In production, accountability is everything, because the curtain goes up whether you’re ready or not. My adult life has taught me that promises, deadlines, responsibilities, and relationships matter — and that real professionalism means owning both the work and the outcome, especially when the outcome isn’t the one you wanted.

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In 2003, I was hired to general-manage a tour, and midway through an eight-week summer run, the producer’s investor money went belly up while ticket sales stayed slow. I was the one who had to lay off the entire cast in the middle of the run. It remains one of the least fun conversations I’ve ever had to have — and one I never handed off to someone else, because that’s not what accountability means.