ME AND MY JOB: Being organised and being able to work in collaboration with others are essential characteristics for an arts administrator, Loughlin Deegan tells Catherine Foley.
Loughlin Deegan has two jobs. Juggling jobs is the lot of an arts administrator, he says. "You do an awful lot of short contracts in this job. When you work in the arts you tend to do a variety of jobs and perform various roles," he says.
His week is split in two, as he works as literary manager of Rough Magic Theatre Company and director of the Irish Playography Project, which aims to catalogue the entire Irish play repetoire, including unpublished work, over the next couple of years. He is also a playwright.
He says it's a matter of juggling with time. When he was writing full-time: "I missed the arts administration because part of my personality is really suited to it. I missed the politics of making art. I've a very numeric mind," he says. "I love creating order. I have a very organised mind. I'm passionate about the arts and work in theatre."
A "genuine interest in policy-making and an understanding of the way in which State support for the arts work and the politics and policy working" is essential if someone is to enjoy working in this area.
"It's not an easy career to progress in. The money is not good, famously, and it's very hard to find jobs. A lot of people have been lost to the business sector due to the (buoyant) economy."
For him, there is no tension between the artistic and the mathemathical sides in his job. "I grew up in a betting office. You have to get excited about a bank reconciliation balance," he says, seriously. "I genuinely love doing accounts. I'm happy to admit it."
His passion for theatre developed at school. After his Leaving Cert in FCJ Convent in Bunclody, Co Wexford, he did a business studies degree in DCU, but his interest in theatre, which "came from a very good English teacher in school, Pat Connaughton", continued to grow.
After graduating with a business studies degree, he went to NUI Galway to study for a postgraduate diploma in arts administration.
He then worked with the Druid Theatre Company; then with the Yew Theatre Company in Ballina, Co Mayo. He was in the Belltable Arts Centre as press officer and then as development/education officer for more than three years.
In arts administartion, he says: "You have to understand the creative process and respect the way art is made.
"You rely on your personal skills. Communication skills are incredibly important. Being able to get on with people: theatre is always called the collaborative art form. Being able to work in that way is extremely important."
His job as company manager of the Rough Magic Theatre Company involved dealing with actors and designers, looking after contracts, booking venues, co-ordinating the entire production, marketing the show, liaising with the funding bodies, looking after the print material and fundraising in general.
Today, as literary manager of Rough Magic, he deals with writers who have been commissioned by the company to write. "You have to understand the writing process, have a good knowledge of the different theatrical forms. You have to be open to ideas, to support young writers at an early stage in their careers."
Being in arts administration is about "being able to think creatively and laterally, because you are often in a position where you are facilitating, initiating artistic projects. We are often required to be incredibly creative," he says.
