UncategorizedMay 12, 2021

Meet Jono Davis | Managing Director & Producer

Local Stories

We are thrilled to be connecting with Jono Davis again. Jono manages the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre and is also a content partner. Content partners help Voyage in so many ways from spreading the word about the work that we do, sponsoring our mission and collaborating with us on content like this. Check out our conversation with Jono below.

Jono, it’s been too long since we last connected. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with our community again. Some readers might have missed our prior conversations, so maybe you can kick things off for us with a quick intro?
My name is Jono Davis and I’m a theatre producer. I manage the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre in Cobb County. It’s a 606-seat venue that hosts musicals, plays, concerts, dance shows, large events and rentals. I was born in South Korea and grew up south of Atlanta. After graduating from college, I joined the actors’ union and worked as an actor, stage manager, educator, and box office manager. I began managing the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre in 2018 and since then I’ve been having the time of my life!

As a theatre producer, you show your support to the industry with the shows you select and the artists you hire. Who supports you?
Hands down, the good people of Cobb County PARKS. When you think of government, you don’t often think of arts support and, in some cases, that is sadly true. In my career, though, Cobb County Government has done more for my dreams than any other entity or organization. I have employers who believe in me. Our newly elected Commission Chairwoman, Lisa Cupid, is an advocate of entertainment and the arts. It is also important to note that nothing is handed to me. My managers, Wendy Goss, Mario Henson, and Michael Brantley read through every proposal, give their feedback, and collaborate on what would be best for the theatre and arts programs. Any success the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre finds is due to the people who take chances on our ideas and believe in our mission to better serve the community. I am immensely grateful for their support. I also have an incredible team at the theatre, Ethan and Susannah, that I’d trust with my life (well, maybe not Ethan). It has made this the best job I’ve ever had.

Why are casting and show selection so important?
You can either select shows for yourself or for your community. Both options are valid but it’s also important to make a profit and it can, at times, be difficult to walk that line. What I value the most is representing our community in our programming and our casting. Look at the demographics of Cobb; it’s a very diverse county. How can we say we’re an equal opportunity employer if we only cast one set of people in one set of shows? I challenge any theatre organization who labels themselves as “equal opportunity” to look at their current production and ask if equity can truly be derived from what they’re presenting? Casting and show selection are important because it imbues trust within the community and industry. Actors of color want to be given chances outside of the roles that require specific types and skin tones, just as communities want to see themselves represented differently and positively in unexpected characters they see on stage. All that to say, talent is still the most important factor in casting and all these elements coexist in this city. As one of the few leaders of color in the Atlanta theatre scene, representation matters to me.

What have been the difficulties of producing theatre during a pandemic? Has anything positive come from this experience?
This pandemic has come in waves for me. At the start, when everybody was shut down, we didn’t know how to proceed. No audiences, no live performances, just an empty theatre needing saving. Safety is, of course, our number one priority so I fully agreed with the county’s decision for us to go dark. The Anderson Theatre produced a lot of online content. We started a podcast, gave virtual tours of the facility, and collaborated with the other art facilities of Cobb PARKS to make creative DIY videos. August 2020 was a big game-changer for us when we worked with the county to produce socially-distanced drive-in shows. By this point, patrons were hungry for live entertainment and it was rewarding to get back in front of audiences. Streaming content, original work, and outdoor theatre quickly followed. It’s been a mixed blessing because, while it was all extraordinarily daunting to switch gears from indoor theatre, it did allow us to broaden our patron-base and amplify our programming for the community. One of the biggest perks of this new programming was the number of new faces I bumped into while employing artists for these events. Cobb PARKS and the Anderson Theatre have hosted over 15 (safe) events in the last 12 months and employed over 200 artists. 60% of those artists had never worked with us before. When we return to full-houses and regular programming, you can bet this new pool of talent will carry over and continue slaying the stage. THEY saved US!

Any shoutouts to other artists? Particularly, those who’ve helped you get through the pandemic?
What many people don’t know is that for every successful event we produced, there was an event we had to cancel or postpone due to factors out of our control. I beat myself up a lot. For the most part, this industry has been extremely understanding and supportive of these decisions. It still crushed my soul any time I made the dreaded announcement that I would have to take away someone’s joy. My husband, Alex, has been the most calming presence for me. As a licensed social worker in healthcare, he often gave me the clarity and support I needed to bring myself back to reality. Producing anything in a pandemic is a risk; it’s better to stop short than have a disaster. I’d also love to give a shoutout to Mary Nye Bennett and the Atlanta Lyric Theatre. What a fabulous opportunity this pandemic has been to collaborate and aid each other in our programming. I am fully aware that many of the arts leaders in Atlanta had weekly virtual discussions to find the best courses of action in this pandemic. While I was never invited to the table, I’m hopeful the organizing theatres were able to listen to the voices that are disenfranchised by the current arts administrations and their standard practices. I am eternally grateful to Mary for seeing something in me and the resources we can provide to partner and successfully produce in these tough times. I also send lots of love to Jessica De Maria, one of the few who I can share sob-fests, Amanda Wansa Morgan introduced me to the best cookies in the world, Diany Rodriguez has advocated for me for the last 13 years, and finally Maxim Gukhman, my business partner who understands me so well that it often scares me.

What’s next for the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre?
Cobb PARKS and the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre are producing NINE: In Concert. It’s a streaming event that’ll air June 3-6. (Tickets: andersontheatre.org) This show has had my heart for a while. We have a fierce cast and creative team. My spirits haven’t been this lifted in quite a while, I’m terribly excited for everyone to see it. Coming down the pipeline, we have four drive-in shows, a handful of festivals, the concert versions of CHESS and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, and we’ll wrap up with the holiday favorite- WHITE CHRISTMAS. I have a lot to be thankful for and I certainly don’t take it for granted. It’s been a tough year, but if we can represent our industry for those organizations who are still climbing out of this pandemic, it would be an honor and I would love to help any way I can.

Alright, so before we go, how can our readers connect with you to learn more and show support?
www.AndersonTheatre.org
Facebook.com/andersontheatre
IG: @jennietanderson and @iamjonodavis