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Evolving dreams: How Lani Skelley Yeatts found her passion in production management

“I can’t remember a time when the arts weren’t a part of my life,” says second-year Design and Production graduate student Lani Skelley Yeatts. “From competitive dance to voice lessons to acting as a child and in college, it’s always been an integral part of myself and my life.” 

Now, as she has transitioned from the stage to behind the scenes in the Production and Project Management program, Yeatts combines her artistic background with her production management training to act as a liaison between departments across campus.

In addition to classes and working on productions throughout the year, Yeatts also gets to develop her skills by serving as a graduate assistant for the ��������Ƶ Library, where she helps to run social media accounts and manage the state-of-the-art .  

Diving in head first

“My mom likes to tell this story of when I was three or four years old and saw a theater production for the first time,” recalls Yeatts. “My parents had taken me to see ‘West Side Story’ and when I got home I taught myself to snap. I thought if you could snap, you could be an actor, which was all I wanted at the time.” At the time, Yeatts had no idea how indicative this example of self-determination and perseverance would be of her life and career in the arts.

Born to a civilian military family in Japan and raised in Akron, Ohio, Yeatts attributes many fundamental life skills to her artistic pursuits — including the ability to read. “I was slow to start reading but I really wanted to be an actor,” she remembers. “My parents told me, ‘you can’t be in this business if you can’t read,’ which really motivated me.” 

Throughout her childhood, she took numerous artistic classes and was involved in as many productions as possible. Yeatts felt that the arts were where she thrived. “It’s where I could stand out and be recognized as really good at something, which I think is really valuable for kids,” she says. 

Though she tried many art forms, acting is what she felt most passionate about. Yeatts credits being able to grow as an actor to the vibrant regional and community theater scene in the greater Akron area. “I grew up working primarily at this theater called Magical Theater Company, which specializes in doing live adaptations of children’s books, and did at least two or three professional productions per year in addition to anything that was happening at my school,” she explains.

From the stage to behind the scenes

With dreams of eventually going to Broadway, Yeatts’ love for acting ultimately led her to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she obtained her B.F.A. in Acting. The school was the perfect place for her at the time: it allowed her to pursue a range of interests and its location meant she could participate in the annual Philly Fringe Festival. It was there that Yeatts first got a taste for “the other side of the table” as she learned about everything that went into producing a show. 

“I was able to experience all of the work that happens in a production before the actors even reach the room and I absolutely loved it,” says Yeatts. This set her on a course to explore more of the behind-the-scenes work in the arts, including an internship in New York City at a talent agency. “I loved being involved with the logistical work like contracts and press releases and making things come to life,” she remembers. 

I had found what I had been craving and it allowed me to accept that the dream that I had when I was 11 years old wasn’t the dream I had now, and that was okay.

Lani Skelley Yeatts

After graduating, Yeatts followed her lifelong dream of moving to New York City to pursue a career as an actor. Once she got there, however, it wasn’t quite what she expected. “I was very fortunate to be getting auditions and meeting people in the industry, but I realized I wasn't enjoying the work or putting in the effort that I had in the past,” she says. 

And she had good reason. During her senior year of college, Yeatts battled Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The experience, she says, “forced a transition with myself, my relationship with my body, and my relationship with performing in general.”

After completing a children’s touring show, Yeatts took a step back to re-evaluate what she wanted from her future and her career. “I did the only other thing I knew at the time, which was university admissions since I did that in college,” she explains. This led her to UNC Charlotte as a recruiter and then to High Point University as an arts liaison. 

Production and Project Management

It was at High Point that Yeatts was first asked to be a production manager, an opportunity that she felt she had to take. “I kind of just jumped in and was working on pure instinct in the beginning, thankful for the fact that I had 20-plus years of training in the business.” 

In her first season as a production manager, Yeatts discovered what she had been looking for. “I had found what I had been craving and it allowed me to accept that the dream that I had when I was 11 years old wasn’t the dream I had now, and that was okay,” she explains.

The job at High Point also connected Yeatts with Liz Stewart Selander (PPM ‘23), who told her about the Production and Project Management program at ��������Ƶ and introduced her to faculty members Chad Leslie and Eric Nottke. “I was really excited to hear about the program, how it fit in with the overall production process and the opportunities that it could lead me to after graduation.” 

Yeatts is now in her second year of the program and says her experience has been amazing so far. 

“I’m really fortunate to be in a program where we are able to collaborate with so many other programs and departments,” explains Yeatts. “It’s a very hands-on experience and we get to utilize our faculty members, both in and outside of our department, as mentors throughout all of our classes and the production process.” 

Yeatts also says she loves being able to directly apply what she’s learning to her work as a production manager for different university productions, such as the recent fall musical “As You Like It,” directed by School of Drama faculty member Andy Paris. 

While Yeatts pulls from her artistic knowledge and classwork, she also heavily leans on her communication and interpersonal skills as a production manager. “What I am most proud of is the effort I put into building relationships with designers, technicians, artists and faculty across campus so that people know they can trust me in the production process,” she says. “I make sure everyone I work with knows that I can see things from their perspective, and I will do my best to communicate their wants and needs.” 

Library Makerspace

Yeatts refers to her work with the library as “the most pleasant surprise” of her time at ��������Ƶ. It was at a virtual open house that Yeatts first learned about opportunities for graduate students at the library from University Librarian Sarah Falls. “She explained that she was hiring graduate assistants,” she remembers. “I emailed her immediately and luckily was hired.”

Her work at the library is focused mainly on working with the MakerSpace — an area in the library open to all students, faculty and staff to work on professional, academic or personal projects. Equipment available for use includes high-tech devices like a Glowforge Pro Laser Cutter, several 3D printers, high-quality large-format printers and VR goggles. The space also incorporates more basic necessities such as sewing machines, craft paper and acrylic paint. 

Through the MakerSpace, Yeatts has been able to build upon her existing skills in areas like embroidery and printing, while gaining significant experience with machines like the 3D printers and the Glowforge.

Meanwhile, Yeatts has also had ample opportunities to utilize her project management skills in her job at the library. In the summer of 2023, she managed an overhaul of the space’s design and worked with Scenic Art graduate student Sophie Block to commission a mural for the outside of the space titled "Beep Boop." “It’s been really great to have the opportunity to work somewhere that values my major and allows me to bring it into the job,” she explains. 

Looking ahead

As Yeatts looks ahead to the third and final year of her degree, she is starting to plan for her written thesis. “What has really captured my interest, and what I’ll be focusing my thesis on, is intellectual property and how that factors into the production process,” she explains. 

A topic that she is a self-proclaimed nerd about, Yeatts is particularly interested in how artists and productions take existing intellectual property and mold it into a new art form. She hopes this research focus will lead her to the next steps of her career after graduation. Having recently attended the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) conference in Orlando, Florida, Yeatts was able to meet with industry professionals and discovered a few who were also working in the realm of intellectual property. 

“I think I’d be most interested in working with a themed project management group that contracts with different places,” she shares. “I am excited about the prospect of working with a lot of different artists and technicians and feel confident that I’ll have learned the fundamentals of project and production management here to be able to contribute to a lot of cool projects.” 

Overall, Yeatts is looking forward to finishing her degree and taking the next steps in her career. Her biggest advice for those looking to go into production management? “Make yourself as open as possible to learning from those around you and grab every opportunity that comes your way because you never know where it could lead. I had no idea this is the field I would end up in and I am so glad that it is the path I chose.” 

by Melissa Upton-Julio

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