Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Villano.
Emily, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a freelance Teaching Artist, Musician, Performer, Music Director, Voice Teacher, Administrator, Production Manager, and Co-Founder of ETC Productions, an Educational Theater Company based in the Twin Cities. I love working in the arts and I love to be busy. I started out with a focus on performance during college and post-grad and fell into these other gigs, sort of by accident.
I had a Professor in college that encouraged us to “say yes!” and figure the rest out later. The idea is, you can be exposed to new people, experiences, and opportunities and figure out what you like and what you’re good at. I said “yes!” to a lot of teaching gigs, theater gigs, and management gigs- and figured out that I LOVED doing it alongside my performing. The variety of work keeps me engaged and inspired.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a freelance Artist is challenging in and of itself. You’re always planning for the next gig, looking ahead to upcoming projects, and making sure you have a plan for the slow months.
Because of this, you’re often working on multiple projects at a time and need to keep all of the plates spinning. I strive to make sure I’m not overloading myself- so that I can show up with 100% commitment to each of the things I do. It’s important to me to invest time in each of these things and to do it well. Otherwise, why do it at all?
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Though I do many different things, I’d love to put a spotlight on the work I do in education. In 2021, my friend and collaborator, Erin Schwab and I started ETC Productions.
ETC (Education, Theater, Community) is an Educational Theater Company based in the Twin Cities that provides educational programming in Theater, Arts, and Performance for young people grades K-9. We also produce a touring show every Summer that performs across the Metro area and brings accessible theater, free of charge, to different community spaces. The performers and technicians are ages 15-19 and are paid for their work. It’s a really fun first job in Theater!
Our goal is to guide young artists through building fundamentals and cultivating joy for learning in art-making spaces. We provide opportunities for exploration, collaboration, and storytelling through performance. And what’s most important to us is to create a space for young artists to cultivate a sense of belonging and roots in kindness, connection, and empathy.
I am so proud of the work we’re doing with ETC – this Summer will be the 2nd year we’re working with School District 196 to offer our programming. I have worked with many Educational Theater companies in the Twin Cities, and am really grateful for my time there, but I’m glad to cultivate my own space with the things I’ve learned. I’m excited to see where we’re headed.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Yes – for sure. Like many people, I struggled with the screeching halt of work, busyness, and interaction. It was extremely difficult- but I decided I still needed to find a way to connect with my students and provide them with opportunities for connection with each other throughout the pandemic.
I created weekly educational activity videos for young artists and when the warmer weather rolled around, produced 2 different outdoor, masked shows for young people to perform in. We rehearsed outdoors, in masks, did regular testing, and performed socially distanced in masks.
It was so different than anything we’d ever done before – but so cool because everyone came together to build this new thing so that we could all be together. I am so grateful for the opportunity to do that – it saved ME during that time from going to a dark place. The community we built and the theater we made was amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: emilyvillano.com
- Instagram: @letsplayetc
- Facebook: facebook.com/letsplayetc
- Other: etcproductions.info
Image Credits
Hanna Voxland Photography and Allen Photo Works
