Annie Salamunovich, CPA, is the marketing and promotions coordinator at Portland’5 Centers for the Arts in Portland, Oregon. She holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Oregon. She has presented at PAMC and interned at VMS in 2014. Annie is a current member of the Performing Arts Committee. Annie enjoys baking, running, traveling, fishing, exclamation points, corny musicals, and Irish football.
SK: What was the determining factor in your decision to pursue a career in the venue industry?
AS: I grew up performing. In symphonies. In musicals. In choirs. In the backyard. I loved an audience and could not be kept away from a stage—be it a professional proscenium or a redwood stump—whether I was performing on it, watching, enthralled, from the wings, or running a board in the booth. I loved every aspect of mounting productions and being in a theatre: from rehearsals to tech, from makeup to marketing, from sales to standing ovations, from constructing the set to building a patron base!
Completely opposite of the usual scenario, my mom wanted me to try for Broadway but I decided to pursue an accounting degree and became a CPA with the goal of transitioning into the “business” aspect of show biz after gaining a few years of experience. Fast forward a few years into my audit and revenue management career, and while I was still performing and volunteering with local arts groups around Portland, I was ready to commit to a career change and decided to go back to grad school for Arts Administration. I was extremely fortunate to have been awarded a scholarship to PAMC 2013 in Las Vegas, and upon arriving, immediately knew I had found my niche. Not only were people extremely welcoming and friendly, but also knowledgeable, passionate, motivated, and excellent at what they did.
Fascinated by P&Ls and operational margins? Check! Attempting to increase engagement and bring new people through the door? Check! Able to rattle off all the stats AND the scores of touring Broadway productions? Check! Venue management allows me to enjoy the creativity expressed through the arts and to implement efficient operations within an organization. I thrive in the (mostly) controlled chaos of the performing arts center world as every day brings new events and constant challenges to conquer.
SK: Do you believe that a graduate degree is essential for entry into this industry?
AS: Honestly, I’m a little split on this one. On one hand, I do think it still comes down to one’s network and the strength of one’s resume, in terms of demonstrated skills with recognizable organizations. On the other hand, dream jobs are scarce and graduate degrees in arts and sports management are becoming more popular, so it’s starting to seem that degrees are almost necessary to be a competitive candidate to be taken seriously and break in at an entry level. I had my heart set on working for Portland’5, and I realized that to get my foot in the door in that organization it would be best for me to go to grad school in the Pacific Northwest so I could meet the right people and get the right kind of experience in the performing arts world that P’5 would value. I’m thankful my graduate program provided an opportunity for me to be introduced to IAVM and present at PAMC and intern at VMS—it gave me a springboard to really embrace the venue management field and vice versa.
SK: What surprised you most, conversely, what did you not realize but learned during your educational process about the venue world.
AS: I’m most impressed by the sheer variety of areas in which venue managers must be experts. In any given day, people need to wear so many hats. Negotiator. Accountant. Cheerleader. Entrepreneur. Foodie. Engineer. Safety Champion. Customer Service Provider. Salesperson. Fortune Teller. Confidante. Mentor. Mentee. Bureaucrat. Politician. Electrician. Custodian. Engineer. Stagehand. Events Coordinator. Operational Expert. PR Specialist. Scheduler Extraordinaire. Procurer. Technology Guru. Historian. Storyteller. Community Member. The list is endless, and that’s all before lunch! I knew it was so much more than being an arts aficionado, but the range is incredible. The close-knit community and willingness to work together is also quite extraordinary in this field. These are the things I find most exciting about the venue world—there is never time to get bored at work, and there are always new opportunities for learning, connecting, and growing.
SK: I think we can all agree that internships are now SOP for breaking into this field. Is there anything else you did that you feel “tipped the scales” in finding a position with a venue?
AS: I was very strategic about my internship process. I knew that landing an internship at Portland’5 was my dream job, so I really thought proactively about what steps I could take to make that happen. I won’t say that I stalked the P’5 people at conferences, meetings, and field trips per se, but I certainly was very deliberate about making sure they knew who I was and finding out what they needed and if I could provide that with my unique skillsets. Many people have told me they remember me standing up at the PAMC Town Hall in 2013 asking if anyone used student interns for specific projects. (There’s me not being able to stay away from the stage, again—it’s a recurring theme!) It turns out that Portland’5 wanted a community impact study completed, and so I worked with Robyn Williams, CFE, to de sign a project that eventually became my graduate thesis. I also was able to complete a full operational expense project for them showing a breakout by venue and an expense-revenue comparison by user, which was eye-opening to say the least. These projects thankfully paved the way for a permanent job with Portland’5 after I graduated.
SK: If you had to share one nugget of wisdom to a new graduate, what would that be?
AS: I think the best things to do are to really figure out what you want—whether that’s a specific title or a geography or a venue—and be really proactive. Know your own strengths and what makes you unique, and learn how you can benefit the organization. Be very deliberate about building skillsets where you may have holes. Don’t be shy about letting people know you want to work with them. Be flexible. Be enthusiastic. Have fun. Get involved. Don’t stop performing—at your passions and at your job! FM
