Photo by Beth Skogen

Today we hear from dancer Erin Donohue, who is a Project Manager for Liz Lerman.

I’ve been working as one of Liz Lerman’s project managers for the last four months. Liz and I met during her two year residency at the University of Iowa ,where I was working as the education director at Hancher, the arts presenter on campus. So, I’m still pretty new to my position and in the process of figuring things out!

Liz does a wide ranges of things including choreographing major works (Healing Wars is at La Jolla Playhouse for its final run this month), keynoting at conferences, writing books, and meeting with local artists and advising them about their work. If I had to sum up my role in one sentence it would be: I do my best to keep Liz’s busy life on track and make sure she is doing her best work.

My job at Hancher was the best preparation for this role with Liz. At the University of Iowa, I worked with a wide range of artists from a number of different disciplines, and my goal was to make meaningful connections between these artists and our community. Skills needed for that role have directly transferred into my work with Liz: being able to deal with ambiguity, thinking quickly under pressure, caring for (and anticipating) artists’ needs, writing clearly and thoughtfully, and working with a team. It also requires jumping into things where you don’t have much expertise and being willing to learn quickly!

I work full-time, but it’s a very flexible position, which I love. I am a dancer as well, so Liz encourages me to take class and perform when I can. She’s an incredible person to work for because she’s so invested in her work but is entirely committed to the people who work with her. Even when her schedule is crazy (including insane cross-country travel), she’ll send me a sweet note of encouragement. Liz has an amazing network of people she works with — I think due to her ability to create relationships and truly maintain them.

One of the wonderful and most challenging things about working with Liz is that she is a never ending source of new ideas. Imagining possibilities and trying to figure out how they might happen is an essential part of my job, so creativity is in play at all times. Narrowing/focusing/eliminating options is the hard part! I’ve also had a great team that have helped me figure out my role: Amelia, Kini, and John — the other incredible members of team Lerman.

I love working in the performing arts. However, it takes perseverance, hard work, and many late nights/weekends sacrificed to develop the skill sets needed to succeed — and having a team of people you trust to help is essential. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance of a couple important mentors. I am thankful for both positions I have had post-graduation which have allowed me to challenge my potential as I support artists that I admire. An extra perk is I am able to continue dancing and also lead classes in the community, which is another way I am able to connect to people and impact my corner of the world.

www.lizlerman.com

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