MY STORY
My love of theatre began in high school. It then grew through a bachelor’s degree in theater and a master’s degree in lighting design. While continuing to do some design work, I found a rewarding contribution in arts administration, particularly venue management. These skills developed while I was the TD/PM for a brand-new performing arts center in Frostburg, Maryland, then matured as the production manager for the musical theater company Stage St. Louis, and finally reached a pinnacle as the director of the Touhill Performing Arts Center in Saint Louis where I spent most of my professional career. Now I am in a new chapter that draws on my past experience while capitalizing on new skills to help others succeed.
I have to admit that my first attempt at being a thespian was not a good one. I was put on the crew for my high school’s annual talent show but ended up bailing on the gig during tech week. This was an immature move and it was not till much later did I realize the stress that this put on the rest of the crew and production. In my defense I was 15, some immaturity is to be expected. However, by the end of the year, I managed to get back on a crew for the annual musical, A Chorus Line. Being a periaktoi turner was not a glamorous job, but it was an important one and taught me how a production, and in particular, a crew really worked together to become a family. I was hooked.
Theater became my main social group and after school activity. Pretty much if I wasn’t doing homework, I was doing theater. When it came time to pick a college major, of course I chose theater. Well, being the practical guy I am, I chose two majors and made sure the University of Minnesota had excellent programs in both areas so that I had some options without changing schools. Knowing that it was not realistic to make a living in theater, I first majored in Aerospace Engineering. Yep, an engineer, not too far-off theatrical design. Right? That major lasted a whole two trimesters. Learning that a metric of success was an aircraft’s kill ratio did that dream in. Well, calculus had something to do with it as well. So, it was back to a focus on theater, lighting design specifically. U of M’s program was great in teaching the basics and challenging us to be great theater artists.
I next took my career to the University of Florida to pursue a master’s degree. It was here that I learned that I do not care much for ambiguity and change. However, this environment really helped me develop great skills in being flexible and adaptable. Being adaptable opened me up to production management and facility management.
This led to my first real job at Frostburg State University as the technical director of their brand-new performing arts center. A great performance center designed to teach full-scale production as well as bring cultural offerings to far western Maryland.
A desire to return to the mid-west brought me to Stages Saint Louis. This innovative musical theater company really taught me how to take a little and make it go a long way. Their performance venue was so limited, but their resolve to create great art was so great.
Finally, the University of Missouri-St. Louis was about to open their new Touhill Performing Arts Center and I could not resist the chance to work in such a beautiful facility while also being able to stay in St. Louis. I started out as the Director of Stage Services, then quickly moved through the Director of Operations, and Interim Director, to become the longest serving Director within the first five years of being at UMSL. I led the Touhill for 12 years where my experience and appreciation for the whole performing arts spectrum really opened up. The building hosted a variety of genres from dance, theater, opera, jazz, a cappella, folk, to rock. I worked with students, emerging artists, and legends.
It was quite the ride until that ride abruptly stopped in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world and shutdown live events for over a year. The University was under financial stress, as was most of the world. Unfortunately, they determined that they could not sustain the performing arts center through the shutdown. 80% of the staff was laid off including my position.
This departure from UMSL provided for an unplanned opportunity to take a new direction and focus on sharing my skills, experience, and perspective with many organizations rather than focusing my energies on one. I learned that many small and mid-sized organizations suffer due to a lack of access to experienced managers and administrators. Given this need, my love of developing organizations, and the point in my career; Resilient Stage Consulting became the next logical step.
If organizations could not afford experienced administrators to drive their growth, I was in a position that allowed me to work with several organizations at once providing guidance and limited services to get them the access they needed to build resilience in the face of adversity. And at this time, resiliency was needed as the pandemic continued but the door was opening to a new but uncertain future.
Let me know how I can help you by filling out my contact form or emailing me at john@resilientstage.com