Today we’d like to introduce you to J Paige Hilton.
Hi J Paige, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
performance has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember- I took my first dance class as a preschooler. Since then, I have deeply considered myself a performance artist.
I graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2017 with a BFA in the Performing Arts and a minor in Business Management. For the next year, I was the Stage Management Intern at Actors Express, an Atlanta-based theater, during their 30th season.
In 2021, I returned to Virginia to pursue a double master’s in Shakespeare and performance at Mary Baldwin. In 2024 I proudly graduated, for the second time, with a master’s of literature and a master’s in fine arts. SInce graduation, I have worked with several universities with their undergraduate theater departments, cultivating young artists in these higher educational spaces, and continued my work as a freelance stage manager across the eastern seaboard.
Throughout my work as a production manager, stage manager, designer, and actor, I strive to remain true to my theory about theater. Performance, like life, is all about the connections we can form and nurture with others. be they our audience, our colleagues, our scene partners, or the world at large.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Currently, the artistic and educational worlds find themselves upon a treacherous sea. Non-profit theaters are closing due to cuts in federal funding, and educational spaces are being limited and censored. I, like any artist and educator, have struggled not only to find a work-life balance that is sustainable and fulfilling, but also to financially support myself as I continue to pursue art.
When I was in undergrad, there was nothing I wanted more than to be an actor, a dream I realized as a very little girl. During my time at SCAD, I realized that I did not have the “thick skin” necessary to work in the competitive market, and thus found my way to stage management. Though I have returned to acting intermittently, I am grateful for my perseverance through that time in my life when it felt like my dream was so far out of reach. What I learned was that dreams can be refined- I knew I wanted to do theater my whole life, and I am! (and I will)
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Stage Manager- or as I describe to others, the benevolent spider in the web of a theater production. My job is to ascertain the goals, dreams and capabilities of the production from the artistic and production perspective and do all I can to support those items and the people who are doing the work to make these goals and dreams a reality.
This entails large-scale scheduling, interpersonal relationship cultivation, and a large dose of “can-do” attitude at all times! I am immensely proud of my ability to balance the demands and needs of this job, while nurturing young and developing artists.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
This is a great question – there are so many things I could say! I will be succinct: networking is not always about impressing others with your prowess or skill, or ensuring someone will offer you a job. Networking is about attuning yourself to what the community around you is in need of. Where are the gaps? Who is yet to be heard? What stories, experiences, or capabilities dominate this space? How can you advocate not only for yourself, but for the others around you?
As for finding a mentor, I would encourage any artist to see mentorship as a potential experience held in anyone you meet. The people I consider my deepest mentors are sometimes people I had minimal interaction with, but who, through one moment, instilled in me a deep understanding or clarity. Seek knowledge everywhere, and you will find how many “mentors” you are able to find.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hiltonjpaige.wixsite.com/pidge/about
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-paige-hilton-1b684ab7/
Image Credits
Picture one Ariel Tatum
Picture two Kevin Harry
