MCT Human Resources Director Retiring in March 2023
My 26+ years at MCT have been extraordinary, but If I had to pick one piece that I will miss the most when I retire from MCT, hiring Tour Actor/Directors (TADs) is it. I have been involved in hiring – at first just calling references – almost since the first day I came to MCT in 1996. By 1998, I had talked my way into fashioning a new department – personnel
Within a couple of years, I was the person managing tour actor hiring. Finding the right actor/singer/educator for the Tour is a team effort, and I have lots of support. Several of us attend audition conferences all over the country where we watch and rate talent and hold callback/interview sessions. I’ve also attended conferences on my own – and had some unforgettable experiences. I was in Charlotte, NC at Fall SETC (Southeast Theatre Conference) auditions on 9/11. A year later In New York City for StrawHat auditions, I walked over to ground zero. I’ve traveled to Memphis, Atlanta, Mobile, Boston, LA, Seattle and Helena in our never-ending search for the right people to do the greatest job in the world. Touring for MCT is such a unique position; we really have to cast a wide net. In the end, I make the decision about whom to offer a position to and then, I pick up the phone.
It is those actors I will miss; their talent, their energy and their passion, not to mention the sheer terror they sometimes feel during training followed by elation when it clicks. Over the years, as new tour staff gathers in Missoula for training, I hear the occasional remark from cohorts on the home staff – like “Wow. They seem really young this time!” I remind my colleagues that this is the same age group every year. It is the rest of us who are aging . There isn’t a lot of time to really get to know them since they travel all over the country for us, but I have maintained contact with many people over the years, mostly through email and Facebook. There is a good side to social media – those connections to former TADs are priceless to me. They are an extraordinary bunch and I’m so grateful for the blessings (and may I say challenges?) they have brought to my life. I’m also ok with the gray hair some of them have had a hand in causing. Oh, the stories I could tell. Maybe someday I’ll write that book.