CVPA graduates have impressive careers in the arts and arts education, many of them working at the highest levels of their disciplines as visual artists, dancers, designers, musicians, actors, educators, entrepreneurs, administrators, and more.
You can find CVPA alumni teaching at public schools in every one of North Carolina’s one hundred counties and at esteemed colleges and universities across the United States. They are working in places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway, Hollywood, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and with professional dance companies like Urban Bush Women and Garth Fagan Dance.
Some of our alumni go directly from earning a degree to a position they’ve always dreamed of, while others have career paths that are not so linear, creating fulfilling lives in the arts often in careers they never knew existed.
As Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) wrote in his well-known children’s story Oh, the Places You’ll Go: “You have brains in your head. And feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”
That is most certainly true with an arts degree. Just ask Katie Lambert who went from UNCG Theatre (’16 BFA Theatre Technical Design and Production) to a career as Manager of Digital Marketing and Design with Warner Brothers’ in-house label, WaterTower Music.
“When I toured UNCG, my mom could see the enthusiasm on my face. She says she could tell from the moment we got there that it was where I wanted to be.
“I loved being a part of UNCG Theatre. I’ve always been a jack of all trades, and the program allowed me to learn every facet of theatre—building and painting sets, lighting, and even acting, which is not where my skill lies. I also did quite a bit of stage management, which is more my area.”
One of Lambert’s favorite productions to stage manage at UNCG was Pinkie and Blue, an original play created by Professor Emeritus of Theatre Jim Wren and Joe Sturgeon and produced by UNCG’s Theatre for Young Audiences:
“It was such a cool concept. I’d never seen anything like it. And the audience—the schoolkids who came to see it—were crazy about it. I also liked the technical challenge of dealing with things like trap doors, projections, and the massive cast and crew. It was a huge undertaking, but one of my favorites.”
It seems there’s no undertaking too huge for this theatre major from Charlotte:
“UNCG was far enough from home to force me to be independent and make friends, but close enough that if I was having a particularly horrible week I could go home if I wanted to.”
Home is a little further away now. After graduation she moved to the other side of the country—to Los Angeles:
“I look back now, and I think that’s insane. Who let me do that? I don’t know why I was so casual about doing that because I’m not a loosey goosey kind of decision-maker usually, but it just felt so right.”
Lambert had graduated from UNCG and was taking some online community college classes to bolster her music knowledge when she realized that Warner Brothers had an internship opening at its in-house music label, WaterTower Music:
“WaterTower works with film, television, and video games—all my favorite things. I love soundtracks. I love scores. I thought I’d be the perfect person for this. They were looking for someone to help clean up their metadata. I had some background from audio engineering that I did at UNCG, so I was familiar with general metadata and how it worked and what purpose it served. They were also looking for someone who could handle a lot of projects at a time. That seemed like nothing compared to stage management during live theatre.”
So, Lambert flew out for an interview. The outcome didn’t matter to her, though. She had already decided to make LA her new home:
“I knew that New York was not the right choice for me, and I knew I wanted to do something in the entertainment industry and potentially with music. So, I had planned to move to LA either way. It was just a matter of whether I’d have a job or be unemployed when I got here. Thankfully it worked out.”
Once she landed the internship, Lambert started thinking about the future:
“A lot of people go into internships thinking it will lead to a job, but they told me up front that would never happen. They were very honest with me. They said this is an incredibly small team and they hadn’t added any positions since the label started. I’m glad they were straightforward, but it was a little disheartening. You know how it is when you’re young and you find something that you think is a perfect fit. I was so familiar with WaterTower’s catalog of music, as a gamer, a music-lover, and television and movie lover.”
But even though parlaying an internship into a position had never been done at WaterTower, Lambert had other ideas:
“I decided to be so useful they couldn’t imagine me not being there. And if something happened and they wanted to keep me, then incredible, right? That’s the dream. But if not, then at least I did a great job at my internship and maybe I can turn a good recommendation into something else later.”
When the internship ended, WaterTower was able to hire Lambert for contract work, doing much of what she had already been doing:
“During that time as a temp, I started collecting extra work, taking on projects from teammates who just had too much on their plate. It’s such a small team and everyone is so busy.
“The temp thing was a great short-term solution, but I needed something a little more permanent with stability and of course all the things that come with being a full-time employee. I thanked them for everything and told them I was going to look elsewhere. My boss asked if I could give them a little more time. I thought six more months in the grand scheme of things is really nothing. So, I kept my head down and kept working and learning as much as I could.”
Lambert’s supervisor eventually told her they had been able to create a position tailored to what she was already doing, and which could grow with her. She has been with the company for over eight years now, has a parking space with her name on it, and an office on the Warner Brothers lot:
“I can see the water tower from my window, which is very cool and a nice reminder of how lucky I am to be here. Most members of the team have been around the studio for a long time, and the way they welcomed this wild young kid who’s trying to make a difference was incredibly kind. They took the time to teach me the things they wished they had known at the beginning of their careers. And now one of my duties is intern management, so it’s come full circle. It feels like a way of giving back since my internship worked out so well for me.”
Lambert is still a jack of all trades, and she loves it:
“This position didn’t exist before me. There was no blueprint, so it’s shifted with me and the needs of the label and company changes. As Manager of Digital Marketing and Design, I manage Water Tower Music’s social media channels. I produce all our YouTube videos using key art from theatrical—the poster for the movie— then animating it so that viewers have something to see while listening to the free music. I create all content working as a graphic artist and photographer. Whether it’s an ad for Rolling Stone or it’s banners for our social media to announce a new album, that’s all me. I design album covers mostly for video games and television projects. I’m moving into some theatrical stuff next year, which is exciting.”
Lambert also manages WaterTower Music’s Grammy Award submissions:
“The process starts in June or July, so a huge chunk of my summer is just doing a massive data collection and input for all the Grammy Awards, which we’ve been lucky enough to win a few. And I’m proud to have contributed my small piece to those wins.”
And perhaps her favorite part of all is meeting with composers and interviewing them for short social media pieces and shoot behind the scenes:
“I have been incredibly lucky to meet some composers whose music I have loved for most of my life, and I get to sit with them and pick their brains—people like Hans Zimmer and Daniel Pemberton. I’ve been able to attend scoring sessions, sitting in the room with dozens of musicians who are at the top of their field playing some of the most beautiful music you’ve ever heard.
“I took one of our interns to an orchestra rehearsal on our scoring stage and when I looked over at her, her eyes were welling up with tears. I get it. It is so powerful to witness this labor of love—all these people together at the same time on these challenging instruments playing really challenging pieces. It’s so moving to be able to experience that.”
Lambert has advice for today’s students, a mantra that has served her well:
“Keep your eyes open and learn as much as you can. I loved all the practicums in the different theatre areas. Try not to be tunnel visioned. I loved my stage management experiences but was also excited to try all the other things.
“We talk to our interns about this a lot. Everyone knows about jobs like music supervisor and composer, but there are so many other jobs in the industry if you just stay open. There are jobs out there that might not get the spotlight but play an important role in getting finished projects out the door, whether it’s for a studio or a record label putting out an album.
“Be open to learning about those. I have a degree in theatre, and I’m not doing theatre, but I use my degree every day.
“I totally respect the people who know exactly what they want to do, and they go for it. But keep your ear to the ground because you may find something you didn’t even know existed that is perfect for you.”
And what about that parking space with her name on it on the Warner Brothers lot?
“It feels silly to celebrate something so small, but it is rather symbolic. It was fun to show it to my mom. My mom sacrificed quite a lot to make sure I had everything I needed when I was younger and through college, and I am eternally grateful for her. I don’t know that I can ever pay her back, but when I can do little things like bring her out here to show her my parking space or my office those are always very special moments.”
Story by Terri W Relos
Images provided by Katie Lambert
