Written by Producer & TMS Mentor, Jonathan Hogue

Hey {{ first_name }},

You've got a new musical or play that you've been working on for years. 

It's been through readings, and workshops, and development sessions, and rehearsals, and now…

You're in previews.

It's perhaps the most exciting - and ...

Written by TMS CEO Monica Hammond

If you want your show to have a life beyond its first production, don't just make it available for licensing and hope the right theater finds it.

Treat licensing like a marketing campaign.

Regional theaters, community theaters, universities, and schools are const...

Written by TMS Director of Creative Development & Mentor, Eric Webb

Hello, TheaterMakers!

File this one under “A” for “Another Missive Inspired by the TMS Mentorship Members.”

Pretty nifty filing system I have, huh?

Historians will have a field day going through my records when I pass…

Aaaaanyw...

Written by Producer & TMS Mentor, Jonathan Hogue

 Last month, I had my first experience at the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

And it was incredible.

If you haven’t been yet, it’s a must-experience pilgrimage for all TheaterMakers and theatre lovers. Throughout the month of August, the en...

Written by TMS CEO Monica Hammond

Imagine you have 5 minutes with a Producer and they ask you what your show is about.

You take a breath and start explaining.

“Well, it starts with this woman who moves back home after her father dies, and then she discovers this box, and inside the box is a lette...

Written by TMS Director of Creative Development & Mentor, Eric Webb

Hello, TheaterMakers!

Real talk here.

I’m bad at pitching.

I’m working on it. I’m getting better at it.

So I guess perhaps it is more appropriate to say I was bad at pitching (and can sometimes still fail).

For me, part of it ...

Written by Producer & TMS Mentor, Jonathan Hogue

It’s a daunting thing to pitch a show - especially when it’s your own.

I know the feeling. You have a rare window of someone’s attention. You believe your show has enormous potential, and you know the person sitting across from you could be the one ...

Written by TMS CEO Monica Hammond

It's pretty hard to get a producer's attention. And if you're lucky enough to get a meeting, you must make a good first impression because second chances are rare.

A few years ago I was working feverishly to get my new show, The Spirits' Speakeasy, written and up in...

Written by TMS Director of Creative Development & Mentor, Eric Webb

Hello, TheaterMakers!

I’ve expounded in this space before about my adoration of the 10-minute play and how it can be an indispensable exercise for emerging playwrights as well as an incredibly useful tool for networking and buildi...

Written by Producer & TMS Mentor, Jonathan Hogue

Producers can seem mysterious.

I get it - I am one.

Producing is one of the few careers in theatre that isn't widely taught, and there are very few mainstream cultural reference points (other than, of course, Mel Brooks) that accurately capture wha...

Written by TMS CEO Monica Hammond

Every year, TheaterMakers dissect the Tony Awards looking for clues.

Which shows won?
Which artists were recognized?
Which productions beat the odds?

But perhaps the most interesting question isn't who won.

It's why audiences connected with these stories in the fi...

Written by TMS Director of Creative Development & Mentor, Eric Webb

I got asked last night, and get asked often, “When is the right time to start submitting my work?”

And, as is true with nearly everything in our industry, the answer is largely dependent on context: who are you submitting to? Wher...