Antoni Cimolino, general director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
As Hamlet says, "The readiness is all."
Antoni Cimolino lives that rule when it comes to running the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canada's largest non-profit arts organization, with more than 1,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $57-million.
Currently in his third season as general director, Mr. Cimolino believes it's vital to prepare for the future every day so he's ready for the weeks and months ahead. One way he's done that is by building an endowment fund for the festival.
"We went from having no money to having over $50-million," Mr. Cimolino says. "We received more money this year from our endowment fund than from all levels of government combined. That is a huge change from where we were 10 years ago."
Some early challenges Mr. Cimolino faced were the lack of a sophisticated infrastructure and his own steep learning curve from actor to administrator.
"There was a real revolution that needed to happen in terms of our IT system, marketing practices, how we collected information, raised money and dealt with our own people," says Mr. Cimolino, who started out after theatre school as an actor, director and producer at the festival before becoming executive director and then general director.
"When I first came into the position, I really didn't have the skills or background that a conventional administrative leader would have. As an artist, I didn't know a lot about labour relations, HR or IT. An individual can learn those things where there is interest and a compelling reason."
Mr. Cimolino feels there is a deep connection between leading an enterprise such as the Stratford Festival and directing a play. In fact, he continues to direct festival plays, such as Bartholomew Fair , featured in this year's lineup.
"The responsibility is there to articulate a vision," Mr. Cimolino says. "It's a question of exciting people's imagination about the possibilities and enabling people to make a contribution so that they have a sense of ownership, pride and achievement."
In a complex and constantly changing enterprise such as the festival with 14 to 16 plays in rehearsal and production at any given time, organization is key.
"We are in a rep system, so we may have Cyrano in the afternoon and West Side Story at night, so that means that everything from the sets to the costumes to the actors to the props - 'Where's the gun?' 'Where's the feather duster?' - has to be changed and moved around," Mr. Cimolino says. "Every case of buttons is labelled and in a certain spot so we know exactly where it is for a given show."
Since Mr. Cimolino admits organization isn't one of his blessings, he credits his exceptional assistants and a "shameful addiction" to his BlackBerry for keeping him on track.
As well as being a compulsive note and list maker, Mr. Cimolino keeps paper by his bed so he can write down "that thing" in the middle of the night before going back to sleep. An early riser, he finds morning runs in Stratford's beautiful park-like setting a great way to renew his energy.
"I like to begin every day in an organized way and in a state of relaxation so that I can offer the best of myself to others," Mr. Cimolino says. "I don't know how anyone could do a job where there is a lot of stress if they didn't have a release like that."