Technology has become a major player in how shows are produced. … The concert hall does limit us, because we can’t fly (vertically move scenery on and off stage via a rigging system above). I’m always interested to see what is out there that they might be interested in. We ask the community, our donors, faculty. The artist management companies come to me with a plethora of ideas. There’s so much performance art out there. It’s a different component, but the nuts and bolts of running the facility also brings me a lot of joy. Have the nuts and bolts of running a facility diminished your love of it? That’s a lot of carpet to be cleaned and HVAC units to be serviced. I see a file over your shoulder called “bar operations.” The PAC consists of three buildings: Ham Concert Hall, Judy Bayley Theatre, and the Black Box. With the exception of close family, if there’s anybody else in the house, I won’t sit down to play piano. I did recitals in school, but it terrified me. It’s a very emotional experience.Īs a pianist, does part of your love of theater come from being on stage? Being able to sit in a venue and see what’s happening on stage and feel what those people are giving you is just. I can’t watch movies based on musicals like Les Miserables, Rent, and The Producers. What is it about the theater that gives your life meaning? An edited excerpt of the conversation follows. Just after announcing the PAC’s 46th season, Cobo shared her passion for the job with Desert Companion. Now executive director, she’s still moved to tears by a symphony.
Like that rare couple who gets married right out of high school and stays together till old age, Cobo rose through the center’s ranks from the box office to the executive suite. She worked at Bally’s for a few years after college before making her way back to the PAC. Marked by the experience, she tried to study nursing but, after barely a year, switched her major to theater. While working as a PAC usher, she stood in the balcony one night listening to the National Symphony Orchestra and was completely transported.
But she truly fell in love with theater in 1983, the year after graduating from high school. A classically trained pianist who started playing at 7, Cobo was raised by parents who took her to the opera and symphony.
The story of Lori Cobo’s 30-year career at UNLV’s Performing Arts Center is a romance. As executive director of UNLV’s Performing Arts Center, Lori Cobo leads from the heart