6a Pilot Interview

Pilot Interview Results

For my pilot interview I decided to ask our Technical Director of the show, Mark to take part. I set up a meeting with him before one of our evening shows. I explained the purpose of the interview and what it was being used for and got his consent to blog about my findings. I had a structured list of open questions to ask that gave the opportunity for him to expand on his answers. He was a great person to ask questions to because of his vast experience in the entertainment industry and his managerial role in the company. He has worked as technical crew for outdoorr music organisations, lightning designer for Jayne Eyre, master fly man for Hairspray the musical on tour and various regonal tours and special events to name a few.To record the answers I decided the easiest way was to take notes as it was just the two of us. He gave his consent to use his answers for this course and offered further interviews or help in my inquiry.

Here are some responses I got from my questions:

What qualities do you feel make a good manager?
- Have a varied knowledge base.
- Being able to empathise with the people below you and being able to relate to what they do. I also take this into account when making decisions.
- To be fair and respectful in how you treat people.
- Be honest with your employees.
- Communication!

What problems can be faced in decision making?
In my experience mainly logistical issues. What time frame we have and the materials we have on hand to make it happen. Sometime budget issues come into play as well.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a career transition from performer to manager?
Advantage is that you have gone through the whole process yourself. The hard part is separating themselves from their former role as a performer. They often still have the desire to perform. They also might have a smaller knowledge base than someone who has worked in many areas.

What challenges face young managers?
Having someone working for you that is older than you are and it is much harder to earn their respect and sometimes you don't earn their respect because of that.

In what ways can you keep a business innovative and fresh?
Don't become stagnant. Keep up on the latest technologies and what is happening int he industry. Never stop learning from people around you. I learn something new everyday whether from a person fresh out of college or someone with years of experience. Also listen to people around you and keep and open mind.

What ways can you improve on communication and people skills in a business?
You have to have good people skills as a manager. Improving communication comes with practice. Promote it as often as possible with your staff. You should be able to know where people are and what they are doing in general and encourage staff to do the same. Communicate everything with people from expectations to time lines etc.

I found Mark very interesting to talk to and think I will definatley use this as a tool for my inquiry. For him having good people skills and communication seemed to be very important for a manager. He also made a good point that as an ex-performer going into management it can be hard to get rid of the passion to still want to be onstage. But it can be possible to do both. The Managing Director of the theatre was a performer and will be acting in some of our upcoming shows. He also said that he is constantly learning, which I feel is a key part of this course and shows that even experienced professionals are always developing their craft.