Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown.
What charity or cause are you passionate about?
Life Alaska Donor Services. I’m a board member.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
Take off my shoes [she laughs].
What vacation spot is on your bucket list?
Australia and New Zealand.
If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
The summer we’ve had has been very active with bears where I live in Eagle River, so if we could make them cute, cuddly, little friends, that would put my mind at ease.
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown.
What charity or cause are you passionate about?
Life Alaska Donor Services. I’m a board member.
What’s the first thing you do when you get home after a long day at work?
Take off my shoes [she laughs].
What vacation spot is on your bucket list?
Australia and New Zealand.
If you could domesticate a wild animal, what animal would it be?
The summer we’ve had has been very active with bears where I live in Eagle River, so if we could make them cute, cuddly, little friends, that would put my mind at ease.
Off the Cuff
rts keep Codie Costello on her toes. For example, earlier this year she directed the one-woman play No More Harveys for Cyrano’s Theatre Company. That stage is much smaller than the four inside the building she manages as president and COO of the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts (PAC), the nonprofit that operates the city-owned facility.
The PAC first caught her eye when she visited Alaska for her honeymoon. “I couldn’t believe that a community of this size had a building like this,” she recalls. “It was shocking.” When the time came to leave New York City, Costello applied for a job at the PAC and moved to Anchorage, and now she can’t imagine anywhere else being home.
What’s left for an artist, after being a performer, director, producer, and president? “I’m gonna be a volunteer usher someday,” she says. “That group of people are amazing, and I should only be so lucky to be welcomed into those ranks at some time in the future.”
Codie Costello: Right now, we’re building a house, so just being on our property and exploring with the kids and my husband. Making our dream come to life is pretty amazing.
AB: Is there a skill you’re currently developing or have always wanted to learn?
Costello: If I could, like, belt out a tune like the most amazing singers on the planet do, I’ve always wondered, what would that feel like? [she laughs] Because it’s certainly not happening for me when I’m driving my car.
AB: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Costello: Moving to New York City, sight unseen, when I moved there to go to grad school… when I was 26.
AB: What’s your favorite local restaurant?
Costello: A recent find that I hadn’t tried before that I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh! This is amazing!’ is Tent City [Taphouse, two blocks from the PAC].
AB: Other than your current career, if you were a kid today, what would your dream job be?
Costello: As a kid, I was a pretty avid ballet dancer. That was a short-lived career. If I could’ve really taken off with a long and successful professional career as a ballet dancer, that was my dream.
AB: What is your favorite way to exercise?
Costello: I do love yoga, but I also love being outside, walking.
AB: Dead or alive, who would you like to see perform live in concert?
Costello: I would’ve loved to have the chance to see Baryshnikov when he was at his height. Or Margot Fonteyn.
AB: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Costello: Shoes… I have a lot of them.
AB: What are you superstitious about?
Costello: The idea of karma. Yeah.
AB: Have you had a supernatural experience?
Costello: I lost a dear friend when I was 19. She drowned; it was a significant tragedy in my life. For years afterward, there would be these moments where I would think that I saw her—when I was awake… That always was, like, ‘Huh. Maybe? What if?’… Not lately. At first it was upsetting, but then it became kind of comforting.
AB: What’s your best attribute and worst attribute?
Costello: I think my best attribute is inspiring others with big ideas, but I also think sometimes too many can come at once, so maybe that’s my worst as well.
