We recently connected with Vanya Foote and have shared our conversation below.

Vanya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

As a parent now, I can see that having your child want to pursue a career in the arts is terrifying. Will they be successful? Financially and emotionally? Can they have a family? Do they have to move to New York City and live with 4 other people? I can see now that my parents must have been so nervous, but they never showed it and they supported me in what I wanted to do. And now they can say that I’m doing what I went to school for, and I think they’re proud of that. I definitely could not have made it to where I am now without their support and encouragement.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started this whole journey as a kid – doing community theatre, playing piano and singing. It’s all I wanted to do and I went to college to pursue a degree in Theatre, but because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do exactly, I decided to take a minor in Theatre. After trying acting, design, carpentry, stage management and production management, I still wasn’t sure. So I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree at Florida State University in Theatre Management.

Following that I’ve now spent nearly two decades in theatre, opera and classical music, focusing on operations, contracts, artist hospitality and producing.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Go see local artists! There are plenty of opportunities – both free and very affordable – to see artists that live right here in the metro area that rival any artist in this country. This metro area has dance, opera, theatre, museums and visual arts – anything you could want to see!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It is one of the most long-standing careers in the history of the world, and the impact is beyond incredible. The people I have met who have experienced the shows that I have produced include children who have experienced theatre for the first time, or students/children who can see themselves in the stories told on the stage.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/footev/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanya-foote/

Image Credits

Becca McCoy (Secrets of Smyrna)
Casey G. Ford (American Theatre)