(New York, NY – March 24, 2008) Today, the Commercial Theater Institute (CTI) released the program schedule for its annual three-day intensive training program, "Producing for the Commercial Theatre.” This unique program is designed to help foster the next generation of commercial theatre producers and is open to anyone interested in producing or co-producing on or Off-Broadway, on the road, or investing in commercial productions.

Spread over three days with over 24 hours of lectures, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, attendees will receive the hard, factual information required to get a show on stage. Workshop leaders are drawn from a pool of commercial theatre’s most respected producers, general managers, theatre operators, press and literary agents, theatrical attorneys, and others. These industry professionals cover the business essentials of topics such as creative development, marketing, management, non-profits, legal issues, and the challenges of producing on and off Broadway. Some of the speakers for this year’s program include: Producer David Stone (Wicked) on the topic of “Why Produce At All?”, General Manager Abbie Strassler (Spring Awakening) on “Budget Production Analysis”, Producer Roy Miller (The Drowsy Chaperone) on “Producing for the Road”, Ted Chapin (of The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization) on “Creative Development & Exploitation of Material”, Producer Tom Viertel (Hairspray, The Producers) on “Script and Story Development for Musicals”, Producer Bill Haber (Ostar Productions) on “Options for Development”, Producer Kevin McCollum (Avenue Q, Rent) and Producer Barry Weissler (Chicago) on “Creative Producing”, and Todd Haimes (Roundabout Theatre Company) on “Working with Creative Teams”.

Both Friday and Saturday will end with a wine and cheese reception where participants are encouraged to network with the guest speakers.

The fee for the three-day workshop is $435. For more information or to register for the CTI seminar, visit www.commercialtheaterinstitute.com or contact the CTI office at (212) 586-1109.

For 27 years, the Commercial Theater Institute has been the preeminent apprentice program for anyone interested in learning about commercial theatre and has attracted over 5,000 registrants. Presented by The Broadway League and Theatre Development Fund, hundreds of graduates of the program have gone on to produce successfully on and off Broadway. CTI was founded by the late Frederic B. Vogel in 1982, and is now led by Jed Bernstein, President of Above the Title Entertainment and former President of the League.