Career Opportunity:Assistant Stage Manager

 

OPPORTUNITY

This is an exciting time to work at Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) – one of the nation’s leading ballet companies. We are in a position of strength and are well-positioned for the future, financially solid and debt free. After two rigorous national searches, OBT has appointed two visionary leaders to guide the company’s exciting next chapter: Artistic Director Dani Rowe and Executive Director Shane Jewell.

Artistic Director Dani Rowe comes to OBT after an expansive professional career as an acclaimed principal dancer with The Australian Ballet and Houston Ballet, and artist of Nederlands Dans Theater 1. She is an award-winning choreographer, having created renowned works for companies like San Francisco Ballet, New Zealand Ballet, Ballet Idaho, and more. Her rich career of performing, choreographing, and directing at the highest levels of classical and contemporary dance worlds has cultivated in her a curatorial aesthetic that is already revitalizing OBT with a dazzling mix of innovative and cutting-edge programming. Her vast network and deep relationships with top-level artistic collaborators will usher in a new era for OBT. The Director of Development will play a key role in leveraging the excitement of audience members as well as current and future donors and patrons.

Executive Director Shane Jewell has over twenty years of experience working in performing arts administration and production. Most recently, Mr. Jewell was the General Manager of Gibney Company in New York City, a newly formed contemporary dance company that performed in NYC and toured internationally, where he built the infrastructure and led strategic planning that led to substantial growth and expansion. Prior to that, he served as Executive Director of the Orlando Ballet, Executive Director of Oklahoma City Ballet, and Executive Director of OK Mozart International Music Festival. Shane has raised over thirty million dollars for the various nonprofits of his employ, successfully completing two capital campaigns and a multi-million-dollar sustainability campaign while maintaining and driving growth in operational contributed income. The Director of Development will work alongside Shane to build and execute a strategic development plan to increase the contributed income and launch an exciting new capital campaign.

In addition to our energizing new leadership and strategic plan, our growing Board is actively engaged in oversight and stewardship. Our 250 employees are resilient and energized. We are adding two new studios to facilitate growth. Programmatically, OBT is robust, and we are changing lives through dance. Our professional company of 27 dancers performs an annual season of five programs, featuring both classical and contemporary work. OBT2, our junior company, boasts an average of 20 dancers of exceptional talent. Our nationally renowned School trains hundreds of elite students from across the country. Our community education programs reach thousands of students in classrooms across the region. Through all our endeavors, we are committed to advancing equity and creating a culture of kindness.

Portland, Oregon is a cultural hub where the arts, sports, live music, and small businesses thrive, while also leading the way in sustainability with a robust mass transit system, bike friendly infrastructure and unique, walkable neighborhoods. The city is home to dozens of microbreweries, coffee shops, world-class restaurants, and is just a short drive to nationally renowned Willamette Valley wineries. Portland’s proximity to both the Pacific Ocean and Mt. Hood allows for easy access to nature’s playground. Acclaimed for its beauty, vitality and livability, the City of Roses has become a destination for young professionals, families, and world travelers alike, with no shortage of activities from outdoorsy adventures to cosmopolitan delights.


EQUITY

OBT is committed to the vitality of ballet as an art form that is accessible to everyone. We seek people who have lived, volunteer and/or have professional experience partnering, communicating, and engaging with communities of color, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other communities.

POSITION

In conjunction with the Stage Manager, the Assistant Stage Manager will assist in ensuring a safe and sanitary working environment in both rehearsal studios and in the theater; set up rehearsal spaces including studio AV equipment, taping studio floors with scenic and spacing marks; setting up and striking all scenery and prop elements; provide video and music in studios as requested; attend studio rehearsals to learn ballets, cues, and facilitate choreographers artistic requests; and create archival video recordings of all performances as requested by artistic staff. The ASM will also assist with load-in and strike of production equipment at performance venue(s) maintain first aid supplies, office supplies and AV supplies; monitor dancer and stagehand crew needs. The ASM will have strong written and verbal communication skills, have highly proficient computer skills including Microsoft Office Suite, and demonstrate highly superior time and stress management skills. A full job description is available here.


QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum 3 years’ experience or professional equivalent knowledge of theatrical backstage operations; college degree in theatre, stage management, or equivalent; ability to work with both PC and Apple computers, video editing with Adobe Premier Pro; QLab audio playback system or similar applicable software.


COMPENSATION

$31,718.29 Minimum 7/1/23 – 6/30/24. This is a union role (American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA)) and will be required to join the union or be an existing member in good standing. The work week schedule for the fiscal year is for a total of 24 weeks – 13 Rehearsal Weeks, and 11 Technical (in the theater) Weeks.


APPLY

Submit a cover letter and resume or CV to jobs@obt.org. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and the position will remain open until filled. A full job description can be obtained here