After starring in Muse Machine productions including Damn Yankees, Rob stage managed shows off-Broadway and around the country. Recently, he began work as a Production Manager at Signature Theatre Company, an off-Broadway house that works closely with playwrights as they stage original works. At Signature, Rob coordinates communications between producers, creatives, and the front of house, as well as supervising physical elements of the show like lighting, sets, and costumes. Below, Rob chats with his 18-year-old self.

ROB, AGE 18: Hi Rob!

ROB, AGE 35: Hi Rob!

I hear you’re not acting anymore. What gives? What about our dreams? I mean I guess it’s cool to be employed and have health insurance and all, but you know, we were gonna be a star by now!

Well, being a star isn’t everything. And I’m still very much in contact with really talented actors, people that do a lot of Broadway. It’s not my job to give them direction or focus, but I’m in the room, and we’re working with the top tier of talented living playwrights. Essentially my job is to ensure we’re realizing a writer’s specific vision for a show, so I get to work with directors and designers and technicians too, in a way that most actors don’t. To be fair, I have to do boring stuff too, stuff like payroll. But those things are important. They keep the ball rolling. And even the boring stuff gives you a warm glow when you know it’s helping to advance a really great artistic project… sometimes.

Well when you put it that way, that sounds like a pretty cool job.