My name is Laney Schwantes and I’m a production manager and stage manager based in New York City. I’m originally from Melbourne, Australia and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where I gained a reputation for putting on plays at the playground during school lunch.
I first found my passion for theatre management in high school, creating production calendars and daily schedules, facilitating season planning, and formulating marketing strategies for my school’s theatre program. I’ve continued this work at Fordham University occupying many leadership positions such as Production Stage Manager, Studio Production Manager, Mainstage Audition Coordinator, Clerical Program Manager, and Student Ambassador to Design and Production Faculty.
Recently, I’ve served as the 2024 production management apprentice at Theatre Aspen and am currently stage managing Horoscope by Rajiv Joseph directed by May Adrales at Fordham University and assisting the production management team at The Vineyard Theatre on Bowl EP.
As a theatre manager, I am passionate about facilitating work that celebrates authentic, diverse stories that enrich our social consciousness and evoke radical empathy. Leading with a spirit of collaboration, I strive to facilitate a holistic artistic process and shared culture of empathy within my team.
A strong advocate for accessibility and equity for all, my interactions create a compassionate space in which to meet people where they are with kindness, curiosity, and understanding. In my work, this looks like providing paperwork in dyslexic friendly fonts, offering one on one meetings to discuss ways to best support actors in the rehearsal room, and facilitating conversations to create community guidelines that keep us safe and accountable. Cultural humility and empathy are at the core of my personal and professional philosophies.
In every space, safety is my number one priority, achieved through open communication and preparedness for all kinds of situations. I am a quick thinker, a determined problem solver, and my open mindset yields the most creative, unexpected solutions.