School to Career - Radio City Music Hall - Manager of Event Productions


		Production Notes

Darlene Belle is the liaison between tour management and personnel for all of the concerts and events that come through Radio City. She is in charge of everything that is being loaded into and out of the building, as well as the run throughs of the show to make sure everything goes smoothly. "Some days I don't get out of work until 2 am, but it comes with the job. There are no nine to five shifts; you need to be able to have a flexible schedule," says Darlene, who never knows what her schedule is going to look like from one week to the next.

Learn About Business & Hone Your Social Skills

"You need to have a solid education with a concentration in classes such as facilities management or business," says Darlene, who also considers being sociable as important for this type of position. "You are constantly meeting with different tour managers that come in and out of the Music Hall, so you must be able to be pleasant and be able to meet their needs. Also a lot of things can be thrown at you at once such as emails and voice mails, so it is important that you are organized and are able to communicate well in order to get the job done," explains Darlene.

Darlene, who holds an Associates Degree from Berkeley College, spent several years in the banking industry. She was working as an administrative assistant when it was recommended that she try something new. "This is a face-paced environment and you need to be well grounded, be able to communicate well and most importantly, love what you do. I wanted to challenge myself and show that I could do the job," she explains.

I worked in the banking industry before I joined Radio City Music Hall. I was hired as a temp at Radio City in 1998 and offered a full-time position in 1999, during the restoration of the Music Hall. Once the restoration was completed, she was offered a fulltime position. "I worked really hard for this position and my efforts and dedication were noticed That's how I started working my way up the ladder to my current position," she explains.

Pay Attention

Darlene, who cites English, along with communications and business courses, as being particularly valuable in pursuit of this type of career, also recommends getting a well balance education. "Those classes that you feel like you will never need again in your career, will eventually creep up on you in your job," says Darlene, adding that if you pay attention and stay motivated, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to.