by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Sometimes you find the best job when you’re not really even looking for one.
That’s what Toni Chadwell said happened to her and how she came to be the director of rental operations at the Florida Theatre.
“This job is a blessing. I’ve always liked combining a corporate career with an arts career,” said Chadwell.
The Chicago native attended a performing arts high school, then was accepted to Florida State University where she majored in English with a minor in musical theater. Chadwell got her first exposure to Florida because, “Everybody in the Windy City applied to warm-weather schools.”
After graduation, it was back home for a day job working in the advertising department at a bank. At night, she worked at a theater as manager and “tube talker” for a resident troupe — the “Blue Man Group.”
When her husband’s career in information technology brought the couple to Jacksonville, Chadwell said she found out about the Florida Theatre and its history and was intrigued enough to contact Erik Hart, the president of the not-for-profit organization that manages the venue.
“I sent him an e-mail and he sent one back and asked if I’d like to come to the theater and just hang out for a few days. I liked what I saw and I guess he did, too, because a few days later, we met for lunch at Burrito Gallery and by the time we were finished eating, I had a job,” said Chadwell.
Of the more than 300 artists that perform and events that are held each year at the Florida Theatre, Chadwell said about 75 percent of the time, it’s a situation where the theater is rented by a third party as opposed to the theater producing the show. Each performer and group has its own set of requirements.
“I negotiate the contracts with the artists and their managers and I also work with non-profit groups who want to hold events like fund raisers at the theater,” she said. “After the show, I’m the one who does the settlements when we count the money and cut the checks.
“I also manage the master calendar. Some acts only come through here once, but we have some artists and events that are already booked through 2012.”
In addition to being able to make use of her organized, detail-oriented personality, Chadwell said the best part of her job is being around energetic, creative people all the time. The best part of her day is the sound check before a performance.
“There aren’t many people in the theater. You can feel the building begin to vibrate,” she said. “The other exciting moment is when the audience arrives for the show because every one is different depending on what they have come to see and hear.”
Chadwell said there can be a down-side to her job such as when she realizes the Florida Theatre is not the best venue for a particular entertainer or event.
“Many times, people want to perform at the theater because it’s so historic and beautiful, but their event just won’t work here,” she said. “When that happens, I always try to send them to another venue in Jacksonville that will work for them. I want to keep the business local.”
While it doesn’t happen very often, sometimes the fact that live entertainment is a business comes into play.
“The only bad time is when a show doesn’t sell the way an act or promoter hoped it would. That hurts,” she said.