We were lucky to catch up with Josh(ua) Johnston recently and have shared our conversation below.
Josh(ua), thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.
I think being a director is like a lot of creative fields: You can get a job in your industry, but none of them are a path to directing.
So, when I was given the chance by a great small company I worked for to take the reigns and go from manager to majority owner, I realized that the only thing holding me back was whether people would come to the shows.
If it seemed scary to market my work directly to the public, it seemed a lot more reliable than trying to convince producer type figures internally to give me some “big opportunity”.
What corporate America gets wrong about creative fields is that by reducing wages and opportunities in creative fields and making folks hired hands instead of respected professionals, they sacrifice the long-term strength of their industry for evaporating short term gain. We’re all watching the film and TV industry make this mistake now, destroy itself by curtailing production. They’re abandoning the wisdom of the old studios that bundled pictures for sale, to keep the type of stable of professionals employed and skilled that they needed for a vital industry. When given the opportunity, I wanted to create opportunities for real professionals and bet against the corporate trend.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I started Killer Theater, a murder mystery company that was about letting the guests be the stars, and giving back to them.
I saw in murder mysteries an awesome format, that was usually performed by amateurs. What if we could do it as professionals, and really slay?
I met my business partner Alyssa as a tour guide in New Orleans. Her vision of a positive, fun-filled tour company that gave back to guests, Spectral City Tours, seemed like a great and original vision I hadn’t seen before. When Alyssa was hiring her first tour guide, I applied and loved it.
My role grew at the tour company, as I was writing the tours and helping with scheduling duties. When Covid finally struck, they asked me if I’d like to become majority owner and officially bring the two companies together.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Covid was a challenge for every business. For us, just as we’d opened Killer Theater for public shows, it struck! We had to sit on the idea.
With tours, we had to close for a time, then operate with tours of six persons max, one party only.
Some didnt follow the rules, in attempts to cash in. Instead, we worked on our scripts and materials so they were in deadly shape when the epidemic was “over”.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When I was in theatre, I wanted to change theatre, in any small way I could, from serving an audience driven by donors, the regional theatre musical review crowd.
When I was in film, I wanted to change it from the type of empty commercial venture, less concerned with scripts and meaning than gadgets and flexes.
When I realized I was in a new, less defined industry and didn’t have to “change the world”, but would do whatever I wanted, it was liberating! Maybe instead of trying to change the industry I was in, being the kind of person who wanted to change things meant I should start my own thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: Killertheaternola.com, spectralcitytours.com
- Instagram: @killertheater. @spectralcity
- Facebook: Facebook.com/killertheater facebook.com/spectralcitytours
