Arts Place launched Canan's career

Laurel Canan remembers when she was first exposed to the “magic.”

She was 5-years-old when her grandparents took her to see the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall.

“I will never forget that night,” Canan said. “It was just like someone had scattered pixie dust glitter all over. It just had such a magical feeling to a little girl.”

It wouldn’t be until more than 20 years later that Canan would connect that experience to her future career.

The Southfield, Michigan, native grew up originally wanting to land a job in the paralegal field. She studied public (legal) administration at Ball State University, where she got her master’s degree in 1992 when she was 30.

“My plan was to go to Washington, D.C., and work on policy,” Canan said.

As part of the masters program, Canan was required to take an internship. Originally, she got accepted into a mid-level paralegal internship program, but it was cut before she could even start.

She had to find something else to complete her degree. Her advisor recommended grant writing because of her love for persuasive writing. This led her to to Eric Rogers, executive director of the Arts Place in Portland.

“I asked around and Eric’s name kept coming up,” Canan said. “I called him and told him what was going on and what I needed to do and basically said, ‘I could offer you services for a semester.’ He rightfully so said bringing a grant writing intern in would put a lot of work in his part.”

But Rogers accepted the challenge and Canan was hired.

“I remember when we first brought her on,” Rogers said. “She was a very talented young woman who was a very diligent, inventive worker. It was a very productive time for her and us.”

Canan wrote grants and helped plan special events related to the arts — an area completely new to her world.

“He took a very legal prestige writer and in that period of time, completely changed my writing style,” she said. “I really started to enjoy the activity in being a part of — even though I was an intern — the staff and being exposed to a whole different world from legal and policy.”

After graduation Canan realized she wanted to continue to explore the arts field.

“I was very surprised with the fact that I grew a love for the subject,” she said. “I was an athlete in high school and never really was interested in music or theatre. I had never really done anything before and I just enjoyed the creative process and being able to bring the arts to a community.”

She took a job as an exhibits coordinator of Arts Place, where she worked for a year-and-a-half before she moved to Wisconsin after her husband was relocated for his job with General Motors.

It was just the beginning of a winding journey in the arts.

After a couple years in the new state, Canan landed a job in 1999 as the marketing director for Janesville Concert Association, now known as Janesville Presents. But, it didn’t take long before she moved up and became the executive director for the nonprofit arts presenting organization.

“That was an interesting time period,” Canan said. “After I got my first job it was only six months later that I was moved up into the executive director position after the director at the association retired. I was only able to shadow her for a year where I learned about running a show, events and booking artists.”

She stayed with the association for four years until another opportunity in the arts presented itself. In 2003, Canan was hired as the capital campaign administrator for the Janesville Performing Arts Center, an organization that was undergoing an auditorium restoration project at the time.

“The big jump for her career was the position in Janesville,” Rogers said.

While she was there, Canan helped steer the future of the performing arts center by leading the planning of the new auditorium.

“I was involved in a lot of the planning and was able to raise $3.3 million for the project in 15 months,” she said. “That was my accomplishment professionally.”

After the project was complete, Canan worked as the executive director, for four years until General Motors “threw another curve ball” into her life.

Canan was then living in Ohio constantly asking herself the million-dollar question, “What am I going to do?”

Through her previous work, Canan was able to connect with Franc D’Ambrosio, best known as the longest-running portrayer of the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's “The Phantom of the Opera.”

“I told him I wanted to go back to another venue but didn’t know how feasible that was,” Canan said. “He told me he thought it would be fun to work with me and I said the same for him. Then he just said I should work for him, and I did.”

In 2008, she joined CMI Entertainment, a boutique artist booking agency, as the Midwest representative.

But Canan wanted something more. She wanted work in the national market, specifically as an owner.

And that’s what she did.

With more than 10 years of experience in the arts industry behind her, in 2013 Canan became the owner of Center Production, a booking and artist management agency, representing world class performers for concert and theater work.

“If Laurel said she is going to do something, she does it,” Rogers said.

Canan now works as a talent agent for performers like Bettman & Halpin, The Broadway Tenors and Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass.

Canan said all of her accomplishments circle back to her time in Jay County, where she returned in September when the Marsalis group performed at Arts Place.

“It was a thrill for me to come back and see one of my artists on the stage,” she said. “That was a really cool feeling.”

Seeing Canan at the show, brought Rogers pride in the woman who once started as his intern.

“Seeing her come out her to be with us for Marsalis performance was really impressive and nice of her to do,” Rogers said. “Just the fact that she has always acknowledged the people who have helped her get started, I don’t mean just me, other people over the years – not everyone is very good about that, but it gives me a good feeling.

“I am very proud of her, truly I am.”

And while the hours and work she puts in everyday may be tiring, Canan said she wouldn’t change a thing.

“If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t have jumped into it as hard as I have,” Canan said.