Meet Nicole LaFountaine | Founder of Straighten Your Crown Productions, independent theatre and film producer, philanthropist, human and dog mom.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole LaFountaine and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, what do you attribute your success to?
I believe that the most important factor behind not only my personal success but the success of the companies I run is honesty and authenticity. I try to approach every professional situation by keeping the other person’s wants and needs at the forefront of my negotiation. I know that sounds counterintuitive right? I am negotiating. So, whatever the situation is, whether is is a contract, or a personal interaction with an employee, one would think I need to get what I want so I would lead with that, but what has really served me well is to listen first. I often ask, “What matters to you in this situation?” If I know what truly matters to them, then I can assess it to see if I can meet that need or if I can’t and if I can’t, how can I get as close as I can and still get what I need. Even if I cannot deliver exactly what they are seeking, I have hopefully left the interaction with the other party feeling heard and validated. Isn’t that what we are all looking for? Why not try to bring it into a professional setting not just in our personal lives? I also know that I do not have all the answers. There are people out there with a lot more experience than I have. I am very honest with people I am working with or working for that if I do not know something, I will tell them and find the person who does know. I have recommended other producers or stepped back from situations that I wanted because I knew deep down that another person could get that project further than I could and for the good of that project, I helped it go to the right person for the job. What is meant for you will not pass you, but also if you know something is not meant for you, you need to have the faith to let it go where it needs to go. That is putting the work first and one’s ego second.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So if you ask me about my “career” my answer would be, “Which one?” I started in theatre, wanting to be a performer, right out of college. I found myself leaning more towards behind the scenes and became an assistant to the music supervisor for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. I then became Sir Andrew’s New York assistant and worked for the producing powerhouse The Really Useful Group until I decided to leave NYC and theatre to move back to Long Island and start something completely different. I grew up on Fire Island and my family had a large real estate business there. My father wanted to retire so I told him I would run the business. He said no. He said if I wanted to start my own property management business, he would come on as my first client. This was how he helped me to be a self-employed entrepreneur rather than working for someone else. After 25 years of property management, I knew I had lost some of the passion for it and decided at age 50 I would “retire”. I had always stayed active in theatre and still had many Broadway connections. It was during the pandemic that I decided that I wanted to get to theatre. I could see a huge shift coming and I thought, “I can be a part of that shift.”

Straighten Your Crown Productions was born in April 2021 as an independent film and theatre production company whose main focus is to tell authentic stories and lift all voices. I also started a non-profit in 2022 that develops original stories while also paying a living wage to writers and performers to continue that development. I know my passion lies in telling new and original stories and giving them the space and funding to properly develop.

Has it been easy? Changing careers in my 50’s and building another company from the ground up has been the most difficult thing I have done. The challenge has been allowing myself to take the time to learn and not pressure myself to know everything right off the bat. Someone once said you can’t begin at someone else’s middle so I had to allow myself to be the “newbie”. That was very difficult. .

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, if we are in New York City, the Meatpacking District is one of my favorite places to hang out. There are great restaurants, shops and streets to wonder around. If we had a longer amount of time I would take people to Chinatown for dim sum, Soho for shopping, obviously to see a few shows both on Broadway and off-Broadway. There are some really interesting and ecclectic places to eat, drink and hang out including Rosa Mexicana, TAO Downtown, and rooftop bars like The Sentry Penthouse Lounge. Exploring Brooklyn neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights is also a great time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am not sure this space is large enough to answer this. I have been extremely blessed to have attracted incredible people into my circle who have helped me and made me look a lot smarter than I actually am. My father was a huge influence in my life. He was a brilliant businessman who helped me become an entrepreneur. There have been very generous spirits in the theatre world who shared their knowledge with me, always answered my questions and let me absorb from their work. Joe Barros, James Kinney, Jerry Mitchell, Josh Prince, Michael Novak, Rachel Sussman, Erica Rotstein to name a few who have been so kind to guide me through processes I didn’t understand.

Website: sycproductions.com. sycid.org

Instagram: syc.productions. niclaf

Linkedin: Nicole LaFountaine

Facebook: Nicole LaFountaine

Image Credits
Headshot – Jonathan Taylor