Interview: Tom Viertel Talks New Programs and More at the Commercial Theatre Institute

Just a year and a half ago, Tom Viertel took over the position of Executive Director at the Commercial Theatre Institute (CTI) and has had his hands full ever since. Not only is he still an active theatre producer, but he also co-owns the popular NYC cabaret venue, 54 Below. Amid all of that, Viertel has been nurturing CTI's ongoing training programs to equip aspiring producers, and he is constantly envisioning new ways to help producers adapt to a constantly changing business like Broadway.

Viertel graciously spoke to BroadwayWorld recently about his additions to the program, his upcoming projects, and more!

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Can you first tell us a bit about the concept behind CTI?

Yeah, CTI was basically born of an idea that a guy named Fred Vogel had 35 years ago, to create a systematic way of educating people who wanted to produce for commercial theatre. That idea developed over years and years and years to a pretty elaborate program. It started out as a three-day seminar back then, but now encompasses about a dozen programs that educate people in producing in a variety of ways. And over that period of time, there were three executive directors. And many of them have gone on to distinguished producing careers. So it's pretty clear that it's an effective program. It's a creation of the Broadway League, the industry organization, and the Theatre Development Fund, and those two organizations combine as a joint venture, basically.

How exactly does CTI work?

Well, people enroll in various courses. There are basically three core courses: one is the three-day seminar that Fred invented years and years ago, and introduces people to just about every aspect of commercial producing, from how you choose a project, to the legal papers that have to go into making a production, advertising and marketing. A number of prominent producers come and talk about their experiences and lessons they've learned.

The second level program is a 14-week program where a class meets every week and takes a deeper dive into all of the kinds of aspects of producing.

Then the third level is held at the O'Neil Center up in Connecticut. The O'Neil program is a little bit different because there are projects being developed on campus at the O'Neil in the summertime, musicals and plays. We create a little team of people in the CTI program who get attached to one of the projects being developed up there, and they develop business plans for producing those shows on Broadway. It's theoretical rather than practical, but it gives them a chance to practice on a specific piece of material.

And what kinds of people do you have coming through your programs?

They're people who want to produce at any level. Not all of them want to produce at the Broadway level; some of them are planning to produce small showcases and things, others are interested in being able to act on stage, but even if you're producing at a much more modest level than Broadway, you can learn a lot. The one thing they all share is passion for theatre.

Sounds like a great opportunity for people to learn from these very experienced professionals.

There's no question, it's very special! There's almost nobody in the business who doesn't enjoy teaching these courses, and everybody I talk to is very committed to helping people who are as passionate as they are about it.

What new programs and advancements have come along since you started as executive director?

We just finished one last week on the physical aspects of producing a production, where we visited a major scenic shop and went into the backstage of a working Broadway house, and a tech rehearsal. We had speakers as well, talking about aspects of physical production.

In the fall, we did a project called "The Flop House," where four of the most prominent producers on Broadway talked about what it's like to have a flop, because they've all had one, and how you come back from that.

We've expanded our relationship with Actors' Equity, so we do courses for them that are for benefits, and we've been doing two or three of them a year, and that is more than it used to be.

We had a talk that covered crowdfunding, and you know, ON THE TOWN did a little bit of that as part of their fundraising. It's not Kickstarter-type crowdfunding, it's crowdfunding where you can give people actual financial awards. So I asked the guy who was in charge of all of that to come over and talk to us about the experiences they've had and how you go about that, because I think over the course of the next few years, we'll see somewhat more of that than we have. I try to make sure people are getting information, not only on the basics of producing, but also on the latest trends in the business, because one thing about this business is it's constantly changing.

So there's a lot of stuff going on, and I expect we'll add more as time goes on. I've only had a few months to do new programs. But once we got to the summer, it gave me a chance to think about what else we could add, and last year, we did 2 or 3 things we hadn't done before. But I expect we'll continue to add courses to the curriculum over the course of the next few years.

And all the instructors who teach these are volunteers. They don't get compensated, they're just people who want to give back and share with our participants. But people really do enjoy it, and people are really excited to be a part of it. I think people feel invigorated, and I think there's a lot of interest in Broadway these days, a lot of new shows coming on.

The next thing you'll be producing on Broadway is PENN AND TELLER, right?

We're very excited about that. It's been a big part of our lives over the course of 30 year producing career. Our very first production was PENN AND TELLER, and it was the first time they'd been in New York, or most people had ever heard of them, so we feel sort of responsible for each other, and it was great to be able to get together and do it again.

What else is in the works besides that?

We have other shows we're working on, and none of them are ready to be announced, but we have three other shows that we're going to produce over the next couple years, so there's a good deal going on over here. I love theatre, and I love to be involved in as many aspects as I can.

One of the things that helps with CTI is how much focus there is on Broadway in this season and recent years. It's a more vibrant industry than it was, and it's attracting people, and interested people who will either become an investor of a producer.

I think it's a very well-rounded set of focuses that will teach you everything that you need to know about producing that you can't learn anyplace else except by personal experience, and there's a lot you can learn from personal experience that nobody can teach you, but in terms of all the stuff we systematically teach people about Broadway and producing on Broadway, the only place you can find it is CTI.

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CTI is the theatre industry's leading training and professional development program. It covers the widest range of topics throughout the year and features over 100 of the most distinguished industry professionals as lecturers and panelists. It is a joint venture of the Broadway League, the trade association for the Broadway industry, and Theatre Development Fund, the leading non profit organization that supports commercial theater. For more information, visit: http://www.commercialtheaterinstitute.com/.

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