Success Story: Lisa Humber
Since graduating from Humber’s Theatre Arts - Production program in 2005, Lisa Humber’s career in stage management has been defined by one word: variety. We spoke to her via email to hear more about the range of commercial, corporate, and creative projects she’s worked on over the last twelve years.
NOW:
I just returned (fall 2017) from doing an immersive theatre piece in Edinburgh, Scotland, called Party Game with two incredible Canadian companies, bluemouth inc and Necessary Angel, that I have been involved in the creation of since 2014 when it was originally commissioned for PANAMANIA as part of the Pan Am Games. Next month (October 2017), I am very proud to say that I will be returning as the stage manager mentor for Theatre Humber’s fall production of The Sea. And my next big project is stage managing the new musical Come From Away with Mirvish Productions, opening in February 2018 at the Royal Alex Theatre in Toronto.
In general, what excites me about projects is that I am constantly being able to do new things, meet new people and am constantly learning; the basic skill set of being a stage manager is the same, but all of the projects are unique.
THEN:
I have been fortunate enough to work professionally in the field of theatre and entertainment as a stage manager since I left Humber in 2005. I’ve worked across Canada as well as in Europe, at the Stratford Festival, at the Banff Centre, at major festivals, on corporate gigs, and on the stage management teams of some of the biggest musicals in Toronto, such as Dirty Dancing, The Sound of Music, War Horse and Les Misérables.
HUMBER:
Humber was integral in preparing me for the “real world” and guiding me to the career that I have—not only were the skills and classes we were taking totally up to date and relevant, the production aspect of the program was shaped and molded very much like the actual business. On top of that, the faculty at Humber are working professionals in the industry or closely connected to the business. I met some of my first professional mentors at Humber, and have worked with people out in the world since graduating who were guest speakers or guest faculty for the program.
To learn more about Lisa’s work, follow her @lisahumber on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Lisa Humber. Photo credit: Ashley Irwin