“I believe that it is vital to prepare the next generation of industry leaders for success, to learn from one another..."

What is your area of expertise?

I am particularly passionate about professional development. Over the past seven years, I have developed a career in the commercial theater—an industry that has historically relied on experiential learning and on-the-job training and which is overwhelmingly a business of relationships. I believe that it is vital to prepare the next generation of industry leaders for success, to learn from one another, and to leverage our relationships into improved communication and business practices. I also feel that it is never too late to learn and that being purposeful about providing professional development opportunities for practitioners at all stages of their careers is the surest way to ensure that we all have the tools necessary to move the theater industry forward.  

Please tell us about your work. Can you share any current projects?

I work for The Broadway League, which is the trade association for employers on Broadway—producers, theater owners, general managers, presenters, booking agents, and the like. We represent close to 800 members and their staff from across the country and globe and work both to further their aims and to help their businesses thrive. Our general philosophy at The League is to serve as a hub for all our members’ various needs, and to encourage them to use both us and their peers as resources. We have departments dedicated to labor relations, government relations, research and demographics, audience engagement, equity, diversity, and inclusion, marketing and business development, and more. We also partner on large-scale industry events and initiatives such as the Tony Awards and Jimmy Awards. Within my department, we are dedicated to the nuts and bolts of member services, as well as to vital industry networking and professional development programming such as conferences, forums, seminars, and social events. Next up on the calendar is a forum for Broadway marketing professionals across the country, which will take place at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis.

How do you draw upon your professional experience in your classroom teaching? Do you stockpile ideas/observations that you can bring to the classroom to inform readings and projects, discussions of current issues, or other distinct challenges that require a practitioner’s perspective?

Every day! My co-teacher Melissa Caolo and I are in lockstep on this, firmly believing that bringing practical examples and observations from our work into the classroom is the most effective way to illuminate a concept or bring a certain leadership philosophy to life. How does an industry such as ours navigate a global pandemic and return to business after over a year of closure? What leadership was required to achieve this? I can speak to that as someone who was on the ground throughout that process, watching our members at work. What will be the hot-button issues of tomorrow that will preoccupy commercial theater? Whether that is technology (from AI to streaming to Chat GPT) or audience retention and subscription trends, having a finger on the pulse of these conversations informs our discussions in the classroom. The intent of a course such as ours is to provide students with the practical training and professional development necessary to navigate the industry once their degree is complete—or even before. For me, a favorite element of our course is how often we are able to speak to colleagues in the theater industry. To my earlier point that this is a business of relationships, it is vital to hear from experts on the ground about what they are experiencing in the field, how those experiences affect their decisions, and what projects they pursue. One can’t be an entrepreneur in a vacuum!

Are there other ways that you have been able to engage students with practical experience in the field that has helped them launch their careers?

Networking, networking, networking! One of the assignments in our course is a research paper focused on a working professional in the theater industry—someone who has exhibited the tendencies and tactics of an entrepreneur. Students are required to interview the individual in order to get a better understanding of their career path and their work as a practitioner. We feel that it is vitally important to provide students with this opportunity to establish industry connections and dip their toes in the networking waters in a safe and encouraging space. The ability to foster these connections and hopefully leverage them into a wider professional network is a fundamental skill in any arts industry, but particularly in the commercial and non-profit theater sectors.

As a part-time/adjunct faculty member, you straddle the professional and the academic worlds. What do you consider to be the unique value this brings to the classroom?

I may enjoy theory and philosophy as much as the next academic, but I am a practical soul at heart. During my own time as a student at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, it was in learning from and speaking with practicing professionals that I stumbled upon my eventual career path. The classroom will always be a special place for me and a safe space in which to explore and practice professional behaviors and communication styles. But using the classroom as a window through which to view my opportunities and to see what might spark my interest was where its true value lay. I hope that this is what we are providing for our own students—a safe space but also a springboard.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Returning to academia has taught me that developing oneself is an ongoing process. In the words of one of my favorite poets, we are “forever arriving” at the version of ourselves that we wish to inhabit. Anything can be a transferable skill, a project for the resume, or a connection to foster if we have the intent and intelligence to make it so. Learning may take place in the classroom, at an industry internship, at a second job, during an informational coffee, or simply in conversation with our peers—and anyone can serve as an instructor if you are truly listening for what it is that they have to offer.