![\"photo](\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/nov-29-PA.29.The-Hobbit-Julia-Lank-Headshot-2024.jpeg\")
<\/a>Lank is a self-taught stage manager, though she does have a degree in film production and worked as a first assistant director for several years, which, she said, is the film world\u2019s equivalent of a stage manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cStage management is one of those niche jobs that won\u2019t be on a high school career counselor\u2019s radar, but it\u2019s perfect for me \u2013 a mix of technical theatre magic, caretaking, and lots of spreadsheets,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you\u2019re interested in how the theatrical sausage gets made and you\u2019re unflappable, stage management might be for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lank\u2019s recent credits include other Pacific Theatre (PT) productions (Gramma<\/i> and The Cake<\/i>), as well as Tuck Everlasting<\/i> (Arts Umbrella), On Behalf<\/i> (Fringe), L\u2019Elisir d\u2019Amore<\/i> (Burnaby Lyric Opera), Jasper in Deadland <\/i>(Awkward Stage) and City of Angels<\/i> (the PIT Collective), among others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked as PT\u2019s marketing assistant and later marketing director from 2017 to 2023,\u201d she said. \u201cI left last June to pursue stage management full-time, but I consider Pacific a theatre home and love the work and people there dearly. I\u2019m also a self-taught marketer, but it\u2019s easy to advocate for an artistic space when you genuinely believe in the work they\u2019re doing. Many of my favourite theatre experiences, both behind the scenes and as an audience member, have been at PT.\u201d<\/p>\n
How she prepares for a new project differs, but, in general, she said, \u201cI like to familiarize myself with the script and score well before a show begins so I can anticipate areas that may need extra support or take more time to come together. The director will be doing this work, too, and you want to be in the best possible position to help them\u00a0<\/span>execute their vision. And you definitely don\u2019t want to be in a position where you didn\u2019t realize there was going to be a live goat onstage until the first read.\u201d<\/p>\n A good follow-up question would have been whether Lank was referring to The Hobbit<\/i> when talking about an acting goat, but the JI<\/i> missed that opportunity. Instead, we asked about how The Hobbit<\/i> fits into Pacific Theatre\u2019s aspiration \u201cto delight, provoke and stimulate dialogue by producing theatre that rigorously explores the spiritual aspects of human existence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTolkien was famously opposed to religious allegorical readings of his work, but the Pacific Theatre community has a fondness for his work that stems from his personal religious background,\u201d explained Lank. \u201cRegardless, if you\u2019re a person of faith or not, I think the values of compassion, the rejection of greed and needless violence in favour of communal care and quiet contentment and imagination in this interpretation of the story make Hobbit<\/i> a perfect PT show.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Lank, she was raised in the local Jewish community and attends Or Shalom.<\/p>\n \u201cJudaism honours my curiosity and taught me that questioning a system can only improve it,\u201d she said. \u201cMy Jewish identity calls me to care for the vulnerable, stand up for communities whose voices have been suppressed, and honour the natural world. It\u2019s very important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Turning back to less serious matters, Lank said of The Hobbit<\/i>: \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a marvelous, silly, scary adventure \u2013 you\u2019ll be very welcome to join us in the Shire.\u201d<\/p>\n