There are many jobs in the theatre; it takes everyone from ushers to payroll managers to graphic designers to support the work audiences see on stage every night. But there is one role at Roundabout Theatre Company that comes as a surprise to many: the training coordinator for the Theatrical Workforce Development Program (TWDP), Eliza Moss-Horowitz, whose job is to support the program’s Fellows and connect them to comprehensive support resources. TWDP is a three-year program that prepares young adults aged 18-24 for careers in technical theatre. Fellows come in with a wide range of experiences and needs. "It’s about working with Fellows to figure out what would you need to succeed in this program,” Moss-Horowitz said.
The training coordinator role is a product of the relationship between Roundabout Theatre Company and The Door, an organization that provides “comprehensive youth development services in a diverse and caring environment.” To any young person who is interested, Moss-Horowitz implores, “Please come. Please come. The Door works with young people ages 12 to 24. It's based out of Soho, and anybody 12 to 24 can just show up and can become a Door "member," which is just their way of making you a part of their system.” The Door offers a range of services, all free. “They have a little intake with you, and then you have access to everything,” Moss-Horowitz said. “They have a medical center with doctors and stuff. They have therapists, counselors, and services for runaway or homeless youth. They serve meals during the day. They have college advising and arts programming.”
As to her day-to-day work, Moss-Horowitz explains that in many ways she accompanies the Fellows through their training and helping them navigate the workplace and wider adult world, as well as to manage their own needs. “If a Fellow is available and has time and is interested, I do one-on-one meetings, especially if anything comes up in a workshop that's hard and they want to step out,” she said. “I try to let them tell me what they need. So sometimes they might want to go for a walk around the block by themselves. Other times they might want to talk to me for a little bit. Other times they might be like, I'm so hungry, I just realized I forgot to eat lunch.”
While many jobs track success in numbers – tickets sold, students passing a test, or improved efficiency—Moss-Horowitz's work doesn’t translate easily to data. “Success is so hard to define in emotional relationships,” she said. "Whenever [alumni] Fellows come back, I feel successful. My goal is to create a space where Fellows feel comfortable talking to me and feel like they can bring whatever they're going through to me and that I won't judge them or reprimand them. I'll just listen to them and talk with them and get to know them and try to help them figure out what they need. When a fellow does reach out to me, I tell them I'm honored. So often we feel like we're going to burden someone else if we tell them what we need or tell them we need help with something.”
Moss-Horowitz is currently studying for her Masters Degree in Social Work at Hunter College. “I think social work is work that revolves around working with people, whether it is one-on-one things like therapy or counseling, or focused on community organizing and leading programming,” she said. “Social work is spending time to learn about who people are, what people need, and how their life as a person connects to their life in the world.” In undergrad, Moss-Horowitz studied religion. “It allowed me to learn about different ways people create community and make meaning in their lives,” something that informs the work Moss-Horowitz does every day.