Ashleigh Pugh is in her third season as the theatre's company manager.

As company manager, it’s Ashleigh Pugh’s responsibility to arrange housing, transportation and a million personal details for the actors who visit Louisville to work at Actors Theatre during Humana or the rest of the year. Her initiation to the annual festival was by fire, she says. The 2004 festival began right after she was hired.

"The thing I remember most was my anxiety," she laughs. "I had no preparation. Normally I’ve got 20 folks coming in at one time. That’s two shows, maybe three. During Humana, you have 30 to 40 extra people come in and they’ve all got requests. They all need tea kettles and TV antennas and rides to the airport and rides to the grocery store. Having an apartment building full of people calling you at all hours—their requests are so individual and unique that each one has to be dealt with separately."

She once got a call about 9 p.m. from an actor desperate for a television antenna so he could record a show he was on in less than an hour. She gets requests for juicers, desks, pillows and VCRs. "Each year there’s a theme," she says. "One person gets it and everybody else wants it. The word spreads. It keeps me on my toes."

Her predecessor once had to contend with a snake that appeared in playwright Rinne Groff’s toilet. It was a pet that got loose and had crawled through the pipes."

Taking care of the actors and other artists who come to town is a key to Actors Theatre’s ability to attract future artists, Ashleigh says. It's her contribution to the good work on stage. "When you’re in a new city and your job is to focus on art, you don’t have to figure these things out. That’s my job. I’m a chauffeur, babysitter, counselor, flight attendant, cable guy, maintenance person, housekeeper, exterminator, doctor and appointment manager. I can help you fill a prescription or drain a radiator. And it’s fun."

— Raven J. Railey