Jerry K. Smith, he/him, is an event professional based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, working at the intersection of live performance, technical production, and organizational logistics.
Live events run on relationships, logistics, and staying composed when the unexpected hits. Jerry’s background in stage management, technical direction, and facilities management brings those threads together — defining and refining the scope of events, managing vendor relationships, building the documentation that keeps complex productions on track, creating complex and engaging scenic in simple and innovative ways, managing everyone from individuals to large groups of technicians and talent and solving problems while maintaining artistic vision within constrained budgets. He thrives in fast-paced, high-standard teams where careful preparation, deep technical knowledge, and innovative thinking create engaging experiences.
Currently
Jerry serves as the Assistant Technical & Facilities Director at Minnesota Opera, Minnesota’s largest opera company. He manages the operations of the facilities department overseeing the $500,000 yearly operational budget while assiting in the technical execution and operation for the companies scene shop, productions valuded at over $5,000,000 total per year. In the technical capacity, he is a resource for everything from staffing models, to networked AV systems thru nuts-and-bolts level detail of scenic unit construction.
With his committment to ongoing education, he holds the following certifications:
- AVIXA AV Technologist (in progress)
- Dante Level 1 (3rd Edition)
- NDI Basics Certification
- Vectorworks Core Associate Certification
- OSHA 10 - General Industry
Background
Jerry holds a BFA in Theater Production from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where he built a foundation across stagecraft, production management, and technical theater.
His career spans stage management, technical direction, and labor work across opera, theater, and live events:
- Minnesota Opera - Stage Manager, 13 productions over 5 seasons, working with artistic teams of 5 to 50 and technical crews of 10 to 100 on productions budgeted between $2–4,000,000.
- Seagle Festival — Production Stage Manager, summers in the Adirondacks with one of the country’s oldest vocal training programs
- Freelance Stage Manager — Regional theater, opera, and live events across the northeast and midwest
- IATSE Local 13 — Stagehand work grounding his practice in the labor and craft side of the industry
See full details of each job and highlights of work on the Experience page.