DDP: What are some essential qualities of a good mentor?

Erin Fleming: Patience, when needed. In those early days, Bill always had a calmness when working with me. He actively listened to me ramble through every thought as I worked through a job/task. He also didn’t mind going over things multiple times until I felt confident in doing whatever he had assigned. So much of this work is second nature to Bill, who had already been working in the industry for years by the time I joined him at Ballet Austin, and it’s incredibly easy to forget that there was a time before your knowledge and grow impatient with someone still learning. Bill doesn’t have that tendency. If you come with a question, he lets you talk through your plans and he either agrees or presents better alternatives (sometimes sarcastically) based on his experience.

Impatience, also when needed. Sometimes folks need a push and the challenge a mentor faces is knowing when it’s best to sit back and let someone sort through or when they need a little fire lit to get a project done. This industry happens so quickly. In ballet, we build a show in 4 days, open it to an audience, and then break it down. Part of learning in this industry is learning how to move quickly and having a mentor who gives you a look and says “will you please just get this done”, for me, was a necessary part of the process.

Meeting someone at their level. I didn’t come to Bill wanting to be a production manager or stage manager. I was a lighting designer, and lighting was my focus at the time. Bill knew my goals and made sure I had the opportunity to learn holistically. In addition to my duties as his assistant, Bill connected me with the lighting designer of Ballet Austin. He filled in the gaps of knowledge as an assistant stage manager, and he made sure I had time to look at the lights and be around the load-in process. He didn’t prioritize his needs, he made sure both our needs/interests were met.

DDP: What does it take to be a good mentee?

Erin Fleming: I think Bill and I connected because I had curiosity and a willingness to learn. I knew next to nothing about stage management or dance or so many other things. (Honestly the list of things I didn’t know would fill the entire newsletter!) I loved asking Bill questions – about everything. I loved the stories he’d tell, the spreadsheets he’d share, everything. We spent so much time laughing in his office and talking about politics and how cats are the best, it’s hard to look back on those days and feel like I was ever “working”. But I know I was learning and I think it was unconscious for both of us; Bill likes to teach and I like to learn. So we fit.

DDP: Most valuable lesson you have learned from a mentor.

Erin Fleming: I don’t know if there is one ‘most valuable lesson’ but I do love Bill’s ability to work hard and also how to let things go. He’s able to laugh when things go wrong – maybe not right away, but he will laugh eventually. One of my favorite stories while I was at the ballet is when something went wrong. We had just built a new Nutcracker and everyone was working as hard as they could to get the show open. Dress rehearsal, running into the battle scene, Bill calls the rail for the tree to grow… and instead of running the rail out, the fly folks brought the pipe in. Over headset Bill yells, “GROW!! THE TREE NEEDS TO GROW! NOT SHRINK! GROW!!” I was calling spots, so I had an excellent view of the entire moment, both over headset and watching the tree shrink and then –after some yelling– grow. After the show opened the next day, without any errors, I went over to Bill’s desk and said, “Hey, remember that time Clara got really big, the tree shrank and it turned out we were doing Alice in Wonderland, not Nutcracker” and we both just laughed. I make mistakes, and Bill will always call me out when I do, but I know it’s going to be fine and – if the mistake is funny enough – he will laugh at me afterward. Things go wrong, it’s best to roll with the errors and take joy in the process. Learn, do better, and then laugh and tell stories about the silly mistakes.

DDP: What to do if you don’t have a mentor? How to seek out a mentor?

Erin Fleming: I guess I don’t think you should ‘look for a mentor’. Look for a job. Look for a job as close to your professional interests as you can. Mentors come with working, as long as you’re willing to listen. Ask for opportunities, ask to learn. If you find someone who has a career you want, or if you like hearing someone’s stories, or if someone knows something you want to learn, ask them a million questions. If they want to answer, they will, if they don’t want to answer, ask someone else. After you ask, stop talking and soak in as much knowledge as you can. Ask, listen, and learn. 

DDP: What are the benefits of having a mentor? 

Erin Fleming: This industry has an “apprentice to journey-level to mastery” mentality, we learn so much on the job and it’s incredibly valuable to have someone in your corner, teaching and guiding and creating work opportunities for you during your early career. Bill taught me how ballet works. He taught me how professional theater works. He taught me how unions work. He taught me about budgeting, scheduling, and how to build a quality show. 

Knowing he was around, gave me confidence to interact with the working professionals I was surrounded by in the theater. I was so far out of my league in those early days- it was all new. Bill talked me through everything I didn’t understand. He never patronized me with my lack of experience, he answered all my questions with joy and excitement to share the business. There was also time for me to just watch. I spent so much time watching everyone work efficiently. Just being in the room when it happened was a huge education. Bill made space for that. He made sure I was around to see skilled people making ballet.

Bill also connected me to Tony, the resident lighting designer at the ballet. Networking is a huge part of our industry. ‘Networking’ itself is a weird word to me, I just like making friends, but often the friendships you create open up new opportunities-which, I guess, is networking. I remount many of Tony’s shows now and our friendship is incredibly important to me. I wouldn’t know Tony if Bill hadn’t put us together – very much like a matchmaker. While Tony was cueing, Bill said to me “Go sit in the house with Tucci and watch him cue.” It wasn’t a part of any job requirement; Bill just knew Tony had knowledge I would want to soak up. In breaks, I started asking Tony questions: about his life and his work. Bill and I have talked about that moment since, he knew he was orchestrating something important. I didn’t know I was making family with the Ballet and Bill and Tucci, but mentorship creates those opportunities. It makes space for growth and joy and love.

I’ve been surrounded by mentors. Bill wasn’t the first. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Kathryn and Tony. Kathryn and Bill are old friends, Kathryn connected me with Bill. Bill connected me to Tony. Peppered between, I went to grad school and met more people willing to share their knowledge and experience. I never went into a meeting thinking about what I’d get out of it, I just wanted to be around people I liked and learn from them, but the gifts they gave me: of their time and their talent have reverberated throughout my life.