Matt Conover, vice president at Disneyland for Disney Live Entertainment, began his career with Disney almost 30 years ago and his roles have grown with the expansion of the parks. Wearing many hats over the years, he is also a firm believer in the importance of arts education, and has been a board member of the Education Theatre Association (EdTA) and Educational Theatre Foundation (ETF) for over nine years, helping to lead and evolve the organization, enabling us to launch several theater programs for students. Live Design chats with Conover at a pivotal time for the parks, as they have faced the global pandemic.
Live Design: what was your career path to VP at Disney?
Matt Conover: I first got into theatre in high school—Wootton High School in Rockville, MD. I performed (forgettably) in a couple shows but spent most of my time behind the scenes— stage managing, lighting and set crew and some design. I credit my HS Theatre teacher Stan Brodsky and the dance teacher Marion “Griff” Griffin for giving me the chance to explore design opportunities that really sparked my interest.
I went to SUNY-Purchase and graduated in 1988 with a BFA in Technical Theatre, with a Lighting Design focus. At the time there was no MFA program at Purchase so as undergrads we had lots of opportunities to lead and design. In addition, the way the lighting program was designed—Billy Mintzer, the head of the program insisted that we don’t do plots and design work for much of Lighting 1 rather focus on concept writing— finding ways to express our storytelling in words which really began to teach me how the art of collaboration works in theatre.
After college I worked a couple jobs—assistant LD on the National Tour of Dreamgirls and some dinner theatre in Maryland. I also was a draftsman for Freeman in Virginia for a few months. In early 1989, I saw an ad in Lighting Dimensions for technicians at Walt Disney World. I proceeded to apply, travel to Orlando for an interview and then follow up phone interviews before getting the job and starting as a technician at Epcot in March of 1989.
After several months as a tech, I became tech scheduler and then a production assistant. During that time I taught myself an early version of AutoCAD. This knowledge helped lead me to getting an assignment as a production manager for several months for the Grand Opening events for Disneyland-Paris in 1992. I returned to Epcot to be a stage manager for several years before production managing the Spirit of Pocahontas stage show in 1994. Next was as a producer for the Toy Story Parade and the Hunchback of Notre Dame stage show both at the Disney-MGM Studios in 1995-1996.
Following a role in the corporate entertainment offices, I returned to production as the producer for the Walt Disney Theatre aboard the new Disney Cruise Line ships, including the original three shows—Hercules the Musical, Voyage of the Ghost Ship, and Disney Dreams (which 23 years later remains the signature show of Disney Cruise Line).
Returning to WDW, I then produced the new show experience Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It! I was given the opportunity to lead the Disney-MGM Studios Entertainment team as general manager and the was director of production and planning for all WDW Entertainment.
In 2005, I left Walt Disney World to assume the role as vice president of entertainment at the Disneyland Resort. In 2015 I transitioned to Disney Live Entertainment at Walt Disney Imagineering and led production for the opening of the Aulani Resort in Hawaii and the Shanghai Disney Resort. In 2017, I returned to the Disneyland Resort as the vice president of entertainment.
LD: What is the scope of Creative Entertainment for the parks... do you work with all the parks worldwide...?
MC: We have recently shifted our name to Disney Live Entertainment to better reflect what we do and enable opportunities beyond what we have traditionally done. Nothing on the books for sure but want to be set up to deal big. We do have responsibility for all live entertainment at the 12 theme parks, resorts including Aulani, our four current cruise ships (with three more on the way), support for events and programs away from the sites and recently The Muppets joined the Disney Live Entertainment team.
LD: What are your day-to-day responsibilities?
MC: My day-to-day involves leading a diverse group of leaders who are responsible for creating, producing, delivering, operating and maintaining all the entertainment at the Disneyland Resort. This includes our daily operating offerings as well as special events, seasonal programs and often off site support of other Disney business units. Areas I lead include costuming at the site which includes design/development, production, and operations including resort ops costuming (operating cast) and entertainment costuming and cosmetology; technical design (audio, lighting, video, show control/networking, fireworks) and technical direction and tech & show services; facility development for entertainment facilities; our scenic fabrication shop and warehouse; guest talent programs (Disney Performing Arts and Youth Education Series); documentation and auditing; and share leadership for the talent casting & booking team as well as talent and stage management. Total of about 2,000 live entertainment professionals.
LD: What are the largest challenges facing the parks in the time of Covid?
MC: The most significant challenges in these times are working hand-in-hand with government and public health leaders to develop protocols which can enable safe operations for our cast as well as our guests. I am certain our offering will evolve over time as vaccinations are distributed and herd immunity continues to evolve. I am confident we will return to presenting our world class entertainment in the not so distant future.
LD: Is future planning continuing or on hold? What is the planning process for new shows?
MC: We are always working with our commercial and park leaders to develop longterm plans to confirm to ensure our entertainment is relevant, vibrant and supports the goals of the company.
Our planning process involves guest and consumer insights as well as working closely with the content development studios within the company to find ways to bring all the exciting new stories to life in our parks, ships and resorts. We now have such a rich pipeline of new content it is really the most exciting time in the company’s history to be developing new experiences.
LD: What advice do you have for young designers and technicians who want to work in the theme park industry?
MC: I imagine like many other professionals, the biggest recommendation is .... experience, experience, experience. And I suggest the wider the variety the better. The more valuable you can make yourself to an organization the more opportunities you will have. I also believe that finding opportunities to develop leadership skills is critical. While the first job may not be leading others, you certainly would have the chance for peer leadership and of course leading your leader. These are all traits I look for in assessing candidates. Our business is now made up of so many art forms—theatre, architecture, fine art, music, spectacle, etc.—that a wide set of experiences is exceedingly valuable - even if the experience is in very junior roles.
LD: To what do you attribute the continued charm and success of Mickey at 90...
MC: Mickey is amazing—his resilience at 90 is, I believe—based first on his whimsy and playful nature, we could all use more of that in our lives. Secondly I think people see him as “every man,” and they see themselves in him sometimes. Lastly, I think the nostalgia many feel from the first time they met Mickey and the desire to share that with their families and beyond. It is clear that Mickey transcends cultures too as he is beloved the world over.
