Episode 7 Transcript

OLIVIA SATHER: You're listening to Beyond the Stage from the Carpenter Performing Arts Center at Cal State Long Beach. In each episode, we introduce you to the artists, scholars, students, and arts professionals interpreting our world through the arts. Join us this week and every week this summer as we explore their stories. Let’s get started.

OLIVIA SATHER: Good morning. Thank you for being with us, Kathryn. How are you today?

KATHRYN HAVEY: So far, so good. It's a beautiful day here, so can't really complain.

OLIVIA SATHER: And where is here, are you here in California or?

KATHRYN HAVEY: No, I’m working remotely from Connecticut.

OLIVIA SATHER: I bet it's so beautiful in Connecticut in the spring.

KATHRYN HAVEY: It is. Everything is starting to bloom so it's definitely nice.

OLIVIA SATHER: Well, that's nice. I’m glad you have that beautiful view and beautiful weather um, so we'll go ahead and dive in. You are the Production Manager at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center and you've been with the Carpenter Center for....

KATHRYN HAVEY: Twenty-five [years.]

OLIVIA SATHER: You have seen a lot of shows come in your time there, and I’m excited to talk about those today, so to get started, um can you just tell us a bit about yourself, where you grew up, where you went to school, how you ended up the Carpenter Center.

KATHRYN HAVEY: I grew up in Connecticut, which is why I’m here working remotely from home with my mom, and then I went to school at SUNY purchase, which is not really far away, they had a design technology conservatory BFA program that I went to, and you know from there just had a lot of different jobs, and ended up at the Carpenter Center twenty-five years ago.

OLIVIA SATHER: And was the Carpenter Center what brought you to California or was there a different job or role that brought you out here?

KATHRYN HAVEY: No, actually, it was the job. I had been working in Philadelphia at the Opera company there, and had a friend, whose husband was the director of the Summer Arts Program, which is part of the Cal State system, and this job was opening up and he suggested it for me through her, and so I applied and after a very lengthy process, ended up at the Carpenter Center. It had just opened up. It was open like a year and a half when I arrived.

OLIVIA SATHER: So, like from the beginning.

KATHRYN HAVEY: From the beginning. So, a lot has changed I’m sure, in the time you've been there.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Immensely, yes.

OLIVIA SATHER: What got you interested in the performing arts in the first place? You said you studied design technology. What was it that interested you about that?

KATHRYN HAVEY: You know, I was really fortunate living here in Connecticut. It's really close to New York City and so we had a doctor that was in the city so every time we go in to see the doctor, we would see a show or a concert or a ballet or an art exhibit, so I was exposed to it really young from my parents, and an aunt that I had, who was a textile designer. And it was just an instant love, so I started doing theatre, as a young kid and then sort of segued more into balance between that and technical theatre about 13, and then just continued from there. A sort of a singular focus.

OLIVIA SATHER: Yeah, was there a show you remember seeing as a kid that you just fell in love with?

KATHRYN HAVEY: You know, every show has a special meaning, because it has a memory to it, not so much necessarily the show. I think my very first Broadway show was Annie with Andrea McArdle back in the day. So, there was you know there's an excitement about that. The Nutcracker was always magical to see. We did a lot of classical music concerts so, art exhibits I remember seeing Monet and Picasso at the Metropolitan. So just a lot of really great foundation as a young kid.

OLIVIA SATHER: I mean it really I think it goes to show, too, like how immersion in the arts from a young age is really important, and can develop that love and make people passionate about the arts for life.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Yeah.

OLIVIA SATHER: I, I totally I totally agree with that I spent some time in New Jersey as a kid and the very first Broadway show I ever saw was Beauty and the Beast. I remember all my parents can afford was like the very last row of the very end, right by the fire exit, but when they did that transformation from the beast back into the human at the end, I think my six-year-old self is just like this is magic. There's no way to explain it, it's literally magic.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Absolutely, absolutely and you remember that your entire life. It sticks with you.

OLIVIA SATHER: And so, you went to SUNY Purchase for undergraduate school, which for people who are listening that don't know purchase has an incredible conservatory for theater, theater and design and performance. Alumni include a Stanley Tucci and Wesley Snipes. I have a couple friends from back in Nebraska that that went to Purchase. What is your favorite memory from being there in that program? It's very renowned, so do you have a favorite show you worked on or a favorite memory from that time?

KATHRYN HAVEY: I can't say that I have a favorite show, but what I would say, is what I loved most about Purchase and the reason that I wanted to go there was the intensive training that you get. If you're looking for a liberal arts education, it's not the place to go, they don't have sports teams, so you're not going to have that sort of college experience. It's really a program for people who know what they want to do, and you are just immersed in it. And one of the biggest benefits is that, as a student you do everything. So, you get hands-on training as you're the set designer, the costume designer, the lighting designer, the stage manager, you know. You act as those roles, working with professional directors as opposed to other programs where faculty sometimes are the designers and you're assisting. So, you really getting hands-on training from day one, as to how to interact in a professional setting, so when you leave you have that experience and that training to build on, and that's that's what really excited me about it. Because I knew that's what I wanted to do so. I didn't want to have to deal with taking chemistry, or any of those who have general ed classes that I didn't need to take.

OLIVIA SATHER: Yeah, absolutely. Did you um like you said you kind of got like to play a role in different elements from like lighting and sound design to costuming. Do you think all like knowing all those elements plays a role in being a strong production manager, knowing how each of the components work because, in my mind that's kind of what a production manager does. They have to know every element, so they can know how to manage it and oversee it and make sure things get done properly. How do you think that plays a role?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Absolutely you hit the nail on the head. I was going to actually leave the program after three years, because I had finished all my credits, so I was going to graduate early. And they gave me an opportunity to spend my senior year as a stage manager at the Metropolitan Opera. So I spent my entire senior year working as a stage manager the Opera which was amazing there's such a benefit in so many ways, but the biggest benefit is sort of, as you said at the at the end of the season, I had an opportunity to stay on they had an opening and it just clicked for me as much as I love stage management, that there was something else I needed, I wanted to have a bigger voice at the table and have a bigger part in creating whatever the end-product was, and a stage manager just didn't have a big enough voice so I decided to leave there and I went on tour as a production and tour manager, and so that's sort of trial by fire you, you have to see the big picture, you have to know all the components, you have to make decisions, and so that was really the turning point for me. And for those I was on tour for about four years, and you gain a lot more experiences as to all the other aspects and from there, I went on to the Opera company and, once again, building on more of those needed foundations of different areas, working with artists and contracts and visas and transportation and different unions, and so yeah, you need to have all…it helps to have an understanding and respect for all the elements that go into it, so that you can bring the best of you to the project.

OLIVIA SATHER: Yeah and then that's interesting that you worked on a tour, because a lot of what we do at the Carpenter Center is working with tours so you've worked on both sides of that now, and can have that understanding when working with a production manager on a tour what that's like. So, can you tell us a bit about the difference between what like a technical director does and a production manager, how are those different or similar? Um I think a lot of people might think they're kind of the same but they're a little bit different right?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Yeah I would say, you know, as we've mentioned a production manager needs to be able to see the entire picture and understand each aspect of the picture and the players involved to help facilitate smooth transitions into creating whatever the outcome is, whereas a technical director usually is more focused on one aspect, it's usually the scenery or whatever that sort of technical element is on stage, and then you have a lighting designer, and you have a costume designer. In a smaller theater often times a technical director could act as more of a production manager, but in a larger space are usually separate and a production manager has a greater oversight into the entire picture of what's going on.

OLIVIA SATHER: Right, you're kind of like the conductor for all those different elements like conducting the whole thing as it goes. Can you walk us through what it takes from from a production manager standpoint, from your standpoint, what it takes to bring a performance to life on stage at the Carpenter Center, from the moment we book the show to that truck leaves the loading dock what are some of the like milestones. what does your day-to-day look like to make all that happen?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Well, how much time do you have? [Laughter] Well, you know it really it actually begins before they get there, because usually what happens is I will…when we're planning a season, which is usually at least a year or more ahead of time, I will often be given t writers, for whatever it is that we're looking to potentially bring in, and the reason that I’m given those is to look them over to see if there any big red flags, you know. Is this something that we can actually do? Will it fit in our space? How much time is it going to take because oftentimes there's a lot of prep work that goes in before the artists gets here and so that needs to be known in order to fit into a calendar season.

KATHRYN HAVEY: How much is it going to cost? Budgetary constraints are often reason not to do a show, depending upon you know what your overall budget is for the year so those preparations start a year or more in advance, but then once it's booked, I will get an usually an updated rider, because usually what you look at first is not actually what happens. And then I’ll reach out to…whether it be an agent whether it's sometimes it's the artists directly depending if it's a single show, or the production manager, the technical director—every show is a little different structure to what their personnel is. So, I will have the rider and the contract because oftentimes in the contract there’s additional information that's not in the rider that needs to be considered. And reach out to them and sort of hash out what's actually needed and not needed and discuss everything from schedule to dressing room needs. They often have questions about hotel and transportation, which aren't always my area, but I can at least guide them in that that direction. And then from there once everything is sort of settled, you sometimes you need to get extra equipment rental gear or any of that that they've requested, that we don't have, because, obviously, as a theater you can't have can't have every need met in your own stock and inventory. And then it's also disseminating information to our own staff, sometimes I don't think people realize that every department is affected by this information: the ticket office needs to know run times and if there's an intermission and is it appropriate for children because they get those questions from patrons. The front of house needs to know similar information so they know when the intermission happens and will the artists be signing autographs, is their merchandise being sold? Marketing and the graphic design needs program program information or promotional material. And then, our production department needs to know you know what equipment, what our schedule is, what our labor needs are and then also facility, the facilities of the university needs to know so they can schedule air conditioning or heat. The custodians to make sure that the theater and the lobby and the bathrooms are all clean for the performance and the patrons, and to clean afterwards, so it's a lot of dissemination of information. And then, once the day comes, and you're you're there with the artists and do your best to follow the schedule that everyone's agreed upon, so everyone gets a meal and gets a break, and they're not worn out by the end of the day and hopefully all of your preparations have afforded you the opportunity to make a smooth day, so you know, because you really want your artists to be happy and comfortable and relaxed when they come in, so that they can really just focus on what their performances and be able to give the best of themselves to the patrons that come for that you know memorable performance. Sort of like, with your Beauty and the Beast, you never know who's going to be there and and is it going to change their life? Is it something that's…they're having a bad day and it's changed the whole world. So, you really try to do that, and then you sort of go back in reverse order at the end of the day and pack it all up and try and get people out and safely and then there's always follow up at the end with invoices and billing and reports that need to go to agents and artists and things like that, so it's it's it's a comprehensive day and a lot goes into it.

OLIVIA SATHER: I think um you know, sometimes people don't realize, you know, a lot of our shows are one night only, sometimes two nights. But it's like that one night takes a year or more of planning to get that performance to be successful and enjoyable for everybody to happen on stage That’s a lot of work for one night only.

KATHRYN HAVEY: And you've got to be ready for the curveballs you know the shipment that doesn't arrive, or the air conditioning that's not on. or the food that hasn't come. or the wrong food has come in. You've got to be able to think on your feet and go with the flow and it really helps to have the right team around you to support you and you know who can step in if you if you need that.

OLIVIA SATHER: You talked about you know working to see like could we even do this performance. Um I remember, for example when we did, I think it was Trinity Irish Dance, you mentioned something like their specs for for a certain stage width and we had to you had to like make a decision, how we were going to adjust that, I don't, I don't know all the technical details, but I do remember you mentioned that. And that's just one example. Um, what has been like the most technically challenging show that we've done in your time, well since the beginning, really, you can remember, and it's like how are we going to make this happen?

KATHRYN HAVEY: I mean, I would say we've been pretty fortunate, I mean there have been challenges and a lot of the challenges oftentimes have to do with companies coming from other countries because their language barriers, there are vocabulary differences, there are different expectations, a lot of different European countries get a lot more support from their governments, so they you know, have an unlimited budget, and you know, trying to negotiate well…it's not quite the same here so we're gonna have to you know, find a way around it. So those are some of the biggest challenges we have, but the one show that I remember that was the most challenging was…we did a show, and I believe it was from Israel, called the Aluminum Show. This was a number of years ago and it was one of those shows that wasn't scheduled in the best time with everything else that was going on, so we didn't actually have the amount of time that we should have had…we were pretty much going into another show exactly the day after, and so it turned into a 23-hour day, and it was one of those shows where all the soft goods came down and had to be hung you know perpendicularly or on an angle in a way, that they're you know not typically used, and it was just, it was a large show and needed a large crew, and you know it was difficult to find all the crew we need, and the timeframe, it was just it was 23-hour day without without a break, and that was that was probably the most challenging one.

OLIVIA SATHER: What is a soft good?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Soft goods are all like the black legs that you see hanging on the stage or they're also across the top of the stage is called a border and that blocks, so you don't see the light lighting units that are being hung. And so, basically, had to take them all down so you could see the entire stage, but then typically they're hung on pipes that go across the stage and there are pipes all already permanently installed, well they wanted them to go upstate downstage, so perpendicular to where they usually go, and there no pipes there, and then they wanted them on angles and they wanted them to hang at different heights from one side to the other and then they had these huge aluminum tubes that had to go through them, and it was it was it was not one of my most favorite ones to do.

KATHRYN HAVEY: And then, on top of that, you have a language barrier, because you know they're they're coming from like I said I think they were coming from Israel so, not
that they didn't speak English, but once again you throw in vocabulary differences and expectation differences and entire crew that showed up, none of them were the people that I advanced the show with, so then you then you have another level of: they didn't get the information that was already agreed upon, so they're coming in with different expectations and you had, that we had anticipated, so it had a lot of challenges.

OLIVIA SATHER: That is a long day. Have you had a most rewarding show that you're just like wow I can't believe this is happening on the stage and I helped make this happen here.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Yeah, personally for me it was when the Dalai Lama was there. He came he was being given an award from Amnesty International and then he was also going on to give a talk down at the it was a Terrace Theater or the Arena somewhere downtown Long Beach and so we, you know, we worked for a long time with Secret Service and all these different elements to have it, and he's he's someone that I've just loved for a long time, and so it was very exciting for me and literally, the day before he got sick. And we weren't sure that he was actually going to show up and he did end up showing up, and you know, I was able to work with him get a blessing from him and a few words with him. And so that I would say, was the most rewarding, especially because the next day he didn't actually do his talk in downtown Long Beach, the conference went on without him because he was still sick, so I felt very fortunate that he was he was in our space.

OLIVIA SATHER: That is so special. I knew he came, but I didn't know the story about him being sick. Wow.

KATHRYN HAVEY: It was pretty magical.

OLIVIA SATHER: And that is something like I never thought I would be working with this person and having to coordinate with Secret Service, I mean It just shows, like all the different elements that the job can bring. Wow that's really cool. I, I want to recognize the team of people you work with because, like you mentioned, it is a huge team. How many people, does it take to bring one of our like large-scale performances to life, like Cirque Mechanics as one I can think of, or, I know we haven't brought them in quite a few years, but Peking Acrobats. From my perspective, that's a large-scale show, but maybe I’m wrong, maybe a dance performances more intensive, so you know how many people how many crew members that we have to bring in to make that show a reality?

KATHRYN HAVEY: You'd be surprised, that it doesn't take as many as you would think. Once again, it depends upon the show of course, but the one of the things about touring is if a company is doing it correctly they have a process where it's really easy to go in and out. And oftentimes they bring their own crew with them so they only need sort of support crew with us, like, for example, Peking Acrobats we've had them several times and all have their acrobats set up all of their own stuff, so all their poles and all their trampolines and all of their rigging, they do that all themselves, so we don't have to do that so then we just have our support staff to focus lights and set up whatever sound needs they have. And I can't I can't speak enough about the crew that we have we have. We really have been blessed to have people who you know I said I've been here years, there are some crew that have been here, almost as long as I have and they're really…and they're not full-time employees, all of our crew are on-call, intermittent employees that are you know work from show-to-show, but they're really dedicated to our space and what we do and they're there every day, giving all they have to make sure that the product, we put out is the best product, it can be so that the patrons have that experience you know. Jeff Warner has been there almost from the beginning, he is our lighting designer and our master electrician. Mike Blumenfeld who's always there he's our flyman and he's our main person on deck and has been there with me all these years. Jim McCurdy is our main sound engineer—all these all these guys, you know, like I said they're not full-time employees, but they are just as dedicated to what we do as anybody who would be a full-time employee, and we couldn't do it without them.

KATHRYN HAVEY: And then we have a huge group of other people that sort of come and go. Sometimes they start with us and move on to bigger things which is always nice, you know, like to make sure that you're giving them a good foundation. That's what I really appreciate about it because I always know that whomever we're going to have there, is going to be be there in the trenches, whether it's easy or hard to make sure that what we produce is the best it can be.

OLIVIA SATHER: Yeah, and I think our patrons can attest to that, you know if they come to the Carpenter Center they know they're getting a good quality production and that it's going to be a smooth and enjoyable experience. And that shows, that definitely shows, all that work you know to make that happen, happens like you said for months leading up to the performance and all the work that the crew was put in and days and weeks leading up to.

KATHRYN HAVEY: And they don't find out the information of what they're doing until they get there that day. So, unlike myself, who has been working on this sometimes, for months or years and talking to people and working out all the details, they show up at their call time that day, and you give them a briefing and they they just have to get on board and and make it happen so it's it's pretty amazing, what they do.

OLIVIA SATHER: Yes, that takes like technical acumen to know, like all right, I’m going to get my briefing and then I get to work, yeah.

OLIVIA SATHER: Exactly that's fantastic. Um, what is one thing you wish people knew about you know working backstage or the production management side…there's like one thing you could say like I wish people knew this what would that be, if anything.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Oh, wow that's a tough question um. I would say that, I would like people to realize that…you know obviously the performers who who come have honed their craft for years they have studied they've rehearsed they've practiced. But so having the people backstage. And you know oftentimes you know sort of like myself, I started very young, I was doing summer stock from the age of 12 and working through high school at professional theaters, I went to school for this, you know. I've been fortunate not to have to work in a field other than my own. And you know people go to school, they study, they work hard to have just as a proficiency of their job as the performers are on stage. And sometimes I don't think everybody quite realizes that yes, you can go to school for this and people do study and and work hard throughout their entire life to be good at what their job is. You know not everyone can do it.

OLIVIA SATHER: It is a craft in its own in its own right, to to have that experience and practice and know how exactly all how all the pieces move together, absolutely. That's that's a great one. How do you think the performing arts is evolving technically in the 21st century, this is a bit of a pivot, but I think it kind of ties into that how have things changed… you know one thing I can think of, I think you mentioned, we get a lot more requests for projectors now so more of that high quality like projections are becoming very popular but are there other things that you've noticed and are you seeing things for the future that you think the performing arts are headed a certain way.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Um well, I think the biggest change is options. You know, with the evolution of technology it's afforded almost unlimited possibilities. You know as you mentioned projections. You know projections can allow a blank wall to become anything you want it to be. And it can replace you know bulky scenery it can be used in small spaces, where you don't have big budgets, so you can create an atmosphere with projection. It can work in large spaces and alongside scenery, so you know that's one thing. Sound has evolved from 25 years ago where
performers all can have a wireless microphone now and it gives a director more freedom for staging or a choreographer for choreography. And it just really gives I think the biggest thing is, it gives our imaginations options because anything anything is is possible, you know, with all of the changes that have come and the changes that will come, you know I’m sure we'll look back 25 years and be like projections, who need that, now we've got holograms, or whatever it is. But the fact that it gives us options, I mean what more could you ask for in any type of art is to have the freedom and the unlimited ability of your imagination.

OLIVIA SATHER: Yeah, and I think it's important I think that's important too, because I think sometimes people are like, oh with like movies, and the Internet like why would I go to performing arts and I’m like that's not true because, like as technology evolves so will performing arts and they're just going to make shows you know with the time it's going to continue to evolve like anything evolves, but I don't think anything's ever going to replace that energy that comes from being in a space and seeing a performance on a stage, whatever you know even 100-500 years in the future.

KATHRYN HAVEY: I mean there is nothing that can compare.

OLIVIA SATHER: Yeah, yeah, um, so we're about out of time, but there were a few just kind of fun questions I've been ending all of these with, just for people to get to know you better. I call them the rapid fire so we'll get going with those, um, do you have a favorite play?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Lord, this is one of those questions like when people say, do you have a favorite place you've traveled. And I really don't, for me it's more about the experience so sometimes it's I go to see something, because of the actor, I may hate the play, but I go because I want to see the actor, or it's a designer who I want to see but and it's about the sort of like your Beauty and the Beast moment, like I remember seeing James Earl Jones on Broadway doing Fences. Ray Fiennes in Hamlet was astounding one of my favorites is Patrick Stewart one-man show, Christmas Carol. I think that's the one show I've seen multiple times, you know, Jim Dale in Barnum, Mandy Patinkin in Evita, or Sunday in the Park with George…it's about the memory more so than the content for me.

OLIVIA SATHER: Does that go for musicals as well?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Yeah, like I said, you know, I remember as a kid going to see Barnum with Jim Dale and to this day I love that musical and I was actually when I was in high school I worked in a dinner theater and was able to work on a production of that. I’ve seen Mandy Patinkin and everything he's done, he was brilliant in Evita. And like I said then, the on the flip side you've got Sunday in the Park with George, which is a very different role. I remember seeing a very early production in a very small theater in New York, called the Scottsboro boys and that was astounding. So yeah I mean there's they just all, they all they all have something about it that you love, or that I love.

OLIVIA SATHER: I think that's what's special about some performances is, you may not know that who this person is going to become yet, and then a few years down the road you're like wow, I saw them in their early days or I saw them when they did this, and that was such a memorable experience like you said yeah.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Yeah, Charity Barnum who played against Jim Dale was Glenn Close.

OLIVIA SATHER: Oh wow.

KATHRYN HAVEY: I think it was like one of her first Broadway musical she had done so, and then she goes on to Sunset Boulevard and everything else she's done so you just don’t know.

OLIVIA SATHER: Favorite, well I feel like this would be the Dalai Lama, but I could be wrong. Favorite performer to ever come to the Carpenter Center that maybe somebody other than that?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Um, let's sort of similar to your favorite play or musical. The thing that I find such a blessing for me having been at the Carter Center now for almost 25 years is that you meet a lot of people and we've had a lot of artists that are repeat artists that come back and you sort of they become family and you become family and you become friends. So, some of those for me would be Davis Gaines, he's been here, several times. Capitol Steps, who, unfortunately, you know won't be back this year, but the friendships. It just becomes like family, the Trocks, they come a lot and love working with them and a newcomer, Mandy Harvey you know, Harvey is sort of a new family member of ours so that's what is really special about it is the is the connections, you make and it's like old home week when they're back and you just fall into a rhythm, and it's just lovely and wonderful, and you know it's going to be a good day.

OLIVIA SATHER: And I love that and I think it speaks so much to the work you and all your crew do when people want to come back to the Carpenter Center year after year, because they talked about how it's just such a great experience and they love working with you and working with our theater and everyone so yeah

KATHRYN HAVEY: That's our goal. That's what we aim for.

OLIVIA SATHER: It is kind of like an extended family all across the world.

KATHRYN HAVEY: It is.

OLIVIA SATHER: Um, what are you listening to these days, do you have an album you recommend that people pick up.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Not really. I listen to a lot of classical music, that's sort of my go-to but I've been revisiting, I’ve got a lot of records here at home, and so I’ve been revisiting a lot of 
old-school musical singers like Alfred Drake and Gordon McCrae and Ezio Pinza and Richard Kiley, like back in the you know the 50s when they were just rich and meaty and so I've been listened, a lot of sort of old-school musicals.

OLIVIA SATHER: I didn't put this on the list of questions, but I want to ask it anyway. You are a world traveler…two or three top highlights from your travels around the world.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Oh Lord, that goes back with a favorite play, Olivia. That’s hard, too. I had a wonderful five weeks in Egypt and Jordan and I camped through the Western desert, with Bedouins and flew in a hot-air balloon over the Valley of the Kings and Queens at sunrise, that was pretty amazing. Climbing the Great Wall of China was fantastic. I stayed with a Vietnamese family in a small village in northern Vietnam, which was interesting seeing as we didn't speak the same language but we, you know, had a fantastic time. Being in the Amazon was pretty amazing and Machu Picchu, climbing Machu Picchu. So yeah, I mean there's, I was in Australia and New Zealand everything, every place has something magical about it.

OLIVIA SATHER: I love that. When I first met you and somebody mentioned that Kathryn travels a lot, and then, as I got to know you better, I was like no Kathryn has traveled like, most people don't travel, and I love hearing about your stories, and I’m like, I want to do that, adding it to the bucket list.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Another benefit of the Carpenter Center, because sometimes you know I’ll have a bit of downtime so. And yeah, I worked at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002 and that was pretty amazing as well, so another a bit of benefit of the understanding of the Carpenter Center.

OLIVIA SATHER: And what are you looking forward to, as covid restrictions start to lift and we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. What are you most excited about what are you looking forward to?

KATHRYN HAVEY: Um, well I definitely miss my crew, I miss all my people. I just like I said they're all extraordinary and such an important part of what we do at the Carpenter Center, so I do I do miss them. Outside of that I think I’m looking forward to the same thing every every other theatergoer is looking forward to, it's that experience of live art again, you know as we mentioned before it's it. I mean you can of course appreciate the talents of artists that you watch on live stream or on on a movie or on your computer but it just doesn't it doesn't replace the live experience, seeing something you know whether it's a performance or concert or an art exhibit or an installation there's an energy, there's a there's an excitement, there's an atmosphere, and that's, to me, that's such an integral element to any experience. And I think that's kind of what I miss the most because I’m not much of a stream kind of stuff. You know it's it's like when you go to the Metropolitan Opera and you're sitting in the house waiting for the show to start, whether it be an opera or the ballet that's there. And they have these chandeliers, and there's several of them, and I look they look like exploding stars in a way, and they just start to rise. And it's you know it's a huge theater so you just, you know as those as those chandeliers go by you, that it's about to start, and it's that excitement that builds and that's kind of what I kind of missed the most I would say.

OLIVIA SATHER: Chandeliers rising.

KATHRYN HAVEY: Yes, we don't have any at the Carpenter Center, but you can imagine that if you will.

OLIVIA SATHER: Absolutely. I yeah, I think, people listening to this will agree live performances one they are, many of us are, looking forward to experiencing again.

OLIVIA SATHER: I attended a few virtual performances and it, you know it's just not the same. I’m very eager as well to get back into space and see people on stage again and see people backstage as well. Kathryn thank you so much for taking the time to do this, and I hope…I know that anybody listening is going to learn something new about production about what happens backstage at a performance and, hopefully, a little bit about the Carpenter Center and the people that work there as well, so thank you so much, and we'll talk to you soon.

KATHRYN HAVEY: You are welcome.

OLIVIA SATHER: Beyond the Stage is produced by the Carpenter Performing Arts Center at Cal State Long Beach. Views expressed by guests of the show or the hosts are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the University. A special thanks to today's guest and the entire staff of the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, including our Executive Director Megan Kline Crockett. Audio engineering is provided by Ken Beaupre. Graphic design by Patti Laurrell. Digital Communications by Franz Neumann, and additional marketing and media assistance by Amber Legaspi-Valdez. Our theme music is by Ken Beaupre. If you'd like to support Beyond the Stage or the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, please donate online at Carpenterarts.org. Thank you for joining us today and we'll see you next time.