Around Town: Lauren Wayne and the State Theatre
Photograph courtesy of Lauren Wayne
If you’ve passed by Congress Square in the last six months, you’ve no doubt seen the construction happening in front of the PMA and throughout the busy intersection. It’s all part of a long-term plan by the city of Portland to make this vital part of downtown greener, safer, and more accessible. When it’s complete, it will be a transformative moment, not only for the PMA, but for our friends and neighbors who share a stake in the neighborhood. As such, we sat down with Lauren Wayne, General Manager (and so much more!) at the State Theatre to talk shop about the redesign of Congress Square, her role at the State, Portland’s music scene, and what’s getting her attention these days.
What’s an aspect of your job that most folks wouldn’t expect?
““Personally, I think being able to
feel empathy for my team, especially
for what we have experienced over
the last three years, is what makes
me a good manager.””
This job has a lot of parts that I think most people wouldn’t expect, more so in this company [State Theatre] since we all wear many hats. For me, I’m a promoter, a marketing director, and General Manager (GM) of the company. As a promoter, I need a firm understanding of math coupled with good instinct. There is a lot behind making a good offer to an artist or band, but it really comes down to trusting my instinct and knowledge as it relates to how many tickets I think an artist will sell in this or any other market, and then figuring out my break even on the guarantee plus projected expenses on the right ticket price. It’s a fun number game. And if you’re a good promoter, it works most of the time. As a marketing director, I obviously need to understand each artist’s [demographic] in order to advertise to the right audience per show. And as the GM of the company, it really boils down to being good with people both internally and externally and at people management. It also helps that I work with the best people in the business.The State, SPACE Gallery, The Apohadion Theater,
Sun Tiki Studios, St. Lawrence Art, Thompson’s Point, One Longfellow Square—the list goes on. What is it about Portland that makes it such an incredible live performance town?
The people who work at each of these venues put in an unbelievable amount of love, time, and energy into making concerts and events happen and it’s noticeable as soon as a patron walks into our city venues’ doors. I think people really recognize this and the amount of talent we have coming to our Portland stages, which, being a relatively small market in terms of population size, is pretty special. And Maine audiences are never afraid to show love—we have some of the best and most vocal audiences in the country, which we hear all the time from tours. In other towns there is an underlying vibe of competition between venues, and that just doesn’t exist here. We all offer encouragement to each other and support one another because we as venues understand that we couldn’t be doing this without one another— we are all connected through an important musical ecosystem. It goes the same with local musicians. This is an amazingly supported and supportive music town.
The State was renovated years ago, Congress Square is being renovated now, and the PMA is going to break ground on a new museum building in the coming years. What role do you see Congress Square and the organizations who call it home playing in defining our city, state, and region?
It’s been great to see all the changes in and around Congress Street over the last few years, and it’s exciting to be a part of all the upcoming changes. The State and PMA not only bring in locals into town, but hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the country, and it’s important that our facilities make them feel welcome, safe, and entertained so that they keep returning. Having so much more activity in Congress Square has also really added to our city’s fun and inclusive vibe, and Friends of Congress Square has really done a tremendous job at programming the park. Collectively, we are all integral economic drivers to our city and state, and we have been critical in attracting visitors back to Portland as the pandemic came more under control, and we will continue to be so for years to come.
What publications, websites, outlets, or zines do you rely on daily, and why?
The New York Times morning daily email and Maine Public’s morning broadcast is what I need to start my day off well in terms of the news, after I Wordle, of course. I don’t think there is a day that goes by when I am not on Spotify listening to music and trying to discover new music. I don’t laugh harder than when I am tuned into Comedy Central channel on SiriusXM or the Smartless podcast with Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes. I’m also a Civil War buff, and I started listening to a Civil War podcast in the car a few weeks back, but my wife and son put the kibosh on that one lately because they kept falling asleep.
What local or regional bands and musicians are you excited about right now and think can do some great things?
Weakened Friends, Palomino Motel, Love By Numb3rs, Coyote Island, Dominic Lavoie, and Midwestern Medicine are all doing some killer things right now. Sun Tiki and The Apohadian Theater as venues are doing some of the best smaller shows in town, and the Zoo has some killer dance parties and the best beer garden. Maggie Rogers just put out one of the of the best albums I have heard in a long time. My son and I are also addicted to the band Turnstile.
Do you even have time for TV and movies? If so, what are you watching these days? If not, how do you decompress and what do you like to do in your downtime?
Oh, I love TV. My wife and I just watched this show called Chloe on BBC that was awesome.We just started the Apple+ series Severance and are absolutely hooked. I also decompress by losing to my wife and son in Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch. It’s the only video game I play and admittedly I am a little too obsessed with it. We all also really love camping. We bought a pop-up camper in the middle of the pandemic and gave it a great workout from spring through the fall. Plus, the Switch is portable so I can camp in the middle of nowhere and still get it handed to me on Mario Kart.
Learn more about the bands, performers, and artists coming to The State Theatre at statetheatreportland.com.