Feature ~ Blog

What was your first job?

My first job was working in a menswear store when I was 13 years-old – I cleaned up the store for $25/week.  By the time I graduated from high school I was managing the store.  I also played double bass in a rock band and a wedding band in high school – and I was responsible for booking all the gigs!

How did you come to work in the arts?

I graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Music majoring as a double bassist.  Then I went to New York City to pursue a Masters in Music – and got a job with the Orchestra of New York as a bass player where we played Carnegie Hall all year long.  A friend at Carnegie Hall invited me to become the production manager for a small chamber music orchestra – the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.  Over four years, I went from being the production manager to managing the organization during a very exciting time when the recording industry was booming.  When I worked with the organization, we made over 40 CD recordings (including two Grammy nominations).  I also had the opportunity to work with artistic curation, such as programming a summer festival.

What inspired you to become an arts manager?

My background is performance – but I was drawn to management.  I wanted to take a leadership role and I felt I could have a bigger impact behind the scenes.  Circumstance, opportunity and desire led me to leave behind the security of a union job playing for a well-respected orchestra – what I do by leading an arts organization is not the same as being one of eight basses!

What event or experience have you learnt the most from?

The greatest learning is from the experience of sharing leadership in the dual-headed Artistic Director – General Manager model.  Sharing leadership can be challenging but is also very rewarding.  It can be a two-headed monster or a wonderful marriage.  This model has allowed me to work in many disciplines – music, ballet and theatre.  And I can’t forget to mention working with a volunteer board of directors in a non-profit organization – these people are a third leader for the organization.

I see the role of the General Manager as being that I do whatever it takes to create an environment where art can happen onstage.  That means working with your resources, ensuring stability, managing risks and taking courageous steps.  At the Arts Club, Artistic Director Bill Millerd and I have developed a solid relationship where we can work together and both trust the other to do his job.

You said that you have a good relationship with your current Artistic Director, Bill Millerd.  What do you two fight about?

Bill and I mostly fight over timing. Bill has a sense of urgency while I am much more pedantic.  For me, structure follows strategy – even though I acknowledge that there is strength behind instinct.  With Bill, we have a formal yet informal relationship.  We don’t socialize outside of work in an informal way.  Yet our working relationship is informal – we feel comfortable challenging each other.  Currently our big discussion is how to manage the growth of the Arts Club while maintaining the stability.  We are considering running another stage in Vancouver – the question being when is the best time to make that addition to our operations?

Tell me about your new 2007/08 season campaign – Easy to Love.

Well, our 2006-07 campaign was Vancouver _ Arts Club.  We thought about that idea, and asked:  “Why does Vancouver love the Arts Club?”  The answer is simple – we’re Easy to Love.  We offer our season ticket holders dramatic savings, top priority for the best seats and exciting new ticket services.  Now our season ticket holders can enjoy free and unlimited ticket exchanges (anytime until the day of performance), free lost ticket replacements (no extra charge) and free missed-performance tickets (show up for another performance 30 minutes early and get the best seats available).  We’re working on our web strategy – including videostreaming interviews, show excerpts and reactions from the audience.  We also plan to continue our student rush tickets for $15 each, available at http://www.studentrush.com.  It’s a fabulous season including The Glass Menagerie (which is our first drama to tour for some time) and The Black Rider (which is a co-presentation with PuSH International Performing Arts Festival).