ABT and Roundabout Theatre Company participate in an exchange in which the ABT interns meet Roundabout’s apprentices. One Wednesday after work, a group of us headed from ABT’s offices downtown to go about thirty blocks north to Roundabout’s offices. We walked into their administrative offices and sat in a large conference room with the apprentices to listen to Roundabout’s General Manager at the American Airlines Theatre speak to us about her career path and her job responsibilities at Roundabout. It was fascinating to hear a different perspective of the nonprofit arts management world and mentally compare the differences between theater and ballet.
For me personally, I was really interested in the gargantuan nature of Roundabout’s operations (they operate four venues – three of which are Broadway houses!) and to consider aspects of theater I hadn’t thought about, coming from a dance background. She spoke about the differences between working for nonprofit theaters like Roundabout and commercial theaters, and told us the back story behind Machinal’s opening night, when the motorized set broke down and stagehands had to manually push the set around for the rest of the show.
To cap off our exchange and our theater education for the day, all of us from ABT and Roundabout went to watch the current production at American Airlines Theatre, On the 20th Century starring Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher. After hearing from the General Manager about all the responsibilities of her job, negotiating contracts, creating budgets, and ensuring the production runs smoothly, it was a joy to see
her work come to life that night!
As ABT prepares for the pinnacle of its season, the eight-week residency at the Metropolitan Opera House, it’s nice to take a step back from the bustle of the office and take a trip to the theater.
Catherine Hsieh
Major Gifts Intern
Spring 2015
Spring Interns Jeremy Leung, Chelsea Moskal and Catherine Hsieh outside the American Airlines Theater
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