Tell me about your work or specialty.
I’ve always worked in the performing arts, first as a performer and founder of a theater company, and then in arts marketing on Broadway and executive leadership at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis - and most recently as the Executive Director of Little Island in NYC. Currently, I am the Co-Founder of Empire Training Center for the Arts, a new not-for-profit vocational training center for technical and administrative jobs in the arts, located at The Chance Theater in the City of Poughkeepsie.
How'd you get to where you are now?
I would have to say through the kindness of strangers and friends! I dropped out of college and when I wanted to transition from performing to the administrative side of the business, it was all about my relationships—the ones I had and the ones I developed, as I didn’t have a degree to get me in the door. I quickly learned that my relationships and my reputation were what I had to work with so I was/am very diligent in caring for both of those aspects of my professional development. Without the people who gave me opportunities and mentorship, I would never have had the chance to build a career and it’s why I care deeply about supporting others in their career paths.
What surprises you in your work, now or in the past?
Every day is a surprise as every day in different. It’s why I love what I do and the people I collaborate with — producing shows, developing talent (on stage or off), and building audiences is an ever-changing process so the surprises are also the learnings. It’s inspiring to always need to be present and engaged in both process and outcome.
Any other interests or pursuits (big or small)?
Hmmmm…cooking, good times with family and friends (usually around food and wine!), yoga, reading, long walks in nature in any season or walking in New York City on a perfect summer night, where you can go for dozens of blocks and not even realize it!
What drives you crazy?
I have a tough time in meetings where people want to talk in circles and not make decisions or move things forward.
Who inspires you? (it can be anybody you know, or don't know)
So many people! I could list new people every day. My daughter, for sure. Women who run for office. Writers always inspire me—novelists, playwrights, journalists, lyricists…the power of words. The way a story can change us. I think I’m even more in touch with that these days given we have become too casual and cavalier about the impact of the words we use and the good or the harm they can do.
You're a trailblazer - what are some career highlights to date?
What a kind word…trailblazer. Huh. Here’s a few…one is when I produced the first show with my theater company. It felt like such a huge moment. The 50th anniversary gala I produced at the Guthrie Theater as there was so much joy that night. Opening day of Little Island as we opened in May 2021 and people were so hungry to be together. I’ll never forget the woman who told me she was seeing her best friend in person for the first time in 14 months—they just kept hugging and crying and laughing all at once. Also, the first public performance at Little Island. It was Broadway Inspirational Voices and the audience was so joyous. For the artists and the audience, it was their first live event since March 2020. Very moving experience.
Work is particularly rewarding and challenging at the same time these days, as we are in the midst of training our first cohort of students and we are learning new things every day. Start-ups are unique given the required combination of preparedness and flexibility — it is a constant negotiation and balance and adjustment which is really fun and interesting and also sometimes exhausting.
Words of wisdom or advice...final thoughts, anything else?
Have fun doing whatever you do! We all spend so much time working so there has to be joy to stay sane. And do your best to surround yourself with terrific people. When you have the right people in a room, you can accomplish anything. Any success I’ve had is due to the people I had the good fortune to work with every day.
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Trish Santini is a co-founder of the not-for-profit organization, Empire Training Center for the Arts (ETCA) based in the historic Chance Theater in Poughkeesie, NY - a vocational workforce development initiative created to train a new generation of technical and administrative performing arts professionals. Trish most recently served as the inaugural Executive Director and planner of Little Island public park in New York. She has held several arts executive roles, including as the External Relations Director at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Additionally, she has worked on Broadway as the VP & Marketing at TMG-The Marketing Group and with Dodger Theatricals under the leadership of Tony Award winning producer, Michael David. She has also worked on multiple projects as an independent producer, including Moisés Kaufman/Tectonic Theatre Project’s off-Broadway production of Uncommon Sense and Anna Deavere Smith’s Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education, presented in San Francisco, Aspen Theatre Festival, American Repertory Theatre, and Second Stage in New York. Trish is currently serving on the City of Poughkeepsie and New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative Local Planning Committee. She also serves on the Dutchess County Advisory Committee for the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, on the Strategic Planning Committee for Arts Mid-Hudson, and as Vice Chair for the City of Poughkeepsie’s new downtown BID. Trish is the Board Chair for BringAbout, a dance new works not-for-profit, and she serves on the Advisory Board for the Sands College of Performing Arts at Pace University. Previously, she served on the Board of Directors for Meet Minneapolis and Open Eye Figure Theatre in Minneapolis. She has represented her organizations at numerous industry conferences as a panelist and a keynote speaker, and she served as a National Endowment for the Arts grants panelist. Trish began her career as a performing artist.
empirearts.org | instagram: @empireartspk
(published 2025)
