THREE MASTERCLASSES.
REAL PROBLEMS.
NO FLUFF.
Three professional development masterclasses for arts industry leaders and teams — available online or in-person.
Producing is logical. Sequential.
A list of things to get from here to there.
Until it isn't.
The moments that define a career aren't the ones where everything goes to plan. They're the negotiations that could go either way. The crisis that arrives without a manual. The creative team that needs leading through something that's never been done before.
That's where Parrot Ox lives. And now we're taking you there with us.
THE GAP NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Producing is said to be learned on the job.
That's not a philosophy — it's a gap.
Most producing education covers the what: legals, project management, production timelines. Concrete stuff. Relatively learnable. What doesn't get taught is the how — because the how is constant negotiation, problem solving and responding when things go sideways. Those skills are usually built in the aftermath of actual disasters.
These masterclasses exist to change that. To give you the frameworks before you need them, so you can be proactive instead of reactive, confident instead of scrambling, and equipped to lead ambitious work without waiting for the hard way to teach you.
When you sharpen these skills you can identify problems before they become crises. Respond faster and recover smarter when they do. Make decisions with clarity, especially under pressure. Deliver more ambitious work, on time and on budget, even in a volatile climate.
MASTERCLASSNegotiating Beyond the Transactional
Most of us were taught that negotiation means winning. Getting the deal. Coming out ahead. But that model falls apart the moment the relationship matters more than the transaction — which, in the performing arts, is always.
What happens when a key supplier can't deliver?
When a collaborator gets cold feet the week before opening? When you have one shot at one conversation to turn the ship around?
This masterclass draws on behavioural science, high-stakes negotiation strategy (yes, including hostage negotiation — stay with us), and the psychological principles behind how humans actually make decisions under pressure. Not to win. To find the resolution that holds.
DURATION — 2 hours
FORMAT — Online or in-person
INVESTMENT — $XXX
WHAT'S INCLUDED Two hours of facilitated masterclass content, drawing on behavioural science, high-stakes negotiation strategy and the psychological principles behind how people make decisions under pressure. Practical frameworks you can apply immediately. Run with an individual, a team, or across a whole organisation.
WHAT CHANGES You'll approach every negotiation — supplier, collaborator, venue, artist — with a strategy that protects both the deal and the relationship. You'll have the tools to shift a position that seems immovable, de-escalate what could become a crisis, and come away from the hard conversations with the outcome you needed.
TO NOTE—IN-PERSON DELIVERY IS AVAILABLE GLOBALLY AND SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL TRAVEL FEES PENDING LOCATION AND TIME.
MASTERCLASSDealing With a Crisis — What To Do When Sh*t Hits The Fan
If there's a crisis to be had in producing, Lauren has faced it. Artists stranded in China. A near-death incident on stage. A hurricane heading towards the venue — and still getting the show open.
What most of us do is learn crisis management in real time, building a toolkit from the rubble of actual disasters. This masterclass gives you the playbook before you need it.
Borrowed heavily from the medical profession — where failing to deal with a crisis well equals death — this is a framework for navigating whatever lands, whether that's a minor nuisance or the kind of situation that ends careers.
DURATION — 2 hours
FORMAT — Online or in-person
INVESTMENT — $XXX
WHAT'S INCLUDED Two hours built around a crisis management framework borrowed directly from the medical profession — where getting it wrong has consequences that can't be undone. Real scenarios. Practical decision-making protocols. Run for your team so the playbook exists before it's needed.
WHAT CHANGES You'll know how to identify a crisis before it escalates, respond faster when it does, and reduce the damage. The difference between a team that has this and one that doesn't is the difference between recovering quickly and not recovering at all.
TO NOTE—IN-PERSON DELIVERY IS AVAILABLE GLOBALLY AND SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL TRAVEL FEES PENDING LOCATION AND TIME.
MASTERCLASSLeading for Creativity
Based on research undertaken through Lauren's Executive Masters in Cultural Leadership at the Royal Academy of the Arts in London and Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
Leading a creative process is not the same as leading a project. The skills that make someone a brilliant manager often work directly against the conditions that make art. This masterclass explores what the research actually says about how to lead for creative outcomes — and what that looks like in practice.
DURATION — 2 hours
FORMAT — Online or in-person
INVESTMENT — $XXX
WHAT'S INCLUDED Two hours of research-backed frameworks for leading artists and creative teams through non-linear, high-stakes work. Drawn from Lauren's Executive Masters in Cultural Leadership at the Royal Academy of the Arts in London and Maastricht University. Not theory — applicable practice.
WHAT CHANGES You'll lead creative processes with confidence rather than instinct alone, unlock more from your team, and create the conditions for more ambitious work to actually get made.
TO NOTE—IN-PERSON DELIVERY IS AVAILABLE GLOBALLY AND SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL TRAVEL FEES PENDING LOCATION AND TIME.
WHO IS THIS FOR
These masterclasses are built for organisations
where producing is the actual work — not the supporting function.
If you're running a presenting organisation, an arts centre or festival that produces work in-house, managing touring on behalf of artists, financing and developing new work, or creating work and managing your own touring — this is for you and your team.
One organisation, one conversation, one session built around what your team actually needs.
Online or in-person. Individuals or groups.
Get in touch and we'll work out the format that makes sense.
BOOK NOW, USE LATER
EOFY is the time to spend the budget.
The deadline to use it doesn't have to be.
Book any masterclass before 30 June 2026 and you've got until December 2026 to redeem. Lock it in now, schedule when it works.
Lauren Eisinger has spent 15+ years producing the seemingly impossible — for Sydney Opera House, La Jolla Playhouse, Edinburgh Fringe and beyond. She teaches business at the National Institute of Circus Arts, has run masterclasses through Montreal International Circus Festival and Theatre Network Australia, and works with producing teams internationally on building capacity they can actually use.
She's not here to tell you what the industry should look like. She's here to give you the tools to operate brilliantly in the one that exists.