Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces the Spring 2023 Producer Development and Mentorship Program (PDMP), which offers ongoing support and education for producers at all levels of experience. The PDMP Foundations Class will be taught again by instructor Blair Russell, a Tony-nominated producer, developer, whose experience ranges from fringe festivals to Broadway shows such as Slave Play, Lizard Boy and Sweeney Todd off-Broadway. Master Class will be led this semester by general managers/producers Martin Platt and David Elliott of Perry Street Theatricals, producers of the Tony-winning Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, as well as Dames at Sea on Broadway, Lend Me a Tenor musical in London and award-winning off-Broadway productions of In the Continuum, an oak tree and Bedlam Theatre’s Hamlet & St. Joan.
“I am so happy to welcome back Dave and Martin, who taught our producer program many years ago, before we created a separate Master Class. The level of their experience and their in-depth knowledge as general managers as well as producers, uniquely positions them as instructors and mentors for producers and self-producers at the Master Class level,” says TRU executive director Bob Ost. “And we’re so lucky to have Blair Russell back. He has proven to be a gifted and engaging guide for producing aspirants at any stage of their development.”
TRU is currently accepting applications for the 2023 Spring Foundations Class, the entry-level course in the Producer Development and Mentorship Program, as well as the advanced Master Class. PDMP is the only theater production program to offer in-depth instruction from accomplished producers at an affordable price. For more information and to register, visit
truonline.org/tru-event-category/pdmp/.
The Fall 2023 Foundations Class
Schedule: Tuesday nights, 6:30pm-9:30pm ET beginning late March.
Tuition: $295 for new members, $245 for returning members and students (ID required).
The Foundations Class will be taught by producer Blair Russell (Slave Play, off-Broadway Sweeney Todd). The Foundations Class is open to all aspiring producers, artistic directors, and self-producing artists. Those who are smart enough to want to know about the business are encouraged to register.
The Fall 2022 Master Class
Schedule: Monday nights, 6:30pm-9pm ET beginning September 20
Tuition: $425 for new members, $295 for auditors
The Master Class will be taught by Martin Platt and David Elliott of Perry Street Theatricals general management, producers (Tony winners for Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, Dames at Sea revival, Bedlam’s Hamlet/St.Joan, off-Broadway award winning In the Continuum and an oak tree; Lend Me a Tenor musical in London). Master Class is open to graduates of Foundations Class, and a limited number of producers with a high level of experience and a specific project they are currently developing.
PDMP’s purpose is to give members the knowledge and resources to become commercial theater producers, non-profit theater producers and/or self-producing artists. There may come a time in every theater artist’s life when you need to self-produce a show and create your own opportunities, and PDMP aims to provide the tools for that occasion. Our program teaches necessary skills such as developing a business plan, raising money, marketing and putting together creative production teams.
Join us for a FREE Introduction to the PDMP on Friday March 3
rd at 5pm eastern. A free meet-and-greet info session about our program with Blair, Martin and David. Bring lots of questions! The more you know about the business, the better your chances of success, so come hear how the TRU program can fill in the skill sets for aspiring producers, and how writers and other theater artists will also benefit from this program. Presented as part of the weekly TRU Community Gathering. Register at
https://truonline.org/events/free-intro-to-pdmp-spring23/Instructor Bios
Blair Russell is a Tony-nominated producer, developer, whose experience ranges from fringe festivals to Broadway shows. His most recent theatre projects include the 12-time Tony-nominated Slave Play, Lizard Boy, and the concept recording of the new musical For Tonight. As Co-founder and Director of Operations for Resounding, he produces live immersive entertainment. Blair has been a guest speaker/artist at a number of institutions including the University of Maryland, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts, and the York School in Monterey, CA. He was also a visiting lecturer for the semester-long Atelier program at Princeton University where he collaborated with composer Georgia Stitt on her oratorio The Circling Universe. Blair has appeared as a guest on a number of podcasts (American Theatre Artists Online, A Star Is Bored, Backstage Talk, Broadway ReFocused), webseries (Actors Unscripted, Awkward Conversations, Be Our Guest! – Live and In Color, Dreamland XR, In The (Home) Office – Goodspeed Musicals), and at global conferences (National Alliance for Musical Theater, Global XR Conference, Immerse Global Summit Series).
Martin Platt has worked together with David Elliott for nearly 20 years. Martin is a producer, director, and general manager, and a principal in Perry Street Theatricals (PST), and in Pemberley Perry, a collaboration between PST and Pemberley Productions. PST, founded by Platt and Elliott in 2004, is a multi-award-winning producing and general management company where they collectively produced and general managed over 25 productions. Their productions have been nominated for nearly every award in the theatre industry. Selected credits collective and separate, include: London: Nixon’s Nixon, Lend Me A Tenor The Musical Broadway: Dames At Sea, Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike, Off Broadway: The Woman In Black, Islander, Georgie; General Manager: The Last Ship starring Sting (Ahmanson), The Secret Garden (Ahmanson), Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (CTG Los Angeles), Richard Nelson’s The Michaels Abroad.
David Elliott has worked in the New York theatre community for over 25 years, much of that time with Martin Platt as a principal in Perry Street Theatricals (PST). PST, founded by Platt and Elliott in 2004, is a multi-award-winning producing and general management company where they collectively produced and general managed over 25 productions. Their productions have been nominated for nearly every award in the theatre industry. Highlights include – London: Lend Me A Tenor The Musical; Broadway: Dames At Sea, Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike. Off Broadway: Georgie, Bedlam’s Hamlet and Saint Joan, In The Continuum, The Exonerated, An Oak Tree, and 7 shows as Producing Artistic Director at the Cape Playhouse. As General Manager: Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility, The Saintliness of Margery Kempe and 3 tours with The Aquila Theatre Company. David recently served as Producing Artistic Director at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, MA.
Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is the leading network for developing theater professionals, a twenty-nine-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, goods and productions; presents monthly panels as well as the new weekly Community Gatherings; offers a Producer Development & Mentorship Program taught by prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and also presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop business skills. TRU serves writers through the TRU Voices Play Reading Series, Writer-Producer Speed Date, a Practical Playwriting Workshop, How to Write a Musical That Works and a Director-Writer Communications Lab.
Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by the Montage Foundation, The Storyline Project and the Leibowitz Greenway Foundation.
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