25 Women for 2023: Calla MacNamara puts a spotlight on the arts

While it may be the talent of artists on stage that linger in your mind after a performance, it takes a team of people behind the scenes to make it all happen. One of those people is Calla MacNamara, a Tallahassee native who thrives behind the scenes and one of Tallahassee’s 25 Women You Need to Know.

After earning a degree in Theatre and Film Management from the University of Central Florida, Calla returned to her hometown, where she joined the Florida Lottery special events team and put her stage management expertise to work. “Being behind the scenes at an event means I get to take care of people and be a part of every element of a production, but I don’t have to, you know, go on stage” she laughs.

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In 2015, Calla joined the Florida State University Office of University Relations, focusing on special events. “My office was in the same area as Opening Nights,” she recalls. “I was so into what they were doing. When an opportunity came to join them, I jumped.”

As the Opening Nights Education and Engagement Manager, Calla works to bring the arts into classrooms through Opening Nights in Class, a series of educational programs that provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences through school performances, master classes and workshops with world-renowned performers.

“I enjoy being around the creativity that artists bring, and I get to see what our community truly has to offer. We live in a really impressive town, and I get to experience that on a personal level while working with great people.”

This unique role casts Calla as a connection point between artists and the community. “I look for ways to combine an artist’s interests or passions with a segment of the community that will be a good match. It’s always cool when I can bring someone like Colson Whitehead to our Creative Writing students,” she says. “And I’ve really enjoyed working with Pyramid Studios and Making Light Productions. I love when a group of students is not really studying the arts, and we are able to enhance their studies with new perspectives.”

The enthusiasm and passion she has for her work shines through, and in November 2022, she received the Sean Pittman Community Leadership Award for her commitment to Leon County students, schools, and families and for making Tallahassee a better place to live and learn. Engaging with K-12 classrooms is a priority, and Calla has helped send students, teachers and staff from local schools to Opening Night concerts, including a collaboration between Nims Middle School for FSU Arts Day, where students delighted in a private showing of Step Afrika.

“I love collaborating,” she says, “Every experience is new.” Calla has fostered partnerships including Leon County School Impact, Word of South, Young Actors Theatre, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and other business and community opportunities.

Her relationships developed by serving as the Opening Nights’ representative to the Kennedy Center, Leon County Schools, Tallahassee Chamber, Council on Cultural Arts, and other local arts organizations have created layers of connection that helps bring the arts to everyone.

Even her free time is connected to the arts, acting as the producer for the Southern Shakespeare Company presentation of “Anthony and Cleopatra,” which includes working as the technical director, with the stage manager and director, and overseeing the building of the sets and all artistic elements of the play.

She encourages us to show up for Tallahassee. “There is always something new happening here,” she says. And, she knows that you don’t have to be front-and-center to make an impact. With her enthusiasm, expertise, and passion for the arts, Calla MacNamara makes sure everyone in Tallahassee has the opportunity to play a role.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 25 Women: Calla MacNamara connects artists and the community