Speaker Spotlight – Rae Geoffrey

Managing Director, Diana Wortham TheatreWebsite  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  YouTube

Month: May  |  Theme: Preserve

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your practice.
As the Managing Director of the nonprofit Diana Wortham Theatre, I curate an annual Mainstage season of internationally touring performing artists for Mainstage performances, a full series of Matinee performances for local school children, and maintain a professional venue and staff for use by our community of local artists and companies. The theatre is currently undergoing an exciting expansion from a single, 500 seat venue into the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts to include a new small theatre and a studio space. This project creates some out of the box learning opportunities regarding construction and planning.

Can you remember when you first learned about your field of work? How did you discover what it was, and how did you know it was what you wanted to do?
My grandmother loved the arts. I remember her taking me to a performance of “Annie” when I was eight years old. As the curtain went up and the orchestra began, tears started to run down my face. At the time, I had no idea or words to explain why this was happening. However, by the end of the show, I knew what I wanted to do with my life and have never changed course.

What is the best part and hardest part of your job?
The best part of my job is witnessing the transformation an artist can bring to a person or an entire audience. The worst part is having to quantify this experience to those who don’t believe it is vital to our society.

What on-the-job tools do you use every day?
Reflection, Gratitude, Patience, Active listening, Coffee and Lexapro

What about your community inspires you?
I am constantly impressed by our community’s willingness to grow and to change and to proudly wear unicorn costumes when walking downtown.

What is the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
Leadership is different from management.

Can you name a moment of failure in your business experience that you learned from or that helped you improve your business or the way you work?

All of the notable disasters in my career happened when I allowed emotion to overcome logic. The successes also follow the same pattern. The challenge, which is lifelong for most creative people, is learning when to let each take the lead.

If you were magically given three more hours per day, what would you do with them?
Create, learn another language, and have deep(er) discussions with friends and family