As a theater producer, Adam Blanchey is more used to stomping the boards than knocking on boardroom doors. He also has “a very troubled history with academia.” And he’s managing the ups and downs of an executive MBA – “Half the stuff we cover is completely new to me” – along with his job and an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.
However, last month, he completed the halfway mark of a two-year EMBA at Oxford University’s Saeed Business School and, far from feeling like an outsider, he is more at home than ever.
Blanche is from Montreal, Canada. It was his uncle who gave him his first taste of theater when he returned from a trip to London. Phantom of the Opera Cassette. “I sat in front of the stereo all weekend listening to this wonderful art that I love.”
But as a young man Blanche felt that he had to overcome his love of art because it was not always considered “cool”. “Up until this point, I was made to feel ‘other’ and was bullied in elementary and high school,” he said. “I went to university and finally found myself, but I ended up doing theater and plays and I didn’t study as much as I should have.”
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Blanchey landed on the product by accident. In the year In 2004, he moved to New York to take on the role of assistant director A woman of interestThe show, starring Amanda McBroom, opened in 2005, but closed after a week, and Blanche moved into training with the producer.
He spent his twenties auditioning for roles in New York. “It was a sequence of going from job to job and trying different things,” he says. Win Productions: “A wonderful marriage of art development and management that goes hand in hand with business, management, finance and running a company and being an entrepreneur.
In the year In 2017, he founded a production company that worked on various projects, including Blanche Moulin Rouge! The musical UK touring production in London and on Broadway Kinky Boots.
Blanchey has starred in several award-winning shows, but admits producing can be “taxing”. “It’s not always open at night when you’re celebrating,” he said. “As a producer — like any executive position — there’s a lot of pressure on you. . . Many days, you are all [doing] It’s financing, paying for things, and putting out fires.
It was the business aspect of theater production that drew Blanchein to the EMBA. “We [producers] Don’t go to school to learn what we do,” he said. “I have learned through research to identify weaknesses in my knowledge base and practice. I can assure you that the EMBA will be a great complement to me as a business person in theater.”
SHOWTIME: TV personality with Ramona Singer at ‘Moulin Rouge!: The Musical’ in New York © Joseph Marzullo/WENN Rights Ltd/Alamy
But he wanted a second shot at university. While studying for a double major in cultural and theater studies at McGill University in Montreal, Blanchey says he devoted himself to extracurricular theater activities. “One of the reasons I wanted to go back to school was because I didn’t show up the first time around with academic challenges and discipline,” he said.
He heads to Oxford every six weeks to study topics ranging from analytics and management to operations.
© Charlie Beebe / FT
Major issues such as accounting are important. But, Blanchey added, the way the course is structured – with students in categories considering how the material applies to their sector – means that, as an artist, he finds value in subjects that may not be immediately relevant. His works included the economy of Broadway and made the production process more efficient. Elective courses help tailor the program even more, he said.
Blanche is studying an already intensive program with an ADHD supplemental test. “I was always self-aware of my problems; But I was only really explored when I was offered a place at Oxford,” he said.
“When I returned to academia, I wanted to have a better understanding of how my brain works so that I could have the tools and support I needed to succeed.”
He said the school “provided an enormous amount of support,” including reading software and one-on-one help. “I have a mentor that I talk to every week and he can work with me on a submission schedule and a revision schedule and the support I need to meet my unique way of learning.”
He advises students who struggle with balancing work, personal life and an EMBA to talk openly about their struggles. “I suggest you don’t keep quiet about your struggles.” “Talk to your colleagues, educators and administrators. Get the support you need to handle the workload.
Peers are another invaluable source of help. “Your team and colleagues are an incredible support network because we’re all going through this together; we’re all juggling our jobs, we’re all juggling our families.”
While “the network was invaluable,” he said, it was the personal connections that were “instrumental” to his experience on the course. “I am impressed by the experience, diversity, entrepreneurship and leadership of my classmates and have truly made lifelong friends.”
Becoming an artist on EMBA is a welcome journey for Blanche. “Finally, my peers respect me and as a student and as a professional, for who I am, for what I bring to the table . . . It was life changing. Feeling inferior and inadequate is reversing 40 years of psychology.
