From Concept To Curtain
Creative & Operational Strategy for attractions and events
Great ideas don't fail because they aren't creative enough. They fail because nobody in the room has built one before. And nobody has the credibility to say what actually needs to come off the list.
My Production & Operation Principles:
BIG
Larger than life is just the right size.
BOLD
Turning wild ideas into unforgettable realities.
INNOVATIVE
Reimagining possibilities & crafting fresh vision.
FUN
Infusing every project with energy, surprise, & a sense of play.
Two disciplines. One partner. The whole journey.
Most creative partners hand you a vision and walk away. Most operational consultants tell you what won't work without offering something better. This is both. From the first idea to opening night.
The vision side.
Creative Strategy
Festival concepts. Show development. Character creation and activation. Area reimagination. Storytelling architecture. The ideas that make a park or event feel like somewhere worth being.
Original festival concept development
Show and entertainment development
Character creation and activation
Area theming and reimagination
Guest experience arc design
Vendor and partner sourcing
Photo opportunity and engagement design
Operational Strategy
The reality side.
Show flow and run-of-show architecture. Staffing models. Budget reality-checking. Transition planning. Removing the unattainable so the attainable gets done brilliantly. The work that makes the vision survivable.
Run-of-show and show flow architecture
Staffing models for new festivals and events
Budget reality-checking against creative concepts
Transition planning between experiences
Repositioning existing products with minimal lift
Removing unattainable scope to protect time and labor
Executive alignment — the why behind every choice
Passion Projects
Every producer has a short list. The projects that kept them up at night - not from stress, but from possibility. The ones where the creative risk was real, the stakes were high, and the result was something worth remembering. These are three of mine.
Case Type: Creative + Operational
State Line Celebration
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · Spring 2022
An original spring festival built from scratch around Carowinds' unique identity as the nation's only amusement park straddling two states. Conceived, developed, and produced — celebrating the food, music, and culture of both Carolinas through a fully integrated guest experience that became a signature seasonal event.
Shows: 4 original live entertainment productions
Food: 6 Carolina tasting tents (3 per state)
Partners: 20+ local Carolina craft breweries and wineries
Characters: Original State Line Party Planning Committee
Activations: Paint murals · Shag dance-a-thon · photo ops · trivia · games
Role: Creative Producer · Executive Producer · Concept to Curtain
Case Type: Creative + Operational Strategy
Holiday In The Park
Six Flags Over Texas · Holiday 2024
Full holiday program reset in a compressed four-week window. New storytelling elements, existing library optimization, executive alignment, and critical scope reduction - removing unattainable items to protect time, labor, and budget.
Key win: Removed unattainable scope before it cost the team
Role: Creative + Operational Lead · Executive Alignment
Case Type: Creative + Operational
Summer Music Fest Powered by Coke Studio
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · Summer 2024
The revival of the historic Carowinds Paladium, a 13,000-seat outdoor amphitheater dormant since before the pandemic, brought back to life through a full concert series featuring Bret Michaels, Sugar Ray, Flo Rida, LeAnn Rimes, and more. Conceived as both a guest experience initiative and a test case for the long-term future of the venue. Featured in Attractions Magazine.
Scope: 13,000-seat venue revival · Full concert series · Park-wide activation · Coke Studio partnership
Role: Director of Live Entertainment · Executive Producer · Media Relations
Press: Featured in Attractions Magazine "Carowinds' summer bet on its abandoned concert venue" (July 2024)
The gap between a great idea and opening night is where most creative work dies.
Attractions and event organizations have no shortage of creative ambition. What they often lack is someone who can sit in the room with the idea people and the operations people simultaneously…and speak both languages fluently enough to be trusted by both.
Without this kind of partner
Big ideas that collapse under operational reality
Concepts that lose their soul in execution
Unattainable scope that burns out the team before opening night
Budget surprises that force last-minute cuts to the wrong things
Executives who don't understand why certain choices were made
A show that opens — but not the show that was imagined
With Little Birdie
Ideas pressure-tested against operational reality from day one
A creative direction your whole team can actually execute
Scope that's honest about what the time, labor, and dollars can support
Executive teams who understand the why behind every decision
A plan of attack that moves from ideation to curtain
The show you imagined — open on time, on budget, worth attending
The Work
Not consulting from a distance. Every project below was developed, produced, and operated with Ryan in the room from first conversation to closing night.
Case Type: Creative + Operational
RetroSPECT
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · 2023
Original live entertainment production earning the industry's highest recognition. Built from creative concept through full technical rehearsal and operation.
Nominee: Golden Ticket Award: Best New Show 2023
Role: Creative Producer · Full production scope
Case Type: Creative + Operational
Tricks and Treats Parade
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · Fall 2024 & 2025
Presented with the challenge of operating two full parades during an already packed fall season, this project required building and executing an entirely new parade production alongside an existing one — without disrupting either. Designed and delivered in full partnership with corporate stakeholders on a six-week timeline from first conversation to opening night.
Scope: Full dual-parade season · Designed and executed simultaneously
Timeline: Six weeks · Ideation to execution
Role: Executive Producer · Parade Operations · Corporate Partnership
Case Type: Creative + Operational
WinterFest
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · 2017–2024
Multi-year executive producer role for Carowinds' flagship holiday event — 5 million twinkling lights, miles of garland, custom and themed decor, nearly 15 shows, and one large parade.
Scale: 5 million lights · 15 shows · 1 parade · full park activation
Role: Executive Producer · Decor Design · Attraction Direction · Parade Operations
Case Type: Creative + Operational
Carowinds 50th Anniversary
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · 2023
A full-park celebration including a new theme song, four new shows, a drone and fireworks production, costume design, and a Corporate directive show earning a Golden Ticket nomination. Marketing story drove urgency and visitation.
Scope: 4 new shows · new theme song · drone + fireworks show
Role: Creative Producer · Decor Design · Costume Design · Operations
Case Type: Creative + Operational
Viva La Fiesta
Carowinds · Six Flags · Summer 2025
A love letter to Latinx culture - built from the ground up with authentic food, colorful scenic design, live music from local bands, feather-clad Brazilian samba dancers, and a guest-centered flash mob experience that made attendees the star of their own moment. Developed in close partnership with director Luis Salgado, whose passion and cultural insight shaped every element of the event. The flash mob "FUEGO" resonated so deeply it became an integral part of future Viva programming company-wide.
Scope: Full festival: food · scenic · live music · dance · placemaking · flash mob activation
Role: Creative Producer · Scenic & Decor Design · Placemaking · Executive Producer
Legacy: FUEGO flash mob adopted into company-wide Viva La Fiesta programming
Case Type: Creative + Operational
SCarowinds
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · Multiple Seasons
The premiere Halloween event in the Carolinas — nearly 500 monsters, haunted mazes, scare zones, and over-the-top live shows. Continued and expanded a tradition of excellence each season.
Scale: 500+ monsters · multiple mazes · scare zones · shows
Role: Creative Producer · Costume Design · Set & Prop Design
Case Type: Creative + Operational Strategy
Castaway Bay Characters
Cedar Point · Cedar Fair
Four original characters for Cedar Point's refreshed indoor water park resort - Flo, Rocket, Hank, and Gordy. Backstories written, training created, interactions directed, and resort flow reprogrammed with high tide and low tide guest experience activations.
Scope: 4 original characters · backstories · training · resort flow design
Role: Training · Documentation · Character Programming · Flow Design
Case Type: Operational Strategy
Kid's BooFest
Six Flags Over Georgia · Halloween 2025
Repositioned the park's daytime Halloween product for families — more centrally located, easier to navigate, built around moments worth photographing. Utilized known vendor network for oversized props, specialty bunting, and signage.
Focus: Family daytime Halloween product repositioning
Result: More navigable · higher engagement · stronger photo ops
Case Type: Creative + Operational
Heads Will Roll
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · SCarowinds 2022
Budget constraints forced a complete pivot eight weeks before rehearsals began — scrapping a planned production and rebuilding an entirely new show from scratch. Working closely with design teams, music production, staging, and choreography, the result was a cutting-edge EDM and vogue ballroom production that became one of the most talked-about shows of the season. The show's success inspired a company-wide Halloween show initiative that carried into following years.
Scope: Full show rebuild from concept to curtain in 8 weeks
Style: EDM · Vogue ballroom · Cutting-edge seasonal entertainment
Role: Executive Producer · Creative Producer · Full production scope
Legacy: Inspired company-wide Halloween show initiative in subsequent seasons
Case Type: Creative + Operational
Grand Carnivale
Carowinds · Cedar Fair · 2021, 2022, 2023
Three-year Executive Producer run for a multi-day, multi-cultural festival and parade. Required full parkwide partnership across entertainment, food and beverage, and in-park revenue.
Scope: Multi-cultural festival · parade · IPR · parkwide partnership
Role: Executive Producer · Parade Operations · Programming
Case Type: Creative + Operational
Snoopy's Legendary Rooftop Concert
Carowinds · Six Flags · 2025
A full-scale licensed production built in partnership with Knott's Berry Farm; coordinating the transfer of files, costumes, and an entire set shipped across the country. Worked with music production partners at D&G Entertainment Design to build and craft original music files, and designed costumes to bring a human band authentically into the world of the Peanuts Gang.
Scope: Licensed IP production · Cross-country set and costume transfer · Original music production
Role: Executive Producer · Costume Design · Music Production Partnership
