Today, I had the privilege of shadowing Stephanie Johnson, The “Director of Events” at the Tower Theatre. We met in the office building to first discuss the “data entry” part of her job. Stephanie is in charge of organizing/managing rentals, and most of the Tower shows are rental performances. This means that an artist or a group will rent out the Tower to perform in the Bend community. Tonight’s show was “Zoso”, a Led Zeppelin concert, and Stephanie used a program called Triple Seat. With this program, Stephanie can manage the calendar, ticket sales, artist requests (i.e. the food and lodging an artist/group requires), concessions, and more! She is also able to communicate this information with the entire staff, which not only promotes efficiency, but organization as well. Stephanie works with the other staff members to get a show ready. For example, she helps Jacelyn know which seats are available and works with Kevin to distribute payments! However, she mainly works closest with Erik Anderson, the “Production Manager”. Stephanie manages a show backstage while Erik manages technical aspects during a show.
In addition to organizing a show on the computer, Stephanie also does a lot of preparation before a show. She goes to the grocery store to get food, cleans the green room, and gets backstage organized to make sure everything runs smoothly. The biggest factor that has affected Stephanie’s job is COVID. The Tower has to distance the audience, limit seating, and check for vaccination records. Even though this is a great measure that the Tower takes to keep everyone safe, some members of the community do not like it. Stephanie is in charge of not only managing a show, but also keeping its audiences safe. It’s incredible to witness all the hard work that has to be done in order for a show to be successful. Stephanie is the perfect example of a dedicated worker that is essential to this organization.
After meeting in the Tower’s office building, Stephanie and I walked over to the theatre. I have been in the theatre many times before, but Stephanie was able to show me different parts of the building that I hadn’t seen. Most of it was renovated after the last time I saw it all, so that was a nice surprise! We looked at storage closets, the basement renovations (new floors, paint, etc.), and the lighting fixtures from the stage. The Tower was originally built to be an opera house! You can see that the theater’s walls and ceiling panels are specifically shaped to propel a singer’s voice forward. It was a great look into the Tower’s secrets and history.
Meeting with Stephanie was a great experience! I learned so much from her and she enhanced my love for the Tower Theatre. I am planning on doing more work at the Tower during a show, and I will be working with her! I won’t be in the Tower again until January, so until then, I’m going to enjoy my break, and look forward to my next visit!
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