From Spotlights to Spreadsheets: My Journey from the Live Arts to ACADEMIA

If someone had told me years ago that I’d go from casting tables and directing performers under stage lights to developing marketing campaigns under ring lights, I probably would’ve laughed and asked if there was craft services at this “new gig.”

But here I am—after years in the live arts and entertainment world—thriving in the world of academia and business strategy. And there is no secret - I love it! The transition wasn’t just a career change; it was a perspective shift. And surprisingly, the worlds of entertainment and business have more in common than you might think.

The Show Must Go On—Even in Business

In the performing arts, there’s a golden rule: the show must go on. Whether the fog machine breaks, a dancer forgets choreography, or the lights go out mid-performance, the audience expects excellence.

Well, business operates on the same principle. Deadlines, deliverables, and campaign launches are the corporate version of opening night. You prepare, rehearse, troubleshoot, and deliver—because people are counting on you.

The biggest similarity? Both worlds thrive on adaptability. In entertainment, it’s about thinking on your feet when something unexpected happens. In business, it’s about pivoting strategies when data or market trends shift. The stage might look different, but the energy, precision, and teamwork are the same.

Entertainment Meets Entrepreneurship

Running a production isn’t that different from running a business. In entertainment, you wear multiple hats: creative director, producer, logistics manager, therapist (for both performers and yourself).

In entrepreneurship and marketing, it’s the same hustle—balancing creativity with operations, budgets, and branding. Every event, campaign, or class becomes a production of its own, with an audience (your clients, students, or colleagues) expecting to be informed, inspired, or entertained.

Both worlds reward innovation, calculated risks, and bold ideas. Whether it’s selling tickets to a show or selling an idea to a boardroom, success depends on your ability to tell a story that resonates.

Performance Measures

In the arts, performance is visceral. You can feel it. The lights dim, the music swells, and when it’s over—you know immediately if it landed. Applause (or lack thereof) gives instant feedback.

In academia, performance looks different. It’s measured in engagement rates, enrollment numbers, deliverables, and outcomes. The “standing ovation” comes in the form of a successful campaign launch or a positive note from the Dean.

What I’ve learned is that both worlds measure impact—it’s just quantified differently. On stage, emotion drives success. In business, data drives decisions. But both rely on connection: engaging your audience, understanding their needs, and delivering something meaningful. The stage has just changed. The audience now sits behind laptops instead of theater seats—but the goal is the same: move them.

Balancing Creativity and Structure

The arts taught me the beauty of creativity without limits; academia taught me the power of structure and process. At first, the two seemed at odds—one thrives on freedom, the other on frameworks—but in truth, they need each other.

Creative chaos becomes unstoppable when paired with organization. I’ve learned that brainstorming a campaign can feel just like choreographing a routine—each idea is a movement, every voice a rhythm.

Business is the choreography of execution. Every department, deadline, and document has its place in the performance. The creative spark brings it to life.

Whether you’re center stage or in a conference room, success comes down to the same principles: preparation, presence, and passion. In both art and business, you rehearse until it looks effortless—and when the curtain rises, you show up ready to deliver.

Because in the end, whether it’s applause or analytics, it’s all performance—and the show must go on.