as early as high school, i was always drawn to behind-the-scenes work, and loved being part of putting on a production, whether it was our school play or just a party at a friend’s house. in college at vanderbilt university, i became a campus radio dj and worked on the hospitality committee for our campus concert crew, as well as being the photo editor of the campus newspaper.
the dj thing kinda stuck, turning into a 15-year career in new orleans that at its peak saw me traveling to spin at big events like the winter music conference, the michigan womyn’s music festival and the dyke march in new york city, as well as gigs in nashville, philadelphia, and chicago.
the dj gig at the michigan womyn’s music festival led to a production job at the annual event, which i’ve now done for 13 years. i’ve worked set-up/strike, signz crew, and have been the assistant coordinator in the media tent for 12 years, overseeing all aspects of our mini film fest that’s part of the overall festival. i now also curate the film programming each summer.
speaking of film fests, i also worked as the projectionist and publicist for the new orleans lgbtq film fest reel identities for several years. (it is currently on hiatus.) locally, i also volunteered for many years in the kid’s area at the new orleans jazz and heritage festival, mostly doing sign and set painting work.
but my interest in event production culminated between 2002 and 2005 with my own new orleans-based production company, girl gang productions. it was a co-op with two of my best friends, and for three years we produced and/or promoted punk, rock and folk shows, drag king performances, spoken word, performance art, and dance parties for the lgbtq underground community. in 2004, we were nominated for a “40 under 40″ award for our work by the gambit.
the federal flood after hurricane katrina put an end to ggp, sadly, as i was dislocated to louisville, ky for three years. but i still have the production itch from time to time, and am currently scheming to figure out a way to put those skills and interests to work again.
