Ganesh Thava’s second act: Making the move from marketing to the main stage
After taking roles in the advertising and non-profit sectors following graduation, Marketing Management alumnus Ganesh Thava used the skills he learned at the Ted Rogers School of Management to take on roles in entertainment.
Thava (BComm, 2017) now works as a full-time actor, writer and director. He has appeared in community theatre, television and film – including Disney Channel’s film Spin and the TLN TV show King vs King vs King, written original plays and directed and produced his own theatre and film projects. He has also been working as a consultant to help support other artists with their business plans.
Here is what Thava had to say about his time at the Ted Rogers School, his current work and how his BComm degree is helping him pursue his goals in the entertainment world:
Tell us about your time as a BComm student at the Ted Rogers School. What are some of the highlights?
As much as I loved the program, some of my best moments were spent outside the classroom. The Ted Rogers School is known for its wide range of student groups and extracurriculars, and I took advantage of every opportunity I could get.
It all started with Enactus in my first year, where I was working with the Digital Media Zone, travelling to Mexico for the world cup and running entrepreneurship workshops in Kenya. Enactus prepared me to be a problem solver, an entrepreneur and a leader. Later, I got involved with the Ted Rogers Marketing Conference, where all my skills were put to the test. I had a blast putting on one of the best business student conferences as VP of Marketing and working with larger budgets and scales.
But of all the challenging and life-changing experiences I’ve had in my undergrad, starting my own student group was the highlight. I’ve always been an artist and spent my entire time at the Ted Rogers School trying to merge my artistic passions with my business endeavours. This drive and need led me to start the Ryerson Entertainment Conference (REC). It was a labour of love to get started, but once it launched, it was evident the school needed a space for others like me. Now, I am so proud to see REC continue to thrive and mold the minds of future leaders.
Why did you make the career shift from marketing to writing, directing and acting?
When I first made the shift, it felt like a drastic change, but I see them as very similar after four years now. While studying marketing, I took a particular interest in entrepreneurship courses and extra-curriculars. Ted Rogers School’s thirst for innovation was etched in me by the time I graduated. So, as much as I loved working at an advertising agency right out of university, I always wanted more autonomy in my life. So when I was working at the office and did not feel challenged, I needed a change.
This was when I rediscovered my passion for theatre and acting and reapproached it, but now with a business degree under my belt. As I began training and putting myself out there, I realized being an artist is essentially running a business. You need to build a brand and a voice. You need to pitch yourself to agents, casting directors and other collaborators. You need to apply for grants and funding. All of these skills that I carried from my degree heavily complemented my artistic goals, and these two worlds in my life were begging to collide. So I am just as much of a marketer as I ever was, except instead of marketing cereal and credit cards, now I am marketing myself.
How did it feel to be cast in the Disney Channel film Spin?
While working for the York Region Arts Council, I began connecting with artists of all disciplines from all walks of life who were following their passions. These artists taught me that it wasn’t about success or making money, but rather doing what you feel is your purpose on this planet. That truly made me think about my legacy and the impact I want to make on the world. That’s when I saw the lack of representation on stage and screen and started to train.
I began to treat my passion as a craft, a skill to be mastered. I have been taking private classes, masterclasses and workshops since 2017, and I continue to do so. Any opportunity to perform I get along the way, I see as another learning opportunity, but getting cast in Spin was something special. I remember being on a walk with my friends when I got the news and screamed in joy. It was my first union project, which paved the way for me to be a full ACTRA member. Beyond that, it was also my first feature film role, and it was the first Disney Channel film with a South Asian narrative.
Tell us about some of your recent writing and directing projects.
Although I started this journey as an actor, the need to tell my own stories has propelled me into the writing and directing chair, and I love it! I have several projects in the works. I have a finished feature film script that I am pitching around right now. In addition, I am writing a TV pilot script and shooting my third short film this summer.
Outside of film and TV, I have completed a stage play that’s being workshopped in Toronto. I also have a musical play and a one-person show in the works. My directorial debut, The Orchid & The Tree, explores the relationship dynamics of a Tamil daughter and her father after their mother passes. I wanted to explore a South Asian family where communication was complex.
In many cases, the power dynamics of parents and children are explored, with the parents holding power. This made me wonder what would happen if the power dynamics were equal? What if they were both just as lost in their lives like the other? What if they were both going through the same loss, the same struggle? Through this film, that’s what you get to see, a father-daughter relationship where they both meet in the middle to help each other out through a tough time.
How have the skills you learned at the Ted Rogers School helped you as a writer, director and actor?
I use almost all the business skills I learned at the Ted Rogers School every day. Being a proactive artist means being a producer, specifically a self-producer. Every day as an artist trying to make a living off their art, I need to know how to run my career like a business and break even at the bare minimum.
The most crucial skill from my degree that I use every day is pitching. As a writer, I need to brand and pitch myself all the time. I need to be aware of what’s happening in the industry, be agile and adapt quickly. For every single project I produce, I need to develop a brand for it so that I can pitch it to granting bodies and funding partners. Next, I need to pitch the project to collaborators like DPs, actors and others. Then once the project is finished, I need to sell it to distributors and film festivals. From beginning to end, every project, whether it be film, TV or theatre, requires skills like marketing, budgeting, teamwork and leadership.
Tell us about your consultancy work to support artists with their business plans. Why did you get into it, and how has your BComm degree helped in this venture?
Between my time in advertising and becoming a full-time artist, I worked for a few years as the Manager of Programs at the York Region Arts Council (YRAC). I had the pleasure of working with numerous local artists and arts organizations in this role. While working with these folks, a common thread was a lack of business skills. Many art programs in college and university do a terrific job of making their graduates artists, but don’t prepare them to manage their careers, which are essentially businesses.
As someone with a business degree, who was also passionate about the arts and culture sector, I enjoyed connecting with these artists, assessing their business needs and providing them with the tools, knowledge and resources to support their art practice. Even after leaving my role at YRAC to pursue my artistic endeavours, I had numerous artists and community partners reach out to seek my advice on grant writing, developing business plans, board governance, marketing and succession planning. Since I loved doing it anyway, I continued to manage a consulting practice on the side for anyone who may need my support in doing what they love. I firmly believe that everyone would choose to be an artist of some kind when given the opportunity, so I am here to make the process a little more manageable for any brave souls who have ventured down that path.