A long time ago, I had a dream of being an artistic director of a theatre company. I was the chair of a theatre group while I was an undergrad at Penn and it was one of the best experiences of my life. My first theater job in New York was at the Roundabout Theatre Company and I greatly admired Todd Haimes, the Artistic Director at RTC. Like me, he came from a business background and traditional education outside of the arts. (He’s also a Penn alum.) He applied those skills effectively and built RTC into a powerhouse in the theater world. I wanted to be just like him.
After six years in the Broadway world, I lost my way. I couldn’t see my way past the ugly underside of entertainment. The egos, greed, broken dreams, and flat-out cruelty. I was hurt by it and I saw a lot of other people get hurt, too. I went running from it as fast as I could. I wrote off theater as something that didn’t deserve my attention and effort. I was young. I didn’t understand that I could change a system I didn’t like. I didn’t know that there was another way, that I didn’t have to accept an industry as it was. I didn’t believe I could make something different. It took me a long time to realize that you could be part of a system and not be defined by it.
That dream of being an artistic director never really died. It was placed on a burner so far to the back that it almost disappeared but somehow it kept fanning its own flame so that I could eventually follow the light and find my way back to it. That’s what I’m trying to do now, and my play, Sing After Storms, is the first step in that direction for a branch of my content development company, Chasing Down the Muse.
I want to bring a more human approach, dare I be so bold as to say an approach with more kindness and a sense of justice, to an industry that is defined by anything but kindness and justice. I’d like to give people a way in based on their passion for and commitment to producing work that inspires people, a kind of haven that celebrates them and their work, and lifts them up rather than taking them down. This summer I’ll work on two new plays that I’ve started to create, and I hope Sing After Storms has a long, healthy, spherical life after the New York City production in June that leads the charge to build this new way of creating theater.
That’s the goal. That’s where I’m going, and I hope you’ll hop on board. Interested? Drop me a line at christa@chasingdownthemuse.com.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
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