production RESUME
Properties Director | Assistant Director of Facilities | Scenic Designer
PERFORMANCE SUMMARY:
Music Theatre and Opera technical and design specialist with leadership acumen and fiscally responsible production and facilities strategies.
– Experience with workplace safety and training.
– Ability to address ambiguous situations with diplomacy and tact.
– Solid interpersonal skills coupled with effective creative vision.
– Encourages and leads a culture of mutual respect, communication, and close collaboration to maximize workplace efficiency and harmony.
– Organized and detail oriented with track record of working in deadline driven environments.
Assistant Director of Facilities, Broadway Theatre Center
2008 – present
I work closely with the Director of Production and Facilities on a wide range of projects.
Duties include:
– System management of heating, air-conditioning, plumbing and electrical service, repair, and maintenance
– Troubleshooting emergency repair & interface with vendors on all systems as needed
– Maintenance and protocol advising on internal security systems
– Advising on capitol requests for prudent fiscal management and long-vision planning
– Leading facilities and personnel safety and training.
– Building strong facility partnerships through demonstrable understanding of tenant needs and key concerns.
– Facilitating income generation through production rentals from individual prop items up to full scenic packages.
Properties Director, Skylight Music Theatre
1990 – present
Twenty-eight seasons of collaborative leadership of the prop creative team- one full time artisan, one full time paid apprentice, flexible over hire of up to five artisans/specialists, and as recruited unpaid interns. Duties include:
– Resourceful budget planning and management, design interpretation/creative problem solving, in-shop fabrication direction and prop acquisition to meet design expectations and production calendar goals/ openings.
– Liaison with guest directors/ designers in responsive design communication/ creative problem solving in support of the creative team’s vision
– Collaborative communication with stage management, lateral shop heads, and administration for effective exchange of information/ideas/ and needs.
– Mentoring of mid-level and junior staff for professional development, safety orientation, and tool training.
– Ambassador of Skylight’s Vision and Style to Skylight stakeholders/Milwaukee/ Wisconsin/ greater national theatre community
Scenic Designer, freelance
2000 – present
African American Children’s Theatre
Milwaukee Shakespeare
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Renaissance Theaterworks
Florentine Opera
American Folklore Theater
Northern Sky Theater
First Stage
In Tandem
Milwaukee Opera Theatre
Skylight Music Theatre
education
Master of Fine Arts, Theatre Technology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1988
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Music and Theatre, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, 1985
ADDITIONAL SKILLS & INTERESTS
– Co-Author: The Properties Director’s Toolkit- Creativity, Collaboration and Communication for Prop Shop Management in the Theatre and Performing Arts Focal Press: Spring 2018
– Adjunct Instructor: UW Milwaukee Department of Theatre: Career Development
– KCACTF prop and scenic design respondent/mentor, Region 3: 2009, 2017, 2018
– Wisconsin State licensed wildlife rehabilitator - Specialty in insectivorous bats (Endangered & Threatened species permit holder)
– AHA First Aid and CPR training
references
Mark Turner
Production Manager
Conservatory of Theatre Arts mark.turner@purchase.edu
Sandra Strawn
Professor Emeritus
UW-Milwaukee Dept. of Theatre
Head of Technical Production (1993-2017)
sjstrawn54@mac.com
Peter Dean Beck
Scenic & Lighting Design
peedeebee@earthlink.net
Kurt Schnabel
Lighting Designer & Design Engineer
Clearwing Systems Integration
kschnabel@clearwing.com
Bill Theisen
Director of Opera
bill-theisen@uiowa.edu
contact
l.a.schlenker@gmail.com | 414-698-9568