Texas Performing Arts’ Emerging Arts Professionals program helps launch recent graduates into arts administration careers
by Cami Yates
Fostering and supporting the next generation of arts professionals is a cornerstone of Texas Performing Arts’ mission. Each semester, Texas Performing Arts hires about 80 student workers from across campus, offering hands-on experience alongside professional staff members. Recently, the organization expanded its career opportunities for recent graduates with the introduction of the Emerging Arts Professionals program, a specialized track that nurtures future arts leaders through early career employment, development and mentorship.
The program launched in August 2023 with recent graduates Aubrey Felty and Mika O’Dwyer as its inaugural emerging professionals, overseen by Tim Rogers, director of Education and Engagement. Felty, a B.F.A. graduate in Theatre Education from Utah State University and a former teaching artist fellow at Metro Theater Company in St. Louis, joined Texas Performing Arts’ Education & Engagement team. O’Dwyer graduated from UT’s Department of Theatre and Dance with a B.A. in Theatre and Dance and a minor in Arts Management and Administration and contributes to TPA’s event management team.
Felty grew up in Frisco, Texas, and got her first taste of theatre in middle school. “I believe there is power in granting students opportunities to engage in the arts,” she said. “Texas Performing Arts’ programming for educators and students to attend performances and engage with professional artists is largely why I wanted to pursue this opportunity.”
Felty and O’Dwyer underwent a rigorous screening process for the program, including panel interviews and extensive screenings tailored to their respective roles.
“It’s not often that you find a position geared toward people just leaving college, which is why I was eager to apply,” O’Dwyer said. “It means a lot to me that I get to work with many of the professors who taught me many of the skills I use here.”
Their roles now reflect their diverse responsibilities within Texas Performing Arts: Felty spearheads education and community engagement initiatives, orchestrating workshops and exclusive performances for students across Austin. Meanwhile, O’Dwyer handles the intricate logistics of artist hospitality and event advancement, ensuring smooth operations for every performance.
Felty and O’Dwyer were assigned multiple mentors to help them learn about operations across Texas Performing Arts. Felty met weekly with Rogers, and she also met monthly with the head of Fabrication and Academic Production. O’Dwyer, on the other hand, met with her mentor, Jason Huerta, operations manager for Fabrication, each month, which encouraged cross-departmental collaboration.
The program also offered access to special events and training for the duo. Texas Performing Arts covered travel expenses for Felty to attend the Broadway League Education and Engagement Forum in New York City, as well as the Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference. O’Dwyer completed crowd manager safety training from the International Association of Venue Managers, and she is working on obtaining a food handler’s license because her job requires hands-on work with catering.
Felty and O’Dwyer also had behind-the-scenes access to the many visiting guests and artists who passed through the venue during the past year. Felty worked with visiting artists to coordinate community events, workshops and class visits for K-12 and university students. O’Dwyer said she was able to work on some larger-scale touring events from AEG, Live Nation and C3 Presents and learn more about the processes around promoting these big shows.
Felty noted that being part of a cohort also contributed to her experience in the Emerging Arts Professionals program.
“Mika and I come from similar university backgrounds and are both early in our performing arts administration careers, so it’s helpful knowing there is someone else at work who is in a similar place in their career,” Felty said. “Opportunities to go to conferences have been invaluable experiences and help me frame the industry on a bigger scale. Learning about different productions and education programs around the country, and even the world, has inspired my work at Texas Performing Arts.”
Upon completion of the program, Felty and O’Dwyer were offered full-time employment at Texas Performing Arts to continue building upon the work they did during the program. Both accepted those jobs with the organization this spring.
“My main goal is to end up doing concerts and music festivals and helping program them and do hospitality for those,” O’Dwyer said. “I think that it’s been a lot of good connections here at Texas Performing Arts, and just understanding the industry of entertainment as well.”
Texas Performing Arts has expanded the program for the fall and hired four new Emerging Arts professionals for 2024-25, two in Fabrication, one in Education & Engagement and one for Event Management. Felty will coordinate the organization of their professional development and has created a handbook, with contributions from O’Dwyer.
Looking ahead, Felty is eager to engage with Austin’s vibrant arts community.
“I’m excited to learn about and work with all of the school and community partners in Austin,” she said. “Texas Performing Arts is easily accessible to students at UT, offering opportunities to attend performances and engage with visiting artists. Connecting students to arts experiences can be life-changing and spark dialogue about connection and humanity.”