Clayton Shelvin has used his performing arts degree to travel and work across the country, and now he小蝌蚪APP檚 bringing his expertise to one of the best theatre companies in the United States.
Clayton earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performing Arts with a concentration in theatre from UL Lafayette in 2009. He originally started his college career at Nicholls State 小蝌蚪APP, but Hurricane Katrina and his love for theatre prompted him to transfer to UL Lafayette after he saw a production of 小蝌蚪APP淯rinetown小蝌蚪APP on campus.
小蝌蚪APP淚t was the first time I had seen a college production and I actually knew some of the people in the program, and I thought, 小蝌蚪APP極h, this would be amazing. I have to transfer,小蝌蚪APP he recalled. 小蝌蚪APP淚 was like, 小蝌蚪APP楾his is the only chance I小蝌蚪APP檒l get to do this. I need this experience.小蝌蚪APP櫺◎蝌紸PP
Clayton小蝌蚪APP檚 love of theatre started with a love of music. His family loved music, and he joined band in middle school, which gave him the opportunity to play music for dance productions and become a part of the theatre for the first time.
Then, after graduating from high school, he attended an immersive program in New York City for prospective performing arts majors.
小蝌蚪APP淚 got to hang out with all these kids from around the country and we saw a Cirque du Soleil show 小蝌蚪APP and I had never heard of it, never seen it,小蝌蚪APP he said. 小蝌蚪APP淎nd I was in the theatre in tears, super moved by the whole thing, as a 17-year-old.
小蝌蚪APP淔or me, that was always the moment I go back to where I was like, 小蝌蚪APP楾his is really powerful and has the power to move and change people.小蝌蚪APP I remember walking out of that space feeling really changed,小蝌蚪APP he said. 小蝌蚪APP淎fter that, there was never a question of what I wanted to do.小蝌蚪APP
Getting Hands-On Experience as a Theatre Major
As a student at UL Lafayette, Clayton did 小蝌蚪APP渆verything,小蝌蚪APP including stage managing, designing and constructing costumes, lighting, and directing.
小蝌蚪APP淭he good thing about the small theatre program is they allowed you to do whatever you wanted 小蝌蚪APP it wasn小蝌蚪APP檛 a free-for-all, but I小蝌蚪APP檇 say like, 小蝌蚪APP業 want to direct a play,小蝌蚪APP and they小蝌蚪APP檇 say, 'OK, how can we support you?小蝌蚪APP櫺◎蝌紸PP
That小蝌蚪APP檚 how Clayton ended up directing his own show, a two-hour production called 小蝌蚪APP淭he Exonerated.小蝌蚪APP It sold out every night.
小蝌蚪APP淚t was these different stories of all these people 小蝌蚪APP true stories 小蝌蚪APP who were wrongly accused and spent a long time in prison and then were exonerated much later,小蝌蚪APP he said. 小蝌蚪APP淔or me, it was my first entry into social justice and looking at some of those issues.小蝌蚪APP
After graduating, Clayton earned his master小蝌蚪APP檚 degree in arts administration from the 小蝌蚪APP of New Orleans and spent time in New York and Ohio. He moved back to New Orleans and worked as the associate artistic director at Le Petit Theatre while doing choreography and directing for different productions in the city.
He was the first performing arts director for the , and now he小蝌蚪APP檚 living in San Francisco.
Taking on a New Role in Theatre
As the director of development for the , Clayton oversees all of the fundraising for the organization and is responsible for bringing in half of TheatreWorks小蝌蚪APP $10 million annual budget.
小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 a pretty amazing place, and for someone like me, it小蝌蚪APP檚 like the pinnacle of where I want to be,小蝌蚪APP he said.
His experiences working in the South and 小蝌蚪APP渂uilding something new小蝌蚪APP at nearly every job in his career helped Clayton stand out when interviewing for the role.
小蝌蚪APP淭hey were really looking for a way to expand their work globally and increase the capacity of their work ,小蝌蚪APP he said. 小蝌蚪APP淭hey were really open to me with what mattered: diversity, a new way of thinking, and not just someone from Silicon Valley.
小蝌蚪APP淚 think that小蝌蚪APP檚 part of what makes me a good fit for this job: they were so interested because I小蝌蚪APP檝e worked in some places in the South where the mentality is totally different and our approach to doing the work is totally different.小蝌蚪APP
As he adjusts to his new job in a new city, Clayton小蝌蚪APP檚 using the opportunity to create change.
小蝌蚪APP淥ne of the things am hyper-aware of is that I小蝌蚪APP檓 a Black man, and there are very few people who do this work who look like me,小蝌蚪APP he said. 小蝌蚪APP淚 feel this enormous opportunity to hopefully, really motivate and inspire some of the young women and men who look like me to take these risks.小蝌蚪APP
