I was thrown, quite literally, into this business in 2017. I came from a Food and Beverage background but had never done any work in exhibition. I had worked for the owners of this theater in the past at some of their other businesses and they felt I could breathe some life into this business that they started in 1984. The first 9 months was a giant learning curve as I navigated my way through the ins and outs of this business. I recall going to my first CinemaCon and Fall Summit and being completely blown away that these resources were out there, and we had never utilized them before. That second year was a year of so many changes as my team and I made some big changes! We added a website and online ticketing, changed the concession menu, painted, added new seats, started planning events and did everything we could to make the theater experience something we could be proud of.

My favorite thing about this job is the ability to get as creative as I can. Although we have our struggles being an independent theater, I love the freedom it gives me to do something wild or think outside the box for a movie. We have really focused on trying to make all movies more of an event and I have a great team that shares that outlook with me. We have made some really fun, new events that our community has loved!

There are so many! My most favorite, is probably when we went to a Fall Summit where we were able to tour the Dreamworks lot. That was amazing! Their lot is beautiful and so serene. We were able to learn how to do some of the drawings they use to start a story board and see how they make those characters come to life!

It’s funny, because my favorite experience is one that I was working, rather than watching a film. The Avengers Endgame early show was on a Thursday at 6:00pm, I believe. This was before we had reserved seating, so we had a huge line of people outside the theater waiting to get in and get the best seats. We all know Marvel fans in 2019 were WILD and hardcore. Just before the film started, we ran through that auditorium with some of the Marvel costume pieces that people had brought in. It was so electric in that theater. Everyone was screaming in excitement as we ran through the theater. That will likely always be the epitome of the moviegoing experience for me.

I see the future of exhibition getting more creative with how we do business and really pushing to think outside the box. The entire industry has made it through a pretty tough 5 years, and I know that we will all keep figuring out how to continue to stay relevant. The moviegoing experience will continue to be something that cannot be replaced by anything else!

Be brave.

Don’t fear asking questions.

Join NATO and meet as many people as you can so you have a list of people you can call when you need a resource or an idea!

Try everything until you find what works for you.