Staff Profile – Erin Vandenberg, Operation Services Coordinator

How long have you worked for the Young Centre and tell us a little bit about what you do.

I started working at the Young Centre in July 2010 as a Patron Services Rep in the Box Office. I moved up to my current full time position just over a year ago, in October 2011. I coordinate/schedule/facilitate all the activities in the building and liaise with every department – everything that happens in the building, from Soulpepper shows, rehearsals and youth programs, to George Brown Theatre School classes and functions, to Young Centre happenings, crosses my desk at some point in the planning process. Sometimes many times. Oh, and I also handle booking events and productions for outside clients. And I make sure everyone has enough chairs. That comes up a lot.

What has your job consisted of lately?

I’ve been getting ready for the new year – drafting contracts for our resident partners, updating several spreadsheets and imputing the 2013 rehearsal and season schedules of Soulpepper and George Brown into our scheduling software, which is – well, it’s not the most exciting part of the job, but it is critical to making sure the rest of the year runs smoothly. Luckily, I’ve also been creating new material to boost our image as an event facility. And I write haiku, at every opportunity, on work related themes, for which I’m known around the office. They often have awkwardly long titles, which is part of their charm.

What kinds of shows/productions/events have you been involved in outside of work?

I’m a playwright in my other life (the haikus make more sense now, don’t they?). Recently, one of my full length plays was selected to be a part of Glasswater Theatre Company’s Pot Luck Play Reading Series, and I’ve also had a short film script developed in the Blue Flame Collective’s Writing Women Development Series, mentored by the lovely and talented Rosemary Dunsmore.

When you’re not at work, what are you doing?

I read, I go to and prepare fancy tea parties, I knit (totally obsessed, actually), I do yoga and I fantasize about taking up the piano again. So far, it remains a fantasy only because the piano my husband bought me for our wedding is sitting in storage. It simply will not fit into the elevator in our apartment building, nor fit around the incredibly tight seven flights of stairs…so fantasy it remains. At least until we move. I also spend as much time as possible with my husband and our two adorable kitty cats, Pekoe and Ophelia, or as they are more likely to be called Peekers (and Peekabot, Peekabot Peekers, Peekapotomus) and Oph. Cup of tea, knit blanket, armchair, good book, cat on the lap = pure delight.

What do you love about being a part of the staff at Soulpepper/Young Centre?

The sense of community at the Soulpepper/Young Centre is unlike anywhere else I’ve worked – I am not only working for a great company producing amazing theatre, but I belong to a great community of people. We encourage each other not only in our work, but in all our passions and pursuits. There’s an incredible level of support. Also, this is a place where I get to be myself – haikus, the occasional funny accent and all. It’s rare enough to find a sense of belonging and acceptance in this world, but to find such a strong one at work, well that’s the jackpot right there.