It's Day Three of the TS Eliot US/UK Exchange, and Dan Baker gives us a run-down of the meetings he has attended - potentially leading to transatlantic producing opportunities in the future...

Day Three in New York has been an epic day.

Having recovered from my jetlag following a good night's sleep, I awoke knowing the day ahead would require me to be at my best - Wednesday had been set aside as the day for meetings for producers, directors and writers (with actors having workshops). With my diary packed from 9am until 7pm, I loaded up on business cards and CVs and headed out - with New York being such a competitive city, such preparation is essential.

The day actually started in quite a relaxing way - the producers got together for a meeting over breakfast, to discuss the week thus far and to ensure there were no major problems ahead of Friday's showcase. With things being so crazy since our arrival, it was great to just be able to have a catch-up and see each other properly - especially considering what awaited us...rain. Lots of rain.

My first meeting of the day saw me dash through the rain to get to the Lincoln Centre - the first of many meetings I attended with directors from the Exchange. As someone with an interest in supporting artist development, and who likes to work closely with writers and directors, it was interesting to hear about their Directors' Lab - an intensive residency open to directors across the globe to develop ideas and practices in an open context. The Lincoln Centre itself is a fascinating space, acting as a hub for various arts organisations in some amazing spaces.

As the hour at the Lincoln Centre passed quickly, we then had to make the short journey to visit the Drama League and meet with Roger Danforth. Having been founded in 1916, the Drama League has established itself as a promoter of emerging directing talent, and sitting in their office surround by posters from alumni productions it's clear some fantastic people have passed through its many programmes. Roger himself was hugely entertaining - clearly passionate about theatre, he regaled us with a number of anecdotes and insights into the mechanisms of US theatre, and was also completely open to the possibility of any of us Exchangers trying to work with them in the future.

Now, here follows a word of warning: if you think New York cabs would be better than London ones, you'd be wrong. We faced a mad dash to get from the Drama League to Soho Rep, passing through Times Square to go Downtown. We definitely should have taken the Metro, despite my previously documented problems with it - we went Uptown before finally going Downtown, where we went too far South before finally turning back. And the driver, being the charmer that he was, had the cheek to blame us for not telling him he was going the wrong way! Funnily enough, a cab full of Brits would probably be more likely to rely on you for that, buddy...

Anyway, when we finally arrived at Soho Rep we met with Rob, who gave a great talk about their work and how they have links with British writers. With a number of people having to leave for another meeting, myself and director Oliver Rose had the chance to have a more relaxed chat with Rob, and we discussed in more detail the differences between working in London and New York - as well as giving Rob tips on potentially working in London. Who knows - maybe we'll see him again soon..?

With much more time before our next meeting, we had the chance to grab a spot of lunch before heading to meet Elysabeth at 59E59. As the venue hoisting the Brits Off Broadway season - which presents a number of touring productions by British companies of varying sizes - this represented a realistic venue for some of us to present work in; in fact, director Kirsty Patrick Ward will be heading over in November to work on nabokov's 'Bunny', and writer Ella Hickson's 'Precious Little Talent' may also be involved (produced by Old Vic New Voices Project Manager James Quaife). Elysabeth spoke to us with great candour and real passion for British work - and obviously recognised many of us may head over at some point in the near future with work. I definitely found this the most interesting meeting of the day, as it represented the best opportunity to lead to a producing opportunity in New York - maybe I'll be back sooner than I think?

After this, and with the rain having abated, a handful of us headed over to meet with Paula from Mind The Gap; unfortunately, some confusion about the meeting place - with an incredibly miserable person telling us Paula wasn't at the place we were meeting - meant that didn't happen. The meeting has been rescheduled for Monday morning, which is good news; again, the company represent a good contact to make for presenting work in New York in the near future.

After this, our evening was our own. We considered checking out a show, but with even half price tickets being $70 we instead decided to retire to a Mexican bar for food and drinks. This proved to be a wise idea; after such a long day, the tequila flowed like water and we definitely enjoyed a well-deserved drink or two after such a long day! The group of us in attendance shared information about our meetings and had a great time, before retiring to our respective homes and beds/sofas. Thursday brings rehearsals and prep all day, before the showcase on Friday - here's to it all going well...