My Day at The Commercial Theatre Institute’s Indie Theatre Productions Seminar

By Victoria Fernandes

As a young person involved in theatre, my biggest goal is to learn as much as possible, whenever possible. This goal was certainly met at The Commercial Theatre Institute’s Indie Theatre Productions Seminar held on Friday June 9th at The Anne L. Bernstein Theater. With a variety of speakers from all over the Indie Theatre community, the day was jam-packed with information, all presented in a friendly and accessible manner.

Mark Finley, Artistic Director of TOSO

While the whole day was fruitful with information, one of the speakers that made a lasting impact was Mark Finley of TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence.) Through his years of creating impactful theatre that focuses on the LGBT community, Mr. Finley has garnered an impressive amount of knowledge about finding the perfect performance ppace for your production. Will your production have its own private 99-seat theatre, or will you opt for a more unconventional venue like a nearby restaurant or park? The options are limitless! Finding the perfect Performance Space is all about weighing the pros and cons, accessing the vibe and consulting with your budget. Fully equipped with important tips like reading your contract carefully, a plethora of valuable information was given, along with a number of resources.

Morgan Lindsey Tachco

Another speaker that was particularly informative was Morgan Lindsey Tachco, an NYC-based creative consultant and theatrical performer. With her 45 minutes, Ms. Tachco provided course-goers with valuable information about marketing. As someone who is particularly interesting in marketing, especially social media marketing, this session was both interesting and important. When marketing, it’s important to keep in mind, “Progress not Perfection.” The key to a successful marketing campaign is to use a combination of your online community and personal circle of friends and colleges to reach as many people as possible. Accompanied with your statistics of what has or hasn’t worked in the past, the marketing of your Off-Off Broadway production will surely be effective.

Overall, my day at The Commercial Theatre Institute’s Indie Theatre Productions Seminar was an informative and extremely necessary one. I know that the information I learned will carry me throughout my entire theatrical career, serving as a basis for the future.