Nathan Gould is a 2010 University of Iowa graduate who works as a marketing associate at the Englert Theatre.

The Daily Iowan: What exactly is your job at the Englert?

Nathan Gould: My title is marketing associate. I usually coordinate all of the marketing efforts that we do for our events. And then also some general community outreach. I also do some stuff at the box office as well. So I wear a few different hats, but I spent most of my time doing the marketing — that involves designing ads, coordinating all the production of our materials, placing ads.

DI: What kind of community outreach?

Gould: It depends. One of the kinds of challenges with marketing Englert is we have a really diverse lineup of events. It’s one of the more exciting things about what the Englert does, but it’s also a challenge in terms of marketing. On a given week, we might have an opera, a rock concert, a comedian. So those are all different audiences. There’s some carryover, there are different segments of Iowa City that are going to be interested in that. One of the things I do in terms of marketing is I try to find groups that might be interested in this event and make sure they’re aware of it. It might be something like working with the Senior Center to do a discount for seniors who are members or working with the Friends of Old Time Music to make sure the members are aware of bluegrass. I try to find segments of Iowa City that are interested in what we are doing.

DI: How long have you been at this position?

Gould: I started in early Februrary, mid-January.

DI: Have you seen things shifted since the student population has been here? And now that they’re gone, has anything changed?

Gould: It’s kind of hard to tell. During the summer, we are a little slower than we are during the school year — partly that’s because of the students not being here. The summer we’ve been focusing a lot on “Intimate at the Englert” shows. That’s pretty exclusively what we’re doing this summer. We had Yo La Tengo, but pretty much everything else is Intimate. In August, we’re going to do movies. Our programming is a little bit different knowing that students aren’t in town. Plus, Iowa City’s just a little slower in the summer. We’re slower as well.

DI: And did you feel like your experiences in college prepared you for this career you have now?

Gould: I did a lot of different things while I was in college. I was at KRUI, and I also did Lecture Committee and a few other things. A lot of those things I did in college are what I’m doing now, whether it be press releases or I feel comfortable working with the radio press because of working at KRUI. I definitely had some skills and some experience I’ve been able to utilize in my current position.

DI: Are you from Iowa City originally?

Gould: I’m born and raised. So that’s what makes working here even more special. Growing up, I remember there was a big campaign to save the Englert. I was a little young to realize what was going on, but I kind of remember it. Then, the Englert has always been a hub of arts and entertainment in Iowa City. There are a lot of great venues, and places to see stuff, but the Englert’s always been kind of a special place. That made it even more exciting when that opportunity came to work here.

DI: While you’ve been here, have there been any acts you’ve been excited to see?

Gould: We did a lot of stuff with Mission Creek, which was a very fun time. We had Jeff Tweedy from Wilco, which sold out. I get excited when any show sells out, even if it’s someone I’m not particularly a fan of. Jeff Tweedy was a good time, and we had John Waters later that week. So it was a fun, exciting time. Looking towards the fall, I’m really excited about Steve Earle, and there some other unique stuff we’re doing. One thing we’re doing is Alloy Orchestra — it’s a live orchestra to the movie Metropolis. It’s a silent film. That’s going to be cool, I think.

One thing I enjoy doing is becoming a quick expert in a type of band, or type of music. I’m able to a lot of research really quickly. Waters was someone I knew who he was, but I wasn’t really familiar with any of his films or what he did as a performer. I get a lot of opportunities to get excited about them before they come.

— by Nina Earnest