Meet Dylan Keenan | Live Broadcast Producer and Production Lead

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

Hi Dylan, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in Kihei, a small town on the south side of Maui, HI. I was always a creative kid, but ran into some trouble in my teen years which ultimately motivated me to leave the island after high school to pursue art in college. I went to Southern Oregon University in Ashland, OR majoring in art but eventually transitioning into an interdisciplinary degree in art and backstage theater design. The transition came out of my sudden love for sculpture and welding where the best resources for me was in the theater department. I ended up designing and fabricating a sculpture that the University bought from me and shortly had my first commissioned piece to follow. After college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my career. I moved to San Francisco, CA with an open mind and excitement to explore my professional career. I worked odd jobs to pay the bills, but ultimately found myself working as a Production Assistant on Salesforce shows with an uncle who was a Technical Director with a company called Upstaging Inc. I quickly learned that production was a possible career path that I was good at and still fed my creative ambitions. I was eventually hired as an Associate Producer with Upstaging Inc. and moved to the greater Chicago area to pursue this career path. After a challenging year in freezing Chicago, I moved back to California and got rehired with Upstaging in Los Angeles. Before I knew it, Covid had taken over and I had lost my job. I was devastated and stressed. I worked some odd jobs again to pay the bills and came across a contracting job with ServiceNow as a content technician for virtual events. I worked my way up and eventually got offered a full time position as a live event producer with the Now Productions team. Since then I have been with ServiceNow for over three years, proving my value to the Now Productions team. I am now Producer and Production Lead of the largest internal live streamed shows for ServiceNow. I am extremely grateful for all the mentors that I’ve had over the years that showed me the unlimited potential I’m capable of. My creative and artistic background is the super power I have in who I am today.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Currently I am a Live Broadcast Event Producer and Production Lead at ServiceNow, an American Software Company. In my role I produce live broadcast events for the executives of ServiceNow and help lead our team alongside my manager and Executive Producer. This includes building out run of shows for multiple shows a week, show calling and directing, stage managing and a lot in between. Every show I produce is another opportunity for me to be challenged and learn while collaborating with other teams within ServiceNow. Live event production is a high stress job but I’m able to overcome each show with my amazing team and awesome partners.

Aside from my career, I also have a true crime podcast called Criminally Insane that I Executive Produce alongside a good friend of mine, Haley Pullos. This passion project has been a fun and exiting one where I get to continue being creative.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Living in Southern California and growing up in Maui, surfing is my #1 activity. Anytime I have a friend visiting, I try to get them in the ocean for some fun in the waves. The ocean has been a healing place for me and I try to instill that in everyone. Aside from that, I’m a big foodie and love cooking and checking out new restaurants in San Diego.

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?
My mother, Tracy Keenan, has been my #1 supporter my entire life. Showing me that the possibilities are endless. I am so fortunate to have had so many amazing mentors throughout the different stages of my life. From my high school art teacher, to my college professors, to my uncle, and to all my managers in my roles leading to now. They all helped me get to where I am today. My current manager and ServiceNow have given me opportunities that I never new existed and I’m continuing to grow in my role and future roles in my career. Outside of my personal mentors, I absolutely love books by Brené Brown and Pema Chödrön. Both woman have taught me such valuable life skills and lovely ways of looking at this beautiful world.

Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/4BjIwI9ate8BaFZyz9fnK7?si=41b288194395487f

https://criminallyinsane.buzzsprout.com