As part of the interview series of showcasing professionals in live music, I wanted to give a spotlight to some of the amazing individuals I had the privilege to work with last summer at Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles in MacArthur Park. They all need our support right now because sadly, Levitt LA’s concert season 2020 has been canceled due to COVID-19. This not only affects the Levitt crew and staff but also all the performers, vendors, sponsors, partners, and volunteers that together make the summer concert series possible.
I interned with Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles as a Stage Manager last summer. Putting up 50 festival-like outdoor concerts requires a lot of manpower and many different roles in the production – on stage, backstage, and elsewhere at the venue premises.
As part of my role as a stage manager I was also responsible for talent and backstage management. I worked in close cooperation with Jenny backstage where she kept the artists comfortable and relaxed before and after their performance. Her role as a Maintenance Coordinator, providing food and drinks and keeping the stage and backstage clean, might be invisible to the public but is a crucial supportive role in concert production.
I admire Jenny’s humble approach to doing her utmost to keep the performers happy and fed. She’s a ray of light to everybody around her and an absolute joy to work with. She puts her ❤ into her work.
This is Jenny’s story.
Hi Jenny! Please tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do at Levitt.
My Name is Jenny Nunfio. I’m from El Salvador and I came to this country at the end of 2008.
My role at Levitt MacArthur Park is a maintenance coordinator that includes hospitality services such as serving drinks and food to performers, cleaning the stage before each concert and the backstage area where talent can relax before their performance, and helping them with anything they need.
What have you done before and how did you end up working at Levitt?
I was studying office management in college and one day my mother invited me to walk through MacArthur Park. It was the summer of 2009 and we noticed that there was a concert and we stayed. There I met a friend who was volunteering and he offered a volunteer position for me and I accepted. During that summer of 2009, I was a volunteer at Levitt. The following year, the Director at the time offered me a hospitality job and that’s how it all started.
What’s the best thing about your work?
I have the opportunity to be with different people (performers, guests, co-workers, and volunteers), hear various types of music, and meet people from different nationalities and cultures.
What’s the biggest challenge in your work?
My biggest challenge is always to make the performers comfortable and satisfied with the attention given to them at Levitt MacArthur Park and to do my best in whatever they need my help.
What would you like to say to a person who wants to do what you do?
That in all work they do, they do it with the heart. Hospitality is a beautiful area that gives us the opportunity to provide our services to many people and create the image that artists and people get from a place.
More interviews with the Levitt crew:
- Interview with Allegra Padilla, Director of Community Relations & Partnerships
- Interview with Blu Valdivia, Security Lead
Current news about the live music industry: Los Angeles Times: Concert industry could lose $9 billion this year due to the coronavirus pandemic
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