Amy Curley Gentry, B.F.A. in Performance 1995
Amy’s first role was as a bicuspid in her Petersburg, VA elementary school. She later grew up in New Jersey and had a short stint as a voice major at Boston University. When her parents moved back to Virginia, she was determined to return and attend VCU.
Amy recalls acting teacher Gary Hopper who, “was so supportive and elevating us to where we needed to be.” He directed her in Red Noses, where she was having trouble getting the character. “He wrote me a lovely note (which she still has). I appreciated having that level of support and confidence.”
After graduation, Amy worked in the Alzheimer’s wing of a Richmond nursing home. She recalls, “having an acting background helped me to pivot with the people. I could entertain them and play the piano and we’d sing.” After acting in some local theatres and working at local production company BES Productions, Amy decided to give New York a chance.
Her first job in 1996 was for a company that sold Broadway theatre tickets to NYC tourists. Amy’s career in theatrical marketing was launched when they moved to Alan Wasser Associates, the company that was the general manager for all Cameron Macintosh shows (like Les Mis and Phantom of the Opera). This was where Amy began promoting national tours in the family show division, like Blue’s Clues.
She was there for twelve years before moving to Broadway Across America, which is how she ended up in Seattle. Once there, she free-lanced promoting all kinds of family fare including the Harlem Globetrotters, the America’s Got Talent Tour and The Price is Right Tour.
Amy was eventually offered the position of Director of Marketing for ACT, A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle (not to be confused with ACT in San Franscisco), where she worked from 2016-2020. In 2022, she began working for the Seattle Theatre Group (STG) as a contractor and eventually was offered the position of Associate Director of Marketing.
Amy had married Brad Gentry in 2007. While he previously promoted for Live Nation, he now works at STG with Amy. “We do about 600 shows a year. He does comedy and music, while I market performing arts and our educational programs.”
In 2018, she and a friend started As If Theatre, a small community theatre where Amy’s Managing Director. Since 2018, they’ve produced 2 shows and a short play festival every year. “It’s been a tremendous outlet for artistic stuff,” which includes her own appearance in some shows. Amy’s come a long way since that tooth role and she still manages to find time to get back on stage.
