Coffee With The Crew #2: Tova
We escaped the Autumn chill of Times Square into Tova’s favorite spot to take their breaks: a classic Starbucks vibe!
Thank you so much for grabbing coffee with me. What did you get?
TOVA: I got an..ooh..an Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato. It’s very good.
Very delish, very autumnal! I got a butter croissant of course. Fancy. So! Tell me a little more about yourself and your journey with Broadway
TOVA: I’ve been with Broadway Crew for…a little over four years now! I am one of the senior staff members, one of the managers over at TKTS, and I am our resident Hotel Concierge Liason. I visit hotel concierges around the city on behalf of our clients and I give them promotional material - flyers, brochures, etc. We chat it up about demographics, and I offer a pitch for them to use. We talk a bunch about the show: have people been asking about it? How many have you been sending to see it? You know, gauging awareness and things like that.
So you set the initiative for the Hotel Concierge Liason?
TOVA: Well, it wasn’t my idea. When it first began it was less organized, it was a much smaller part of what we do here. Once I took it over and became the head of that part of what we do, we streamlined it a lot. Then COVID happened!
So convenient.
TOVA: Right! We were about to kick off some new things with our concierge liaison program. That’s when everything shut down. And when we reopened, we started picking back up with it again and kicking into high gear which is great.
Can you tell me what you enjoy the most about working as a Brand Ambassador and being stationed out at TKTS? What motivated you to want to do this kind of work?
TOVA: I really just like talking to other people about theater. I’ve always loved it. For every Hanukah gift, for every birthday gift, I always wanted to see a Broadway show. That was always what I asked for. So this seemed like a really great job where I get to be immersed in a side of theater that I didn’t really know much about. I majored in theater and environmental science, so I got a lot of specifics from each of those worlds. But working at Broadway Crew really gave me a well-rounded experience seeing how the marketing aspect of the theater community functions!
What are some of the most surprising challenges you’ve faced during your time at Broadway Crew?
TOVA: As much as I love being out there and getting to meet so many awesome people, working long hours in Times Square is no easy feat. It took was a bit of a hurdle when I first started working here and it’s something that you consistently have to keep in mind. I started making sure to prioritize downtime and me-time, and am definitely taking more steps to take care of myself and my body so I can get out there and put my best foot forward.
Self-care is very important and very easy to forget!
TOVA: It is so important to truly take care of your body with this kind of job.
What did you love most about becoming manager at Broadway Crew? And what are you most excited about when it comes to our future here?
TOVA: I felt so proud to be given more responsibility, and it felt nice to know that the people I worked for knew I could handle this kind of position. And now that I’m here all these years later, I’ve been a manager longer than I wasn’t. The long-term sneaks up on you! This feels more and more right every day. As for what I’m excited about, we’re already getting bigger and better than where we were a year ago, let alone four! Partnering with new shows, getting to do different types of promotional work. The wide variety of shows that we have is also an exciting prospect for our future!
