DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICES Alan Kauffman


Ted Sod: Tell us about yourself. Where were you born and educated? Alan Kauffman: I was born and mostly raised in the Bronx, but due to divorced parents and a peripatetic father, also lived in Manhattan, upstate New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nottingham, England while growing up. I attended Bronx HS of Science and then went on to State University of New York at Binghamton, where I majored in Psychology. While compiling statistics for my psychology thesis, I worked with a computer for the first time (a room-sized IBM), and I’ve been fascinated by and working with technology ever since.


TS: How and when did you become RTC’s Director of Technology Services? AK: After two decades as Chief Information Officer at a national non-profit organization, I was looking for a change. A CIO colleague was assisting RTC on an interim basis and suggested that I might be interested in the Director position. I have always loved theatre and had attended many Roundabout productions in the past and found the opportunity irresistible. I joined RTC in March of 2017 and have never regretted it for an instant.


TS: Describe your job at RTC. What are your responsibilities? AK: I’m responsible for the usability, reliability, and security of all systems used at RTC, as well as our online presence. I have the great pleasure of supervising a staff of dedicated and expert individuals who support our users, manage our network and systems, ensure that information is readily accessible to our staff, cast, and crew, develop our website, and administer our ticketing and constituent relationship systems. These people work


tirelessly behind the scenes to keep everything running, and I am freshly grateful each day for the opportunity to work with them. Over time, I hope that my staff and I can do more to leverage technology to advance RTC’s mission to promote theatre to new audiences and educate young people.


TS: What is the best part of your job? What is the hardest part? AK: The best part? The first thing that comes to mind is getting to crawl around backstage sometimes and see the incredible art and science that goes into producing a play. More seriously, the best part is that RTC is a fast-moving and well-run organization. I have received strong support from across the organization to make (sometimes disruptive) technological changes that have had long-term benefits.


The hardest part? As with any non-profit organization, there’s always much more we’d like to do to fulfill our mission than we have the budget or capability to achieve. Having to delay or pass on good ideas for innovation in favor of other priorities is always frustrating, as is not always being able to provide our staff with the array of tools and services that many corporations can afford.


TS: Why do you choose to work at Roundabout? AK: Love of theatre. Really good people. Valuable mission. How could I choose not to?•


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ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY • 2019–2020 SEASON


Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO), a not-for-profit company founded in 1965, celebrates the power of theatre by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present, and educating minds for the future. More information on Roundabout’s mission, history and programs can be found by visiting roundabouttheatre.org.


Learn more at roundabouttheatre.org. Find us on: THE ROSE TATTOO UPSTAGE GUIDE 23


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