The Hideout Theatre is excited, relieved and honestly kicking ourselves for not having been able to announce sooner that we’re adding a Sales Support Specialist to our management team. Meet Sunaina Suhag!
Over the last few years, the Hideout’s corporate training wing, Hideout at Work, has seen rapid growth (as Austin’s appetite for cutting edge, engaging training has increased). Just last year we worked with Dell, National Instruments, Whole Foods, Seton, People Scout, Gartner, The Boston Consulting Group, and many more. To accommodate all of the innovative, high-performing businesses out there, we’re bringing on someone who can make a streamlined client experience their only priority.
Sunaina has been a performer and student at the Hideout since 2013. She’s been through all seven levels of our improv classes, TA’d both our adult classes and our youth-focused Building Connections program, and been cast in a bunch of shows, including the sold-out mainstage show Happily Ever After. She’s also a doctor about to embark on the residency phase of her medical career in July of 2016, but until then she’s dedicating herself to the Hideout’s quest for world domination through improv. Let’s hear what she has to say for herself:
Why are you taking time out of your busy doctoring schedule to work with the Hideout?
I started taking classes at The Hideout as a fun, silly way to let loose and meet new people, but I ended up finding that the skills we learned in classes would come up over and over again in my life: going with the flow, listening to others, accepting failure – trust me when I tell you that I needed to know how to do these things in medical school. Once I saw how beneficial improv training was in the work setting, I began setting up professional development workshops for other medical students and getting involved teaching our Building Connections classes for teens on the Autism spectrum. Seriously, I would stop strangers on the street to tell them how much I loved what improv could do. Through improv, we’re creating supportive, dynamic and innovative people who know how to work together to create a better world. Eventually my enthusiasm brought me to Hideout at Work program. I believe in what we do here, and am excited to be a part of making that work happen!
What exactly will you be doing in your new “Sales Support Specialist” role?
This year the Hideout is focusing on top notch customer support. We’ve had such an influx of interest in our programs, that we needed more helping hands. I hope to make our client experience as fun and easy as possible. Look for quick responses to inquiries and a more streamlined process in general. We’ll also be sending quarterly newsletters to let everyone know what we’re up to, and reaching out to new communities who might be intrigued by our services, which means more improv all over Austin!
Why are you uniquely qualified for the job?
Medicine requires a certain level of organization and discipline that someone juggling the business side of Hideout at Work really needs. Plus, I’m an improviser – my bedside manner is out of this world!
What’s your favorite improv lesson?
One of the first things you learn in improv is the “Failure Bow.” We all make mistakes, but the key is to learn what you can, shake them off, and move forward. In class, when we felt worried about a choice we made, we’d shout “I FAILED!” at the top of our lungs and bow while everyone clapped and cheered for us. That took the sting and anxiety right out of failure, making it easier to take risks and have fun! I think that’s a lesson we can all learn from, you know? Spinning failure into a positive thing is necessary for innovation, and makes for some amazing surprises in improv!