World Theater Day | An Interview with our Director of UX Strategy

Q: What experience do you have working in theater?

A: My love of theater can be directly traced to watching the chandelier fall during the opening of Phantom of the Opera as a six year old in the Broadway audience. From then on, I was hooked and could be found working on school plays, attending theater summer camps, or creating new plays with my friends in basements and backyards. In college, I balanced my love of theater with my passion for science by graduating with a B.A. in Theater with a concentration in Stage Management and pre-med with a B.S. in Biology. I then went on to get my M.F.A. in Stage Management from Columbia University. While in graduate school, I worked in nonprofit and commercial theater and earned admission to Actors’ Equity Association, the union for professional actors and stage managers. Some of my professional highlights include interning at Wicked, working on the workshop of Mean Girls, working at the Public Theater, stage managing at The Shed, and making my Broadway debut as a stage manager on Days of Wine and Roses, which closes this Sunday.?

Q: What does World Theater Day mean to you?

A: This day is about making theater accessible for everyone. It reminds us that theater allows us to come together in a shared space where we check our differences at the door; when the house lights go down, in that moment before the lights come up onstage, the eighty year old is having the same experience as the eight year old. The community theater “one night only” performance is no different from a Broadway show performing its 500th show. This day is about highlighting the shared experience and community that makes theater something that we’ve come back to for a millennia– and something that we’ll continue supporting for years to come. In product speak- it’s about connecting the end user to the best experience possible.?

Q: What skills did you build as a Stage Manager?

A: The best description I’ve heard of for a stage manager is a cross between a CEO and COO in a fast paced and constantly evolving organization. Stage managing is about being prepared and focused, while also remaining agile enough to pivot at a moment’s notice. As a stage manager, I was responsible for keeping dozens of balls in the air while keeping an eye on the overall goal. But perhaps most importantly, stage managing taught me to be an effective manager and leader in a team of diverse backgrounds, skill sets, personalities, and needs.?

Q: How have you used your theater background to inform UX & Product Strategy?

A: While my love of theater stems from an artistic lens, the industry as a whole is undeniably a business. Productions have KPIs to hit, budgets to maintain, and stakeholders to whom they’re accountable. In UX Strategy and Product Strategy keeping the team united on the vision is key to success. Just as in stage management, this requires juggling several different pieces of the process while empowering and trusting each team and team member to accomplish their tasks. As the Director of UX Strategy I often am the team member working alongside our PMs and POs to ensure project alignment, especially when it comes to keeping the end user at the center of every decision. I often am simultaneously keeping my eyes on the 10,000 ft. view as well as having my feet firmly on the ground with the individual contributors on the team. ?Every skill I’ve developed as a stage manager is not only applicable to Product and UX Strategy but also directly transferable.?

Q: What is one of your favorite memories from your time working in theater?

A: Up until everything shutdown during the pandemic, I was working on the ten year anniversary production of Rock of Ages. The musical follows a love story on the Sunset Strip against the backdrop of eighties-era “hair rock” music. The production was as much fun for the crew as it was for the audience, and the whole team felt like family by the time the show closed.