Producer/Director
Toby Chernesky is a producer and director of original live performance, known for developing bold, genre-blending cabarets, concerts, and events that center on queer storytelling, musical theatre, and digital culture. With a focus on inventive staging and audience-driven experiences, Toby has created and helmed productions across New York City venues, including 54 Below, The Green Room 42, and Wonderville.
Creative, Collaborative, and Community-Oriented Shows
When I turned sixteen and was ready to begin performing, COVID hit. Performance opportunities disappeared, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and make them myself! The ideas started flowing—and by the end of high school, I had fallen in love with the process of putting a show together. This love blossomed once I moved to NYC for college.
Today I specialize in building collaborative, community-oriented projects—overseeing everything from concept development and casting to fundraising and marketing—even hosting! My cabarets tend to be high concept and test the limits of what’s possible to perform in a venue within an 85-minute time limit, and therefore, I unknowingly became a director as I started to include detailed staging, scripted bits, and costuming for shows. When a cohesive narrative became a priority, I started working more with actors in rehearsal to get a smooth, efficient performance. Through all this, I learned the importance of collaboration and respect in a creative context, and I had to learn how to work with music directors and co-producers, since I had gotten used to doing it all myself. My producing history in the live music industry and continued pursuit of a music career have also become extremely useful, whether I’m producing a concert, cabaret, or nightlife event, as I have gained the vernacular to work efficiently with musicians and sound engineers.
This work culminated when I served as Associate Director for Steinhardt’s Spring 2026 production of Rent, working alongside director and head of the Vocal Performance Program Dr. Errik Hood, Music Director Benji Goldsmith, and choreographer Katelyn Prominski! It was my first time working on a fully staged musical, and I was so grateful to work on a show covering material I am so passionate about and feel I could actually have a positive impact on, particularly regarding drag and the AIDs epidemic. I hope to continue pursuing directing, and dream of putting up my own musical one day!
I couldn’t be more proud of the shows I put up, the talent I get to work with, and my ability to turn a complicated idea in my brain into a reality! As a director, my work is defined by high-energy theatricality and camp, sharp comedic sensibility, innovative use of space and perspective, and a commitment to reimagining familiar material through a contemporary, queer lens.
Some of my favorite and most recent shows I’ve produced and/or directed include:
A Gay’s Dream: Broadway’s Leading Ladies with a Gender-Bent Twist
Venue: 54 Below, Music Director: Mason Margut
A community celebration of queeress, all types of voices, spectacle and authenticity, featuring male and nonbinary performers and drag artists performing songs sung by female characters in musical theater!
Venue: 54 Below, Co-produced by Megan Onello and Aidan Wells, Music Director: Aidan Wells
a theatrical concert version of Cartoon Network’s hit animated series Steven Universe, using Rebecca Sugar’s music from the show!
An Undertale & Deltarune Variety Show
Venue: Wonderville, co-produced by DJ Guilty Pleasures
A variety show based on Toby Fox’s hit indie games Undertale and Deltarune! This immersive event featured drag, burlesque, singers, cosplayers, and more, as well as DJ sets, trivia, and cosplay contests with prizes!
Venue: Wonderville, co-produced by DJ Guilty Pleasures
A variety show based on the Pokémon franchise! This immersive event featured drag, burlesque, singers, cosplayers, and more, as well as DJ sets, trivia, and cosplay contests with prizes!
Venue: The Green Room 42, Music Director: Chelsea Melnick
A benefit cabaret that raised over $2,000 for The Trevor Project in response to the closure of The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services program in July 2025.
In everything I put up, I’m dedicated to creating vibrant, inclusive performance spaces that celebrate identity, nostalgia, and the transformative power of live theater.
