We were lucky to catch up with Jen Donohoo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jen, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Being a woman in any room is sometimes the toughest pill to swallow. Instantly feeling like your effort and energy must be significantly more than your male counterparts. You are held to a higher standard, any misstep is judged, a lack of knowledge is weakness, and there’s an almost instinctual need to be questioned on every decision made. I find myself consistently over-explaining my reasonings, tiptoeing around egos, and sugar coating feedback to keep the balance. It’s exhausting and far too common.
Through every woman’s journey, I have found strength, inspiration and ultimately my work ethic. I have always put myself in rooms where I can learn from those that have paved the path. I’ve fed on their knowledge and experiences. I’ve learned from their styles of leadership. I’ve used the bits that fit with my personality and code of ethics. It’s not been perfect, but each misstep has always taught me a lesson and fueled my growth as a leader. From these powerful female role models, I have learned the meaning of grace, assertiveness, playing the game, and respecting the fact that everyone has a different process.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’ve always rebelled against putting myself into one box. I like versatility, change of scenery and getting to collaborate with people across varying facets of the entertainment industry.
For the past three holiday seasons, I have been on tour with Cirque du Soleil as a Touring Artistic Director for their holiday show, Twas The Night Before. During training, my job consists of working with every artist across 4 tours (over 100 people) teaching them their scene work, cues and group choreography for the show. Then once we hit staging and our show run, I’m responsible for putting the show together, keeping the integrity of the show during the run and participating in press events. It’s a very rewarding job getting to see my cast and crew shine in their separate disciplines.
The rest of the year I fill as a Showcaller and Stage Manager for corporate events across the globe. It’s such a rewarding job getting to be a small piece of the biggest show of the year for my clients. I love working with these teams, learning and growing with each show!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Collaboration, Efficiency, and Versatility
When I look at the path of my career, I realize how fortunate I’ve been. I have pivoted multiple times and grown so much along the way. From my roots as a performer, holding a multitude of side gigs along the way, I had to become efficient in the way that I took my work. To continue training and auditioning, but also support myself. This efficiency has translated into my work as a director, producer, showcaller and stage manager.
Collaboration is the foundation for every project I work on. I’ve learned through experience how important it is to come into each show and event with a fresh eye, approaching the team where they are at, discovering how they work most effectively and leaning on their expertise to get to the final product.
Versatility I would say is my most special skill. Being able to jump from one gig to the next in a multitude of roles is something I find extremely rewarding. I owe this skill to the many side gigs I’ve done throughout my career. Each gig has taught me how to deal with all sorts of personalities and situations. I get to pull from my past to make my present all the more rich and grounded. It’s pretty great knowing that where I’m at today is completely owed to my dedication and resourcefulness throughout my career.
My one piece of advice is simply to say yes. I’ve always been able to learn something at each gig that I’ve jumped into. Whether a positive or negative experience, it all adds to who I am, where I’ve come from and what rooms I get to be in now.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
For the last few years, I have worked very hard at expanding my network. I’ve recently shifted my priorities work-wise and it’s been my mission to connect with others in the business. January of this past year, I created a spreadsheet for my outreach. Whether it was for more social catchups with others doing what I do or for the companies that are doing work that interests me. I made weekly goals for outreach, followups, etc. The biggest win is seeing how some of the new connections led to work last year and even more work this year. Seeing the tangible growth from my efforts has been super fulfilling. I’m looking forward to another year of making new connections and keeping those that I have very present in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jendonohoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenday_to_day/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jendonohoo/
Image Credits
Matthew Dunivan
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