Choosing a Career in Performing Arts Management

by Leslie Shook

Decisions, decisions…

As a high school student, you may be involved in the live performing arts as an actor, director, musician, techie or stage manager. The hard work that goes into every performance is an exciting part of your life. There are many opportunities to become involved. The leadership of your arts department offers you many choices. Competition is fierce, and high quality is always the goal. The best part is, it’s challenging and fun!

When you enter your junior year or even before that, you will start thinking about applying to colleges and universities. Again, you will have many choices to make. How do you know if you will be making the right one? For what types of careers can you train? What channels will you have for your creative energy?

Career opportunities

Performing Arts Management is one very viable and exciting career choice with many, many different options. You will find that job titles vary within each industry and organization. As you try to plot a career path, you will want to explore areas of producing, company management, marketing, public relations, institutional advancement and fund raising, facility management, ticket services, artist management and business management, to name just a few. Work is available in both the commercial arena or in a non-profit venture.

American arts organizations are facing a new challenge: The leadership of many major organizations is aging. Who will grow into their jobs? Many performing arts managers who work in the field today came to their profession through an exploration of other career paths and growth within an organization over a long period of time. Today’s top managers began their careers as actors, musicians, box office workers, teachers, designers, independent producers or artistic directors. Few of them were professionally schooled in management science or business, but they have one thing in common—a commitment to the arts.

Opportunities for advancement and growth within an arts organization are available today, but the context is different now. Specialized education in this course of study is far more available than it was 30 years ago. Arts organizations are hungry for people who have been schooled in the practice of good, strong business theory, supported by knowledge of and passion for the art.

Veronica Claypool, Managing Director of Theatre Development Fund, spoke about the range of opportunities available to college students and graduates: “I think arts management in general is an underserved area, and theatre and fine arts offer a wide range of possibilities. General management offices specializing in production as well as organizations such as Columbia Artists Management and agencies like William Morris and ICM are focusing on creating new product. Organizations like the Spoleto Festival

and Black Arts Festivals provide a really good training ground. You can get a first hand look at the scope of the work that is available and possibly have the opportunity to work at the Festivals in production or management. At the government level, the National Endowment for the Arts and state arts agencies offer excellent opportunities for exposure. It is very exhilarating and exciting to be at the table with professionals working in the field.”

Everyone in the business knows that this is much more than a 9 to 5 job. Successful managers love their work and the people involved. They have a deep commitment to the artists they represent and support. The next generation of managers will have to enhance this passion with the addition of strong business acumen and creativity.

How to choose a training program

At the age of 18, the last thing you want to do is “Get serious!” Live performance presents an enjoyable challenge, with friendships and accolades as a bonus. If you enjoy working with people, have a flair for organization, have developed good communication and writing skills and have a lot of positive energy, there will always be a place for you on the business side of the arts.

“In high school I was not an actor and was not very handy with power tools, so being onstage or on crew were often ruled out,” shares Ryan Meisheid, a B.F.A. candidate in Theatre Management at The Theatre School, DePaul University. “I did anything I could with my school and local theatres, working on creating and editing programs, creating advertising and completing small details that often got overlooked. I did not know that people in real life held these responsibilities; I thought they were somehow magically completed before opening night. It was and still is thrilling to me that there are people in the world who do this.”

Your education is a sizeable, enduring investment. Keep an open mind and look into as many different avenues as possible. While you are in school, you don’t want to be pigeonholed or considered inflexible.

Look for a training program that offers you a variety of opportunities to experience the artistic side and the business side of the arts with an eye on history and heritage. Be sure your degree has a liberal studies component—literature may provide the basis for a Pulitzer prize-winning play or successful Broadway musical.

“The optimum situation is one in which there is access to professionals who have actually done the work,” said Ms. Claypool. You should take full advantage of internships and connections to alumni. Choose a school that offers a wide range of arts activities, both on campus and in the community.

Bill Patterson, Associate Professor of Theatre, University of Maryland, College Park suggests, “One of the things that I have always maintained is that as an undergraduate, you need to learn as much as possible about the art form. Ultimately, you have to know why you are making a management decision. The reason should be related as much to the art as to the bottom line.”

Test scores on the ACT and/or SAT are important for college admission. It also helps to have examples of your high school performance and production work in a notebook or portfolio, organized to highlight your interests and show your range.

Once you are THERE

Once you begin your college career, place a high value the connections you make with your teachers, fellow students and industry professionals. Make mentors of everyone who is willing to help you…and there will be many who will support your choices. In other words, be a sponge and be sure to thank the people who invest in you.

Learn to recognize your strengths and weaknesses (we all have them!) and find out what you LOVE to do. Develop a vision for your future, knowing this will change and grow over time. Recognize what you like, what challenges you and what you enjoy seeing on stage. Identify “next steps” as you progress and elicit help to accomplish them. Express yourself with confidence and listen well.

Continue to be a practicing artist. This is more than just dabbling. It helps to keep creative impulses fresh and alive. Read as many publications as possible about the work that is being produced across the country and worldwide. The internet makes it easy!

Use the connections at your school to become involved in the community, and make your own opportunities. “As an undergraduate, you should look for every work and internship opportunity in as many different areas of arts management,” says Professor Patterson. “This will help you make the ultimate decision about your career.” Build a portfolio of examples of your work, complete with an always-growing resume of jobs, internships and accomplishments.

“The apprenticeship is very important,” says Ms. Claypool. “Many college programs offer study abroad as an option; make Broadway your ‘study abroad.’ Consider spending summers or semesters in a Broadway management office or organization, like a general management office or Theatre Communications Group.”

Learning, growing and adjusting to your chosen livelihood will be an exciting adventure, and as you travel towards graduation, the four years of training will fly by. You will have honed and enhanced your creative, business and communication skills. Arts professionals will be eager to hire you and encourage you to become a valuable contributor to their organization.

Leslie Shook heads the Theatre Management program at The Theatre School, DePaul University, and is theatre manager for DePaul’s Merle Reskin Theatre in Chicago. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in Theatre Management from University of Illinois at Chicago.