During my tenure at Dad’s Garage, I had the pleasure of writing and appearing in many different publications.
2021 Atlanta 500: Arts, Sports, & Entertainment
Lara Smith moved to Atlanta in 2007 to become the development director of Dad’s Garage, moving to Actor’s Express for a couple of years in 2010 and then stepping into her current role in 2012. When the theater lost its home of 18 years, Smith helped secure a temporary space and led the purchase of a long-term home, which opened in 2015 in the Old Fourth Ward, through a nontraditional capital campaign. In 2015 she was one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 Under 40, and she was part of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute class of 2017. President of the board of the Old Fourth Ward Business Association, she focuses on arts advocacy to ensure that the creative industry has the support it needs to flourish.
Atlanta Arts Organizations Predicted To Lose More Than $10 Million During COVID-19 Shutdown
“I found myself over the past three or four weeks unaware of how much time has passed. I kept saying, ‘We need data. We need this survey. We need to be able to share kind of a snapshot of what’s happening in this sector.’ I finally realized that I had to stop saying it or do the survey,” Smith said.
Can We Say ‘Yes, And’ to This Crisis?
What a time to be alive. This is a phrase I have said so often I actually got it tattooed on my body. I love it for its ambiguity—it’s not making any judgments, it can be used both positively and negatively, and it reminds me of the magic in the world. We are truly lucky to be here, breathing air, living our lives.
The Arts as Community Builders
So often we say “Art Builds Communities,” but what the heck does that even mean? What constitutes a “community,” and how do the arts support their development?
Data's Artful Impact
What surprises a lot of people about Dad’s Garage—an Atlanta home for improv and scripted comedy theatre—is that we run much like any other business in town. We have budgets, meetings, strategic planning, and all the other boardroom business just like you. Perhaps the difference is that at Dad’s Garage we spend a lot of time laughing (which is something we help other businesses do through our corporate programs).