E. Clayton Cornelious: From Performer to Producer

In the vibrant and multifaceted world of Broadway, performers often see a future for themselves beyond just being onstage. It is not uncommon for actors to transition into directing or for dancers to become choreographers, even instrumentalists will often develop into music directors and supervisors. What they don’t become is a theater producer, much less a Broadway investor.

However, E. Clayton Cornelious, a renowned Broadway actor from shows like Ain’t Too Proud and The Scottsboro Boys, challenges these conventional perceptions as he stakes out a unique path on Broadway. He recently shared a compelling conversation with fellow actor and podcaster Patrick Oliver Jones—the two of them performed in last year’s star-studded production of 42nd Street at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. They delve into the national tour of Kinky Boots, which was a challenging time for Cornelious, and how that eventually led him on his journey to becoming a Broadway investor and producer, bridging the gap between creativity and entrepreneurship.

PATRICK OLIVER JONES: The tour you started in 2016 with Kinky Boots slowly became something you didn’t enjoy as much. You weren’t really loving your time there, so much so that it made you question your place in this industry. What exactly led to you disliking this tour experience?

E. CLAYTON CORNELIOUS: Mental health is a thing, and I just don’t think that—I don’t want to say anything horrible—but I didn’t quite enjoy the people that I was with necessarily, and the atmosphere that was created at that time. And maybe it was just me and where I was in my life. I had just finished three years of doing Beautiful the Carol King Musical on Broadway, and left Beautiful for the [Kinky Boots] tour. And I just wasn’t happy being on tour and standing by for [Lola], and I was really nervous.

I’ve done a lot of things in my career, but to play this drag role was unfamiliar because I’ve never done drag before or done anything like that. I knew I could conquer the role, but I was just out of my comfort zone, and I just didn’t really feel the support from my cast all the time. And so therefore, I was really nervous, and I was always messing up and things of that nature. When you’re on tour you have to be a family, and when you don’t have that, my brain was just not with me. I was in a bad place, and it really made me question, “Do I want to be in this business anymore? Do I like this feeling? What do I want to do?” It really started making me think that I needed to change something.

And I think that’s why I started investing in producing quickly after that, because my next show from that tour was Ain’t Too Proud. This is where I started investing, Broadway investing, and now I have eight current investments across Broadway, and now I’m co-producing and lead producing and producing on Broadway and off Broadway. So I think maybe that had to happen too. Sometimes we’re hit with challenges, and I think sometimes those challenges is just God saying, “Hey, I want you to go down this path over here. I’m putting a shift in your life because something needs to happen.” Now you have to take those as callings and not frustrations, necessarily, and you have to go, “Something’s happening. There’s a shift happening, and I need to listen to it.” So, yeah, that’s where I was in my brain at that time.

JONES: And what exactly led you to producing versus directing or some other field?

CORNELIOUS: I was always a business guy. I was always sort of with it financially, and my dad was a big business guy. I have produced a lot of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefits on tour, actually. I was always that guy that would put together a big extravagant BC/EFA show with the cast of whatever on tour, and we would raise $10,000-20,000. And I quickly realized most benefits and things that happened on tour weren’t as extravagant as I was making them. I was always going and doing the most and putting everything together from the ground up, from marketing to reaching out to people, getting donations. And I just quickly knew I do this well. And what is this thing that I’m doing? Oh, it’s producing. I’m producing a show.

And I think that the way into producing is investing. You have to invest in a show as an investor to know the process of what an investor goes through—giving money and putting it towards the creative arts. And then once you find out what that process is as an investor, you can then empathize with an investor who’s giving you money for a show as you co-produce it, or you fundraise for a show. And when you’re asking people for said funds for shows, you can say, “I’ve done this my own self. I know what this process is. This is what’s going to happen, so that everyone feels comfortable.” So I think that that is sort of the way into producing as well.

JONES: One of the things with 42nd Street, you started to put some feelers out and was wondering if some of the cast of that show wanted to be producers, and it’s not very common that actors are also producers. There’s kind of a line there that isn’t really crossed, but you seem to be crossing it.

CORNELIOUS: Yeah, I am one of the rarities. There are a few out there that are doing exactly what I’m doing. I have other actors who have won Tony Awards for co-producing shows, and I really don’t know exactly what their paths are. But I seem to be keeping up my acting career with the producing career, and that is a blessing. I am playing the lead on this [Ain’t Too Proud] tour, but also I’m co-producing on New York, New York, which I was supposed to be in, but I had to pull out of that show. And so I feel that ever since I started producing, that’s made even my acting career more appealing to producers or to casting directors.

And I do feel that every actor should be a part of the investing/producing process in some way, shape, or form. Because if you have stock in your own show, you’re going to do 100%—all you can do for that show. You’re not going to have a chip on your shoulder. “I have some money in this” or “I have some stock in this, so I need to do the best of my ability.” And once producers realize if you give your actors a little piece of the pie, they will respect that piece of the pie because it is theirs.

JONES: Speaking of tours, that is something that some of them do. There are these things called “overages” where if a show does particularly well in a city, then the cast will get a bump in their pay for that week. And it does behoove us to do a great show, to bring more people to the theater for that particular city. So that’s one of the ways in which giving the cast a financial stake in the success of a show, I think can really help the cast. Yes, we want to give 100% no matter what, but it just gives another reason to continually push and push ourselves to do better in a show.

CORNELIOUS: Totally. For example, I’m an investor on Ain’t Too Proud. I’m here doing the show, but I’m also collecting that investment check as well, and I’m trying to push the show for it. Do I try not to call out? Of course, because I don’t want to cost the show any more money than losses that it’s going to suffer from. And I now celebrate the London cast that’s about to start, and I’m a part of that one as an investor. So it’s really cool to say, “Oh, I pulled out of this show that I was a producer on, and I’m going into this other show, which I’m an investor on.” So it’s weird. I’m in all of these shows or supporting all of these shows, and I’m also in on the other side of it, too. So it’s just great to support theater in every aspect in every way. So it’s really cool.

JONES: As an investor, obviously you have to have the money because you’re giving it. Whereas a producer, you’re basically going to people and asking them for money. Both of them have their own challenges. So I assume it’s a different part of your brain that has you able to do both.

CORNELIOUS: Yeah, I suppose. I think the longer you’re in this career—as we tour and do this and do that and go to this regional house and perform here, just like yourself—you have now built up a clientele. And I think people don’t realize that we’ve built a clientele. People are following your career as your career is moving on. We all have these little fans or people just watching us as we grow in our industry, and we are building a clientele, I think. Sometimes investors come to me, or I go to investors who have watched my career, have watched me do investments on my own and just watching how that is going on. And as I post on Instagram or post on Facebook, or as they see how some of these shows are successful and I have been successful at investing and producing, that they go, “Oh, you know what, I want to be a part of that.” So everyone is building a clientele.

They’re really putting their money into you. They’re not really putting the money into the show necessarily. They’re putting their faith and everything in you, because they see how great your success is. So they want to be a part of that success. So that’s what I feel basically producing is, that you have to show people that you are doing well and that you can make good moves. And it’s not just about like, “Hey, can you give me money for this project?” People are really putting their faith in you. They’re not putting the faith in the project necessarily.

JONES: And in many ways, that’s why being an actor can be an asset as a producer. Because you understand the performance, especially if you’re in the show that you’re trying to get produced, then you have your own stake in it as a performer as well as a stake in it as a producer. So that can actually be good when it comes to asking for money.

CORNELIOUS: Yeah, I mean, who knows the show better than the actor who’s in it? That is the brilliance of it all. And I don’t think too many people understand that. I’m like, you’re actually in the product that you’re trying to sell. So you know the inside scoop—if the show is really good or if it’s really bad. And why would you want to support something that you know is not that great? So there are certain things that I don’t produce or I don’t get involved in because I don’t know if I would necessarily put my money in that show. So why would I do that?

That’s why when I do come to someone as a producer or as an investor, I have my utmost faith in that show. So hopefully they will take my opinion seriously, because I have been in this business for 25 years, I do know what a hit is and a show that wouldn’t do so well. So if I do speak from the inside out, meaning being in the cast, I’m actually saying, “Hey, the script is great, the cast is great, this is amazing! And I think that you’re going to benefit from this.” It is much better if you can speak from the inside of the product.

As you can see, stepping into the dual role of a Broadway actor and producer has been a transformative journey for Cornelious. The benefits of this experience have far outweighed his challenges. As an actor, he brings an intimate understanding of the craft to the producing table, allowing him to nurture creativity and contribute to the artistic vision of a theatrical piece. Moreover, the opportunity to expand professional networks and learn from industry experts as a producer is invaluable. However, the balancing act between time commitments, financial responsibilities, and even emotional investment can be demanding. Nevertheless, with careful planning, a strong support system, and a passion for the project, Cornelious demonstrates that these challenges can be overcome.

Ultimately, combining the creativity of acting and with the financial understanding of producing can present a unique opportunity to contribute to the theatrical landscape in a multifaceted way. For Cornelious, this combination of artistic insight, ingenuity, and business acumen has allowed him to shape not only his own career but also the affect the future of Broadway and theater at large.

The above transcript has been edited for length and clarity, but not for content. For the full interview, check out Why I’ll Never Make It on the Broadway Podcast Network, available on any podcast app or platform.

Also by Patrick Oliver Jones:

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