We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Curtis L. Harnagel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Curtis L., appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
When we think of “risk” we think big and usually financial, but that first step you take toward something you want is a risk. For me, I have had several career transitions that required risk. For instance, transitioning from a career as a Designer and Editor to Creative / Show Director and Producer has taken many steps to get here with some amazing opportunities along the way. I think my first true win illustrates this point well.
After graduating from university I followed many of the traditional cliché avenues for work, which weren’t panning out. Consistently hired freelance to edit music and video while continuing as a Theatrical Lighting Designer I searched for opportunities to direct. This led me back to cold calls and emails. This method served me well in the past to gain traction as an Editor and Designer. The fear of rejection can be crippling, but if you don’t ask, your answer is always, “No.” I was swiftly asked to direct children’s theater by a local theater company. It wasn’t my goal, but it was a start. Upon finding out I had to secure my own cast within 2 weeks, the cold emails started once again. This led me to contact Stacie Martinsen at Southlake Carroll. She informed me that they were in the midst of rehearsals for their pilot production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom Of The Opera”. Kindly, Stacie offered to post my casting notice on their call board. Without going into much detail, within a week I passed on directing the children’s theater and contacted Stacie to thank her. In my first email to Stacie, I informed her of my background as a Lighting Designer and Music Editor. This clearly stuck because she offered me the Lighting and Sound Designer contract for their ‘Phantom’ pilot production. Only 6 schools, 2 colleges and 4 high schools in North America were selected by R&H Theatricals in association with The Really Useful Group to mount the pilot productions during the 2007-2008 academic year. “The Phantom Of The Opera”, a show I have loved since childhood, and quietly wanted to be a part of, but didn’t have an “in” as one might say. This extremely successful production lead to 3 more seasons of work with Carroll Theatre, expanding my titles beyond that of Designer once Stacie Martinsen and Roald Martinsen found out about my background in both media and dance.
Currently one of the events I produce is ICON Dance. Founded in 2019, ICON is a masterclass and competition series that focuses primarily on the training of pre-professional dancers ranging in ages 5-19 who participate in Concert Dance (eg. Ballet, Pointe, Musical Theatre, Contemporary, Cultural Dance). The decision to co-produce a niche dance competition / masterclass series was quite risky, especially while in the throes of America’s Got Talent audition preparations; but is well worth it as ICON enters its 7th Season in 2025. The weekend culminates in a Gala where, selected competition routines are performed alongside specially choreographed pieces for the students that are learned that weekend. It is not a recital, but a proper theatrical show that concludes with an awards ceremony. What I love about my experience with ICON is that I am able to merge my theatrical and logistic abilities with my years of mentorship within educational institutions.
Final Thought: Remember, the risk doesn’t have to be large to be impactful. You just need to have a goal, make a decision, and take a step. You never know where it may lead.
Curtis L., before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My love of the Performing Arts and Cinema began as a child watching movie musicals, music videos, and TV concert performances. During my youth, building concert stages and movie sets with my Legos was an early outlet until we found Casa Mañana for education and performance opportunities. While performing is enjoyable, my passion has always been to create and direct. When I entered high school, I happened upon the newly formed Productions / Media Technology program where I learned the art / science of Video and Audio Editing, Lighting and Sound Design, plus general Production Management. In 2004, I graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Radio / Television / Film.
My career is a hybrid of live and video production. Working on a myriad of shows throughout university and high school allowed me to forge business relationships with local industry professionals. While at UNT I studied abroad in London, gaining a global perspective on media / productions. Currently I am based out of DFW, splitting much of my time between Texas, California, and traveling the United States for work. Being independent allows me the opportunity to work with Union and non-Union crews, facilities, and performers from different regions such as the Southern United States, California, and the North East.
As a Creative Director and Producer, maintaining the creative vision requires constant communication, while striking a balance between the artistic and the logistic. As a Producer, I work out the logistics of any given project, coordinating schedules, vendors, departments, and budgets to ensure every production is a success. Every project has a timeline / deadline and a budget that must be maintained. This, in turn, requires ingenuity in both an artistic sense as well as navigating through any pitfalls, setbacks, or delays. Creativity comes naturally for me, it is where I thrive and shine; so, having the balance with the strategic coordination helps to maintain a 360 viewpoint while working.
Have you ever had to pivot?
One thing I have learned to do well is “pivot.” Whether that be on a project or in life. To paraphrase an old adage, “The best laid plans of Mice and Men often go awry”, adapted from “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns. Growing up I frequently heard the adults in my life using various forms of this idiom to describe a situation where you have to punt because life isn’t going to plan. I find that most projects end up this way. That’s why preparation and observation are keys to being successful. The more plans and experience one has in their arsenal, the more you have to work with to successfully fix an issue that arises.
I think a brilliant example of pivoting can be summed up by 2020-2021. Part of my career is remote during research, development, and post-production, but the majority of project implementation requires me to be in person on-site. Spring of 2020 took that option off of the table for everyone; not for two weeks, not for a month, but for well over six weeks before an opportunity appeared. This is where having a background in sales, customer service, and visual merchandising came in handy. The Dance Shop is the oldest dancewear store in Fort Worth, Texas (70+ years and counting). I have a great relationship and history with the owner of TDS and their sister store 5678 Dancewear Defined. When asked to fill-in for one of the store’s managers by coming in to run mail, phone and online orders, quantify inventory, and reorganize sections of the store I jumped at the opportunity to work again!
As the months passed and customers were allowed to return to shop; a new problem was introduced – INVENTORY! Trying to get pointe shoes, in particular, was quite difficult. The supply chain was broken and dancers were struggling to find the specific shoes that they wear. The issue is that, unlike a traditional shoe, pointe shoes are specifically fitted to the dancer’s foot and have a rehearsal / performance life expectancy. Thusly, 1 dancer may need a new pair of shoes every 2 to 6 weeks (give or take). This situation improved my pointe shoe fitting skills after many years of experience as I had to figure out the best alternate options for the customer based on the availability of the store’s inventory (which is different between both stores).
Upon returning to sales and customer service from a creative direction and managerial career, I realized how applicable those experiences have become in my everyday work life. Managing performers, crews, spectators, faculty members, etc. requires all of the same tools as a CSR and Manager combined. The specific responsibilities are different but the goal of keeping a complex, dynamic, people powered machine running smoothly is ultimately the same.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Traditional business models revolve around salary and hourly wages, however when you hire a contractor or consultant it changes the business model. Independent contractors and freelancers are not “employees” of the company; rather they are usually specialists in their field of expertise likely operating on a fixed, project, or day-rate. For instance, a music mix of a certain length or with a certain amount of cuts may cost you one price, but add a second song in the mix and it doubles. It could take the editor 30 minutes, a full day, or longer to complete that single mix / edit based on its difficulty, but you’re not paying for the time spent, you are paying for the product, experience, and turnaround.
Most Creatives enjoy what they do and want to put their best product forward, as it is naturally an extension of who they are. Unfortunately, trying to force a contractor or creative into a bureaucratic or traditional employee pay system does not account for contractor specific issues such as taxes, travel expenses, that more experience and education should naturally equal higher pay, rapid turnaround, material costs (as not every job requires digital only assets), and finally the amount of actual time and effort that will go into the project. There is a wonderful video on YouTube from TheFutur featuring Chris Do called, “Pricing Design Work & Creativity – Stop Charging Hourly”. In this video excerpt Chris wonderfully demonstrates ‘Pricing the Client, Not the Job’.
In short, I want non-creatives and those responsible for hiring, budget, and compensation to understand that every project has its own requirements and variables. This is partly why the attempt to integrate contract work into a corporate or hourly pay model is less beneficial for both parties. Understanding the value that consultants and contractors bring to a business, a project, or in Education with their expertise and knowledge offsets what a business would ultimately pay out if they were a full-time employee in taxes, benefits, and salary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gesamtcurtiswerk.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/gesamtcurtiswerk/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GESAMTCURTISWERK
- Other: https://linktr.ee/gesamtcurtiswerk
https://www.icondance.org/
Image Credits
Jerry Noel Photography
Rita Feragne
Brielle Sydow
Alex Larson
Curtis L. Harnagel