An IU class trip to Disney -- for course credit
When David Grindle created the course "Studies in Stage Management," he hoped to expose Indiana University students to management situations they wouldn't normally encounter.
In a unit called "Managing Spectacle," the class analyzed the technical challenges of Las Vegas shows, including Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group, from performer contracts to the cross-cultural issues of multinational casts. They completed the unit by spending three days in Vegas shadowing stage managers on the same shows they'd discussed.
"I created the course originally to expand students' understanding of managing large-format entertainment," said Grindle, an academic specialist in the IU Department of Theatre and Drama. "When I told my friend Jack Feivou (general manager of entertainment at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios in Orlando) about the class, he said he would be willing to set up the same type of thing with Disney."
In January, students in David Grindle's "Theme Park Entertainment Management" class spent five days at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
So it was that on Jan. 5, after studying "Theme Park Entertainment Management," the 16 members of Grindle's class found themselves on a plane en route to Walt Disney World in Orlando. (Travel was funded through a required course fee.)
Jamie Hahn, a senior studying stage management, said the Disney trip was a more intense work experience than she expected. "I found out that the word 'trip' really meant 'a five day intensive seminar that delves deeply into the daily park operations of Walt Disney World!'" she said, adding that the students worked each day from about 8:30 a.m. until about 9 p.m. (or later). "It took a great deal of energy, but I had a fantastic experience. I enjoyed the class so much that I'm planning on applying to Walt Disney World's internship program this spring."
Grindle said he wanted students to witness the complexity of running an entertainment operation in an environment where many elements must work together. For example, they learned to think about how shows and parades affect the flow of people moving through the park. Upon their arrival, Disney executives presented the IU students with a hypothetical problem in which they needed to develop an additional parade for the park schedule and discuss the impact on the entire operation, including food and beverage, merchandising and payroll.
"I wanted them to get the idea more ingrained that artistic integrity is our top goal, after safety," Grindle said. "They also saw professional managers dealing with problems in a professional way."
In addition to learning about operations at Disney, the class learned about the management of Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va., and Sea World in San Antonio.
Grindle, who teaches all of IU Bloomington's stage management courses, said that between the Department of Theatre and Drama and the Jacobs School of Music, IU students have some of the most well-rounded exposure of any stage management program in the country.
"My goal with this class is to find new ways to challenge students and new things to expose them to," he said. "The more we can offer them, the more competitive they are when they enter the job market. Our placement rate is over 90 percent." Grindle said courses like this have given students the opportunity to interact with some of the best stage managers in the country and watch them work. "The impact that has had on their work here is unbelievable."
The culmination of the class trip to Orlando was a presentation to a group of Disney executives, where the students presented their recommendations to the hypothetical problem.
"According to these Disney Executives, IU students were the most prepared and knowledgeable students who had ever visited," Grindle said, adding that Disney had never before given such open access to a group of university students for such a length of time. "Word spread throughout the Disney property about the students, and everywhere we went to tour and observe, we were greeted with enthusiasm for our class and our people."
Said Hahn, "If I hadn't taken Theme Park Management, I would have never thought about working at a theme park. Even if I don't end up with an internship at Disney, I know it is a place that I will continue working toward in my career."
See IU Department of Theatre and Drama for more information about course offerings, shows and departmental news.
