Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Rae.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Amanda. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m originally from Seattle, Washington and moved to Columbus about a year and a half ago with my partner to be closer to family. I had a pretty untraditional upbringing which had a lot of ups and downs and was rarely stable. I experienced a lot of abuses and trauma, and I had very few resources to get myself out of some difficult situations. I had been homeschooled much of my life, and upon turning 16 I took it upon myself to sort out the paperwork for early college attendance with financial aid assistance at my local community college. The first real classroom I ever attended was my first course in college, and I discovered quickly that I had a lot to learn – including some basics like classroom expectations, course structure, homework formatting and submission, I remember even asking the teacher what a syllabus was.
My first quarter in college I landed a job in the theater department. Theater was something I had always wanted to do. My family had only been able to afford sending me to one theater camp once when I was 9, and it was one of the first times in my life I had remembered feeling really connected to something. I started working as a member of the Stage Crew, with the intention to get my AA degree in something generic and eventually choose some kind of backup career choice. It took one really amazing teacher to tell me one day “You know, you really seem to be passionate about this” for me to even consider pursuing it seriously. This professor acted as both my mentor and my boss, and he told me that people pursued theater as a career – it wasn’t just what I’d been told as a silly thing to do on the side, it could be so much more than that. With his guidance my skills improved, and before I knew it I was assistant teaching, designing, leading teams of students, and developing my artistic identity. He got me my first Stage Management job at a Youth Theatre near me where I learned to work with children; an experience that was both humbling and immensely healing for me, as someone who had struggled deeply in her childhood.
After four years at my college, I’d worked with 150+ students on 13+ productions while also doing three shows at a time as a freelance stage manager in Seattle. I decided that traditional education methods were not for me, and I continued to pursue my career as a theater artist. I knew that not attending a university in a field that treasures academia as deeply as theater does would be a challenge. But not only was it out of my reach financially, I also knew that the way I learned was better suited for real-time, hands-on learning. It was going to be harder, and I was going to fail a lot more, but it was worth it to me to try. I wanted to know how to do it all, and the idea of focusing on one aspect of theater or dedicating time to studying a particular aspect wasn’t going to get me there. I needed to work.
Over the years, I have worked hard to achieve that goal. I’ve managed venues, worked in development and fundraising, done marketing and social media for multiple organizations, been a technical director, designed, performed, directed, and managed productions. I’ve used my theater skills to manage events by working weddings, managing festivals, and helping to organize teams who needed it. I’ve produced my own works, developed community tools, held forums and talkback sessions, built artistic bridges between communities, and done my best to support artists who needed it.
It’s hard to put a label on what I do! As my day job, I currently work for RiverCenter for the Performing Arts as their Marketing Manager. It’s an amazing position, and I’m proud of the work that RiverCenter does. Personally, I have organized a group for theater artists in Columbus who want to connect called “Columbus Georgia Theatre Artists”, and I host a monthly Happy Hour. By the end of this year, I will have produced seven projects in Columbus – all of which will have employed local artists and challenged traditional structures of theater in the area.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Such an interesting question! The easiest way to answer this is to say “No”, it has not been smooth necessarily. But all of the struggles are what built my character and made things interesting. I fully believe that in order to get really good at something you have to fail. A lot. And you have to not be afraid of failing. Failure is what motivates us, it’s what proves to us that we can be better. It’s hard and it’s confusing and it can feel painful and embarrassing, but ultimately if we’re willing to look directly at our failures and discover what went wrong, there’s some really important stuff in there. I like to dive into my struggles and dig around in there, discover what the really good, juicy pieces are and use them to help me maneuver my future better. But I’m an artist. We tend to do that.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Amanda Rae Creative – what should we know?
I’m an individual, so while I have a title for myself as a freelance artist for hire (Amanda Rae Creative) I wouldn’t call that my company or business name. To keep it succinct, I’m a manager and collaborator of all things creative. Most commonly, this has served me well in theater, arts, and events worlds.
I was chatting with my partner the other day, and I made a little joke that I’d love to operate a business where all I do is help solve problems – someone comes to me with a problem, and I’ll do my best to help them fix it. It was only a half-joke because as I said it I realized that it would frankly be my dream job.
I’m really great at organizing chaos, leading a room, collaborating with a team, developing a creative project, and learning/adapting to new environments. Because of my broad experience working within many different teams (often at the same time) I bring an element of creative problem solving and compassion to my workplaces. I strive to make the people I work with and for feel heard, cared for, and supported all the way through a process.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Everyone is different, and I can only speak from what has worked well in my experience. For me, this is a three-fold answer:
I prioritize creating healthy boundaries, both personally and professionally.
I’m unafraid of failing, being wrong, or asking questions.
I constantly strive to be a better listener.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.araecreative.com
- Email: amanda.rae206@gmail.com
- Instagram: @amanda_rad
- Twitter: @amanda_rad
Image Credit:
Julia Nardin, John Ulman
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