and underlying rights … collaborator agreements and the merging of rights. Focusing on the SPA/artist needs.
Setting up your business structure, legal entities and how they protect you. Not-for-profit versus commercial models of producing. Paperwork you need to raise money. Defining front money. At what point do you need offering papers?

When to Hire a General Manager, and Why. What does a GM do? The producer-general manager relationship. Plus an introduction to the team general managers.
Budgets, and Understanding What Things Cost. An analysis of actual budgets: table read, stage readings, showcase, festival/NYMF.

Putting Together Your Creative and Production Teams. Who does what? What to consider when choosing a director and a design team. The role of the Production Stage Manager and Technical Director. Understanding the hierarchy of power. The additional needs of a musical.

An Overview of Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations. Branding your project, your company or yourself. How to identify your target audience, and reach them.
Marketing to Special Interest Groups. Black audiences, Latino audiences, Asian audiences, gay audiences, other.

Downstream Revenue: Subsidiary Rights, Licensing, Merchandising, Touring. 

The Pitch: teams pitch their projects to an invited feedback panel.

To request an application, or to inquire about the program, email TRUMentor@gmail.com or download PDMP.Intake.Form2018 fill out and email to TRUMentor@gmail.com (be sure to add your name to the document name when you send it). Include a resume, please, focusing on your business and theater experience.

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SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN FOR MASTER CLASS

PDMP MASTER CLASS:  The 2018-19 program directors with be Broadway producers Jane Dubin (returning) and Rachel Weinstein. ONLY TRU Members that have completed the PDMP Basic Class may apply for the PDMP Master Class, though limited exceptions may be made if you have a high level of producing experience.  We will also accept applications from those who have taken other TRU Boot Camp workshops as well as the Commercial Theatre Institute 14-week course, or at least two other CTI courses other than the Weekend Intensive. The Class will be comprised of no more than 10 participants.  The Program Directors will alternate in working with participants on individual projects they are developing.

Master Class participants will present their development plan at the last session to a panel of commercial producers.  One project will receive the Big Kahuna Award – a $500 financial stipend that can be used to further develop the Member’s project.

Master Class participants shall have the right but not the obligation to attend the PDMP Basic Panels at no additional cost. 

WHAT GRADUATES HAVE SAID:

"I wanted to take a moment to personally thank [Jane Dubin and Van Dean] for your wisdom and guidance, and especially for your generosity of time, and your commitment to supporting new generations of producers, and showing them it really is possible to play in this arena and make some wonderful things happen. You know, back when I first started investigating producing, I felt so out of my league, so small and insignificant, and ignorant. But thanks to people like you both, and Bob and Gary, and so many other producers I've met through TRU, I feel part of a very kind family. And that it's ok to not know everything. But it is remarkable to me how much I've learned so far." ~ Frank Avellino

"I can't tell you how smart you are to have conceived PDMP. It's the best learning experience in theater. Martin, Dave and Jana are incredibly helpful. Thank you." ~Toni Hart

"I wanted to reach out and thank you so much for being my mentors for the TRU 2015/2016 Master Class. I don't think I realized how much you taught me until I presented my business plan at the last session. It was the Master Class application that motivated me to commit to my very first project! Ten months later I've navigated from option agreements to hiring a director to staging a successful reading with four Tony-nominated actors! Having access to the caliber of theater professionals you brought us was invaluable. Having mentors to talk to and listen to in class, and forming relationships with my other theater mates has been invaluable....  I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to learn producing, because you learn by doing."~ Wendy Leopold

"Since joining TRU and participating in PDMP for four years, I have learned a great deal and seen movement in our organization. We have expanded our season to include three productions a year and theater camp in addition to our fundraiser.  We have built a website and are now in the process of producing a marketing 3 minute film about Polaris.  Finally, we have expanded our enrollment enough to keep us in business.  We are on our way. While it is true we haven't completely reached our goals and there is much work to be done still, it is also true that we have a path to achieve our goals.  We are in a very different place from where we were when you and I first met." ~LeCee Johnson, Polaris Productions

"Through TRU's commercial producer training program I was able to work on my first Broadway show as a producer, be mentored by a multi Tony awarded producer and work with a well known and highly respected dramaturge/creative consultant from MTC on my current musical project." ~Jayne Ackley Lynch

"As an actor/playwright I finally found a supportive program that not only helped me achieve my goals but taught me the business of the business.  Thanks to TRU, I now have a concrete knowledge of how the business of theater works and a supportive community to turn to when I need advice!" ~T. Cat Ford