Shane Hudson goes to Yale (and we’re so happy for him)!
By Angie Hays, NCTC Executive Director
You probably know by now that NCTC loves Shane Hudson. Don’t know who he is? Then you haven’t been to a Producing Theatre Gathering, where he has dazzled audiences with his Social Media presentations. Even if you haven’t met him, you’ve read one of his hundreds of blog posts. In fact, if you’re reading this one, you’re seeing his work. Though I’m writing this post (Angie), Shane will upload it to the blog, distribute it on Facebook and tweet about it. He is the force behind our collection of job and audition listings, all of the relevant stories that appear in your news feeds, and all of the information gathered and distributed from our many events.
Shane has made important and impressive contributions to NCTC and the statewide arts community. But before moving home in 2007, he had a long and successful career in Boston, with adventures at Blue Man Group, StageSource and Forbidden Broadway.
Shane and I became colleagues when, in my first weeks on the job, he asked if I might need some help in the office. Help? I needed a staff! But, we couldn’t afford a second staff member, so Shane joined the ranks of part-time temporary help and saved much of my sanity in that first fall season. He managed Free Night of Theater, handled membership and registration for events, helped me make sense of changes that needed to be made and was a leader as we set new directions for NCTC. He and Tony Sprinkle made a great team that first year and I’m not sure what I would have done without them. Just after that, Shane accepted a full-time position at PlayMakers Repertory Company.
While at PlayMakers, Shane served on arts boards, including ARTS NC and Triangle Arts Works (check our Beth Yerxa’s tribute to Shane here). He also began his work as a Social Media expert, which started with preparation to present these new skills to NCTC members at the Producing Theatre Gathering. These sessions quickly became a highlight of the event and NCTC members across the state have implemented his suggestions, launching and perfecting their own pages, groups, blogs, etc.
Two years later, NCTC was finally in a position to hire that second full-time person. Amanda Clark is a rock star and she and I immediately began to strategize about hiring Shane back, this time as a consultant, to launch our Social Media efforts. Shane had already created a highly successful blog, www.theatrenorthcarolina.com which had become the source for all theatre information in the state…exactly the kind of service that NCTC would like to provide. He was thinking of giving up the blog and the timing was right for us to acquire it and bring on Shane as part of our team. His work has taken the organization to a whole new level.
During all of this, Shane started to set a new goal. It was time to get the piece of paper that would provide even more credentials to his already-impressive resume. An MFA would be the next step on his journey and because he does nothing without doing it to the fullest; he set his sights on Yale. Though he was nervous about getting accepted, studying like crazy for the GRE and prepping for interviews with all of his friends and advisors, we all knew this was a no-brainer. We knew Yale would be excited to have him, and of course they were.
We hope he’ll be back on the NC theatre scene very soon and thank him profusely for all he has done to change this community and NCTC for the better. In addition to all of this, he is a great friend to me and to all of us at NCTC and we will miss him so very much. So, congratulations to Yale and cheers to Shane!
Shane Hudson, Angie Hays (NCTC Executive Director), and Connie Mahan (Former NCTC Board Memeber and Director of Marketing and Communication at PlayMakers Repertory Company)
Congratulations, Shane, and thank you for all you've done for NCTC, theatre in NC, and especially for my dear successor Angie :)
It's great to read about your accomplishments, Shane, and about your new horizons. Best of luck in everything you do!
Posted by: Terry Milner | 08/13/2011 at 02:35 PM