April 2, 2025
What does a “day in the life” look like for you at work?
Fortunately, it looks a bit different from day to day. Some days begin prosaically in the office with a meeting or catching up with emails, while others start with a walk through Zellerbach Hall, or perhaps following up on an issue with one of spaces. Our department is spread out over three different buildings, so there’s always something interesting or top of mind in these spaces on campus. If a day starts and ends in the office without a meeting, there’s usually an album playing in the background.
How has your extensive background in nonprofit theater management prepared you for your current role as Department Manager for the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies?
It was fun walking into the room for a department-wide retreat on my first day on the job, and being greeted by a number of theater and dance artist friends from our faculty. When you work for many years in the theater community as I have, you tend to see a lot of familiar faces, which is just lovely. One advantage of having my background coming into this role is understanding how performances are made. I’ve developed an affinity for experimentation in various modes of performance. It’s helpful having that experience of making things on stage, and also the openness and flexibility that’s necessary to support art-making, research, and teaching.
Your time at Berkeley Repertory Theatre saw you collaborate with hundreds of artists and bring over 50 productions to the stage. What aspects of that work were most rewarding for you, and which productions stand out as particularly memorable?
So many aspects of that work were rewarding. In my role, I was constantly in dialogue with someone in need, whether it was an artist bringing their family to Berkeley for a residency, a performer with a medical crisis, or a department head needing support in recognizing their staff. At Berkeley Rep my job was to listen, engage, and try to help, and that was always a rewarding proposition. When I look back at some of those productions, it’s the quietest ones that stand out most, like Julia Cho’s beautiful play Aubergine, Big Dance Theater’s Man in a Case - an adaptation of Chekhov stories that starred Mikhail Baryshnikov, or the many presentations of new work from Berkeley Rep’s summer residency lab. I like the moments when you can sit in a theater or rehearsal hall, and be completely, thoroughly surprised.
Looking back, what personal or professional accomplishments are you most proud of, and how have they influenced you?
Personally (and professionally), for me it’s about the number of people I’ve been able to meet, connect with, support, or simply chat to over the years, including by now hundreds of artists, educators, and friends. Sometimes I describe my work as a series of engaging conversations. That actually describes my life pretty well too.
What are you currently learning and/or would like to learn?
I’m looking into Japanese curries.
What else can you share with us about you or your work?
TDPS is a thriving academic and artistic ecosystem. It’s a place where research, practice, theory, and art work in synergy, and where students can gather, create, explore, investigate, and grow as artists and scholars. For me, it’s a privilege bearing witness to what our students, staff, and faculty can do. I’m looking forward to these next stages in our little corner of Berkeley.