Claire, our Laner of the Week, grew up in Beaverton, Oregon, went to college in Oklahoma, and has been living in NYC for 10 years! She studied Musical Theatre at the University of Oklahoma, and that continues to be her main pursuit in life. You can also find Claire performing and recording music with her brother, who is a very talented Theatre Organist. During the pandemic, they even started writing customized songs for people! Claire is a hoot-and-a-half…prepare to be entertained!
What do you like about Mustard Lane or just working events in general?
I love event work for many reasons. One reason is that every day is different. I get to meet different people, go to different places, and curate different aesthetics all the time! Another reason is that I end up in rooms I never would have ended up in. The amount of conferences and panels I’ve gotten to sit on about topics I knew nothing about has given me a lot of perspective. Mustard Lane happens to have a lot of awesome people, so I love working any Mustard event!
When you’re not on the Lane…what are you doing?!
Petting dogs as often as possible, making music with my brother, spending way too much money on lattes, auditioning for shows, traveling with my wonderful fiancé, watching an unhealthy amount of New Girl, reading every other book that I buy, and choreographing fun dances!
Favorite restaurant or food?
Food? Hummus. Restaurant? Ayat. Or anywhere with hummus.
What is one of your goals for the remainder of 2025?
Balance!! The goal is to pursue dreams, make money, and have friends. Seems like I only ever get to choose 2 of those. If anyone has any tips, let me know!
Name a favorite place you’ve been to. Any fun stories here?
I did the Camino de Santiago (del Norte, if you’re familiar) in 2017. One of my favorite experiences of my life! Probably my favorite travel story was when I went to Ireland on that same trip. Me and my two friends used the couchsurfing app (RIP) to crash with the sweetest man who made us vegan chili and gave us beer. The room he had for us had spiders everywhere. After I watched one crawl across my friend while she slept, we all snuck out and slept in our car in the church parking lot. We didn’t want to make our sweet host feel bad so we snuck back in, pretended to wake up there, and told him it was perfect.
What’s your favorite way to spend a day off from being a Laner?
I LOVE a don’tleavetheapartmentanddon’tgetupexceptforthebathroom day.
Any recommendations for shows, concerts, movies etc?
I saw Stranger Things on Broadway recently. Highly recommend!!!
What’s your hidden talent?!
If I have a talent, there is no way I’m hiding it. You’ll know.
If you could have your dream job tomorrow, other than being Laner of the Week, what would it be?
Back up dancer on an international tour!
What’s an essential part of your daily routine?
Choosing one thing to get irrationally anxious about! Could be anything!
What life lesson did you learn the hard way?
You have to actually pay off your credit card by a certain date. Every month, actually.
What were your treats last week? Chocolate or Candy?
This is unfortunately impossible to answer.
It’s fall! What do you look forward to during this season?
Hot coffees! Coffies? And finally wearing my favorite clothes again. Put me in a sweat pant, a leather jacket, a beanie, a hoodie. Cozy is queen.
What’s a brand or event that you would love to represent or work as a Laner should the chance ever arise?
Anything with a concert! I’m not someone to buy many concert tickets, so most of the ones I’ve seen were because I was working them. Getting paid to see a musician perform live?? Sign me up!!
What inspires you most?
It’s hard, to be completely honest! When I’m down, my creativity is also down. I find that it’s important to act fast when I get a wave of inspiration or motivation. If I ever wake up with an extra little stir in me – even if it’s as simple as feeling excited to pick out my outfit or listen to a new song, run with it!! If a song I hear makes me want to dance, book a dance studio that day. Giving myself some tangible accountability will make me follow through. It’s very easy for me to let ideas exist only in my head. Inspiration is fleeting for me, so I rely on momentum!
Any advice for someone looking to get started as a Laner?
This industry can be such a fun way to sustain yourself. Especially for artists, or anyone pursuing careers in fields with inconsistent work. I love being a Brand Ambassador, but there are so many positions in events! I also love working back of house roles. Whether you’re a people person, a tech person, a task-oriented person, a planner, a carpenter…. there’s a position for you. Get to know the people working on all sides of the event! They’re usually really awesome and there are many paths.
To learn more about Claire, check out her instagram @letsbeclaire.
Looking for Canadian staff? Well – ML is in Canada!