Tonight I worked with the Company Manager, Fred, again. Emily was out of the office, so Fred had double the work load. He’s a great multi-tasker and was able to answer all of my questions while he worked.

The show is leaving Texas tomorrow and heading to Tempe, Arizona. This meant a lot of visits from people wanting to double check on housing, transportation, and other information. I met so many cast and crew members, I can’t remember their names!

He talked me through some of the paper work he was doing and I added a few words to my vocabulary.

It was all routine for Fred, and all new to me.

FUN FACT: This month THE LION KING will reach $1 billion in gross sales. This makes it not only Broadway’s #1 musical now showing; it makes it Broadway’s #1 musical ever!

-DSM Erika

Yesterday I had my first day on the “job” while shadowing the company manager and assistant manager of Disney’s THE LION KING. Fred Hemminger, the company manager of the show, said his job is very similar to HR. He takes care of things outside the performances including, housing for cast and crew, flight plans, payroll, and worker’s compensation. He also reports ticket sales to New York, and works with venues on contract agreements. Basically, it’s a lot of paper work to juggle while traveling across the country.

Watch the video to learn about why Fred decided to become a company manager.

FUN FACT: One of the terms of agreement when contracting a venue is that THE LION KING must have access to three on-site washer and dryers. All of them are used daily!

-DSM Erika