Staff Profile – Laura McLeod, Producer

How long have you worked at Soulpepper and tell us a little bit about what you do?

I started in the Producer role at Soulpepper in January of this year but I was also the Patron Services Manager when the Young Centre for the Performing Arts opened in 2006. As the Producer at Soulpepper I have the good fortune of working on many different things all at once. In one day I could have a meeting with the Soulpepper Academy to hear about their trip to Budapest, work on offers for Artists going on the Kim’s Convenience Tour or crunch numbers for our fall programming.

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

Last year I taught a theatre management course at Ryerson on Commercial Theatre which was a lot of fun and it forced me, as a producer, to seek out my own theatre project to pursue. It’s a fascinating journey and yet it continues to be a very long process. When we the audience sit in the theatre we often fail to realize how much time went into developing a new piece of theatre. For example, the Pulitzer Prize winning musical Next to Normal took 7 years from the idea to Broadway. I find that amazing considering how fast the rest of our 140 character world is moving.

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

I have three kids under seven so leisure is the last thing I squeeze in but when I do it comes in the form of playing in a hockey league every winter or having dinner parties with good friends who understand that a cluttered house is a happy house!

What do you love about working at Soulpepper?

The fast pace, the interesting conversations, the constant rigour that is applied to all sides of the production and of course Leslie’s laugh (which is louder than mine!).