What I Learned at the Summit – Part 1

This weekend was the 3rd Annual GLBT Economic Summit in Washington, DC. This was my second year in attendance and I learned so much again I thought I would share the big points in a couple of blog posts. The Summit is put on by the Office of GLBT Affairs, the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development for Washington DC, the Washington Economic Partnership and PEN- Metro DC’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce. As you can see, this Summit was no joke.

One of the Keynote Speakers was Harriet Tregoning the Director of the Office of Planning. Right away I sat there and thought, I will probably learn some business stuff but tying this into theatre is going to be tough. Then she delivered her keynote and she spoke about how DC should and can grow highlighting three ways to do so, Green Jobs, Retail and the Arts. Yes, the Arts took on a pretty big role in her speech. In fact she mentioned my company by name twice and she didn’t just talk about the big theatres but addressed smaller ones like the Fringe Festival and the Atlas Theatre.

She highlighted that in DC there are over 75,000 “creative” jobs. Which are everything from museums to media to theatre. She also said that of those jobs about 5,200 were in the performing arts. Most of the jobs were in media and communications in DC. In fact almost half of the creative jobs were in media.

Tregoning spoke about how we need the arts everywhere and how important they were to a thriving community. She said that the arts brought business to areas and helped with restaurants and retail. She encouraged us to think of creative ways to use empty space in the city and talked about having a rehearsal in a store front or even someone painting portraits and how that was more interesting than just an abandoned store front.

Why was I so excited about her speech? Because this room was full of business men and women, most of whom had nothing to do with the arts. Yet here stood someone from the planning office taking one third of her speech to discuss how the arts impact and should be thought of when planning the city.

Bonus – Tree Tweeting – She also was asked about trees in the city and she mentioned that you are responsible for watering any trees in front of your house even if it is not directly on your property. She went on to say that they are working on having your trees tweet you. This way you are reminded if the tree has not gotten rain in a while that you should water it. I just thought that was neat and had to share. More from the summit tomorrow.

Oh, Human Resources

I must say, I love having a real department dedicated to Human Recourses. This is the first time I have been at a non-profit that had that. Some had part-time HR employees, but never two full-time people. And they do a great job.

This week the blog and website policy was revealed. I get a little touchy about this because it is free speech, though I do understand the necessity of the policy. Not everyone has a blog as serious as mine and might slip, and Lord knows I could slip up too. So here is a line that will not appear on every page or with every posting, but I will say it once for all to read so that should I ever slip up, it is in there.

These are my personal views and not those of the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

I have said it before and am still so surprised by the content I see out there on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. This could all come back to bite you at some point, and you should be careful. A friend put it this way, “Just imagine everything you post is going on the front page of the New York Times.”

DC Regional 09-10 Season

I was looking through several local companies’ seasons, and I thought now would be a good time to highlight the shows I really want to see in the D.C. area.

First is The Musical of Musicals, the Musical at Metro Stage in Arlington. I love this soundtrack but have never actually seen the show. If you like musicals, this is a great show that makes fun of Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, Webber, and more. It is fast and witty.

There are two shows I really want to see at Arena Stage. First is The Light In the Piazza by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel. It was a big hit among my NY friends, but again, I have never seen it. It will be a scaled down version of the Broadway production, but I still look forward to hearing the songs in context and look forward to see what Molly Smith, Arena’s A.D., does with this musical.

The second show I really want to see at Arena is Sophisticated Ladies. I have actually seen this show before, but this time it will star Maurice Hines, whom I love. I worked with him at Arena’s announcement of the Mead Center, and he was so charming and talented I can’t wait to see what he does with this role.

Speaking of roles, did someone say Helen Mirren? Yes, she will be at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in September, and I cannot wait to see this. Tickets were sold out so fast that I will be one of few who get to see her in the only U.S. engagement, and I can’t wait. Yes, that is me looking forward to seeing a play.

Just when you couldn’t believe I was looking forward to seeing a play...I am also looking forward to another play, and a Shakespearean play at that. As You Like It at the Shakespeare Theatre Company will happen in November / December. I worked on this show in college, and I really do enjoy it...and this production in particular will take an interesting twist and will be a pretty large scale production. I have always been impressed with the technical work at STC as it is often as good, if not better, than shows I have seen on Broadway.

Another play. The Picture of Dorian Gray at Round House Theatre in Bethesda. I want to make this book into a modern musical, so I want to see how Roundhouse has adapted it and see it on stage for the first time.

I am also excited about The Last Cargo Cult at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. It is a one man show by Mike Daisey, and I just think the concept is interesting. This is taken from the website: “…Worshipers of cargo left behind by American GI’s, these islanders build meticulous bamboo replicas of Western engineering, re-enact scenes from internet broadcasts, and summon American power through sympathetic magic. What does our economic crisis mean to them, and what can they teach us about wealth and wishful thinking?” Interesting right? We will see.

Ford's Theatre is doing Little Shop of Horrors in the spring, and this is another show that I adore. I have seen it on stage 4 times and look forward to see how Ford’s takes on this giant plant. It is one of those musicals that is just fun to see.

I saved Signature Theatre for last. Why? Because I want to see everything in their season. I love the work they do and love musicals, so I will try and see everything. They have one play this year, I Am My Own Wife, and it will be directed by the very talented Alan Paul. I have never seen a show directed by Paul before, nor have I seen this Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Other shows in their season are Dirty Blonde, Show Boat, Sweeny Todd, Title of Show, and a new musical titled Sycamore Trees.

So, there you have it. My DC play list for this year. Which shows are you looking forward to?

Ask My Frends -Work / Life Balance

“Ask my friends” continues to be a huge success. Today we have Jennifer Foster who is the Audio / Video Engineer for the sound department at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Jenn is a good friend and a great sound engineer. We have worked together on several productions and I am always impressed with her professionalism and attitude. I throw lots of curve balls to her and she handles them all gracefully and always with a smile which goes along way with not only me but our clients. I asked Jen how working in theatre she balances a work / life balance and why it is important.

“The clock strikes midnight at Sidney Harman Hall. Another show done, and I’m heading home in hopes of engaging in sweet dreams about... that rental event that starts tomorrow at 8am?! And the five projectors that I have to hang from the ceiling in the Forum after that?! Am I going to make it to orchestra rehearsal on time? I don’t know who wants to start their event that early, or who wants projectors hung from the ceiling, but I do know that I continue to work quite a zany schedule while still being able to call that which I have outside the theatre a life all the while trying very hard to maintain my sanity! I’m sure all of us working in the theatre world can fully understand the state of a sleep-deprived prisoner, and while my own sanity comes and goes (as some of my fellow colleagues can confirm), I do somehow manage to keep my life away from the Shakespeare Theatre an actual life.

When I was considering joining the McLean Symphony Orchestra a while back, a fellow theatre friend of mine said to me, “Wow, you’re like a real person!" This made me laugh, of course, but strangely I knew what she meant. How do I do this, you say? How do I balance a crazy work schedule with my personal life without being the next to fly over the cuckoo’s nest? I do owe a lot of my ability to maintain my non-work activities to a great department at work. Without the mutual respect that the five of us in the sound department share, I might not be able to attend Alliance Française events, or run that 8k on St Patty’s Day, or film weddings on Saturdays. We all compromise a little bit to accommodate each others’ personal lives to a certain degree, and we have a boss who is more than happy to see that we are all getting enough time away from work to ensure a more productive group of sound folks. If I have a race I want to run, or a vacation I'd like to take, I can bring it to my boss and we work together to see who’s available to work in my place while I’m out. Similarly, if someone else in the sound department asks for time off, I will step up to take their place while they are out. We work as a team, and are therefore able to properly fulfill our own personal lives.

Now, this is not to say that I get to do everything I would like to do outside of work. There are times when the schedule gets quite hectic and I am not able to get a night off. There are times when events pop up, the schedule changes, and all of a sudden I’m canceling my own plans. It’s in these instances that I am ever grateful to have such considerate groups of individuals outside of my work environment. The people in my amazing young adult group at Messiah UMC are always understanding of group get-togethers or meetings that I have to miss. Likewise, the McLean Symphony conductor has always been accepting of times when I have either had to be late or miss a night of rehearsal. And so the story goes it’s a juggling act, in which I’ve had to become rather skillful.

But why do I do this, you say? Why do I continue such an outrageous balancing act? I suppose the short answer would be that I love it. Despite the craziness of my job, I love the variety of work that I do, the people with whom I work, the atmosphere of the theatre, and the challenge it all presents - hanging projectors and everything! I must admit that I am completely new to the theatre world in my career, and this is the first job that I’ve ever really enjoyed in my career, so I have been motivated to accept the responsibilities it has presented albeit I have to make sacrifices at times. As this is my first theatre job, I have tried hard to maintain my previously “normal” life by continuing the activities that I have enjoyed since the age before I started working crazy nights and early mornings. The good thing about this is that I don’t take my free time for granted. I try to make the most of it while I can. And so, life continues on... I can work in theatre and be a real person all at the same time!”

Tony Time!

It is time for the Tony’s. Last night I was having dinner with a good friend and he reminded me of one of my goals when I was in college. It was to have a Tony by now or be working for a producer that would be up for a Tony. Sadly, I haven’t done either. But that is okay. I set high goals for myself. My goals sometime seem unreachable but I say why not try.

By setting high goals I was managing the backstage of the Fabulous Fox Theatre before I graduated college. I got into the 14 week Commercial Theatre Institute and learned from some of the best Producers on Broadway and I even have a very small part in a future Broadway show. Not too bad for only being 27. Yes, I would like to have accomplished more but I feel good about where I have been and where I am going. I am very happy at the Shakespeare Theatre and hope to further my career more there in the next couple of years.

My new goal is to have a Tony by 2017. Seems so far away. Wish me luck!

P.S. Watch the Tony Awards Sunday Night!

Dive Right In

I told you a couple of days ago about my meeting with Edgar Dobie from Arena Stage. Well, in that meeting we were talking about my job as a Booking Manager and how bookings affect the Shakespeare Theatre and I told him about a bi-monthly meeting I started with the other regional theatres that handle rentals. I asked if maybe he wanted to send someone from Arena to the meeting.

I was so impressed by him in our meeting that it wasn’t too surprising when he said he wanted to attend himself. I know, and I am sure he knows, that this could easily be passed off to someone below him but he wanted to jump in and get an understanding of what the meeting was about before sending someone else.

As a leader it is so easy to pass things off to staff but really good leaders jump in and get their feet wet. They want to understand the organization from top to bottom. Think of all meetings your staff goes to on your behalf. I suggest you step in on some of those meetings to get a better understand of your organization or your production. Knowledge is power so learn more about what people on the inside of your company are doing.