OFF THE CUFF: Codie Costello.

Arts 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."

Alaska Business: What do you do in your free time? 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...

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