Former Quizno’s employee Grady Hutt has been in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. Like many well-adjusted people, he began his career as a child actor. While working professionally as a performer, he made his way into other areas of the entertainment industry; as a musician, toured the country in several different bands; stage management and technical direction in the AEA99 arena; stage technician at the Disneyland Resort; and is currently a Show Systems Integrator for Walt Disney Imagineering.
Highlights from this episode:
- Grady talks about how he began his career as an actor and the moment at he retired from acting at 19 after giving up an overseas backpacking trip for work that never happened.
- Developing his interest in technical theatre while working at Ray Bradbury’s Theatre and socializing with techs at Disneyland.
- The challenges and concerns after transferring into the technical department at Disneyland.
- Learning to shut your mouth, find the dirty job that people don’t want to do, and do the work
- Problem-solving in the art. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do
- “You can’t wait for someone to invite you to the table …there’s always a seat at the table but if you’re gonna elbow your way in, we will stop and look at you. So you better have something”
- Always try to anticipate what’s best for the group
- The phrase "It's always been that way" ALWAYS invites appraisal and evaluation.
- What’s in your way and how can I help so that you can excel at your job? What are the problems that people aren’t telling me? It’s a whole different skillset.
- Kevin derails the conversation talking about “Pen15” and the problems with signing people into Disneyland as an employee
- Grady discusses projects he’s working on with Disney Imagineering including the upcoming Spiderman Web Slinger attraction at Disney California Adventure and working on 1:1 models for attractions in different Disney Parks.
- How Grady’s love of theatre helps him feel fulfilled, no matter what aspect it is that he’s working on.
- How the phrase “Don’t date Grady” helped him get married.