Exploring Life & Business with Bonnie Hallman of Mycotoo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Hallman.

Hi Bonnie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always been and will always will be an unapologetic theater nerd. Someone who springs to life as the house lights dim. Who can recall blocking and choreography from 25 years ago. A weirdo with an unnatural understanding of Victorian stage magic. 

While I started as a performer with a deep love of musical theater, I was quickly drawn to production in the form of playwriting and directing. With no interest whatsoever in what society considered a “safe job,” I threw myself headfirst into a creative career, touring the world as an actor and in multiple production roles. 

After college, faced with the impending New York winter and armed with a “sure, why not” attitude that is so easily achieved in the treasured idiocy of youth, my then boyfriend, Brian (now husband, Brian), and I found our way across the country to a tiny apartment in the Valley. We didn’t have a single contact in Los Angeles…but, sure, why not? 

Everyone knows the phrase “opportunity knocks.” This has never been my experience. Opportunity must be coaxed out of hiding with a gentle touch but a determined resilience. The opportunist is the one who does the knocking. And that’s exactly what we did. This was about 16 years ago, back when we still used phone books. Brian and I literally opened a phone book and started calling theaters in Los Angeles. 

As is the way in the entertainment industry, small jobs led to medium jobs…which led to more small jobs…which led to catering jobs…and then more medium jobs. But our goal was to build a network, and slowly, we met people and found like-minded creatives. 

I joined writers’ groups, directed in small 99-seat houses, and wrote several wonderfully cheesy scripts for Hallmark, OWN, and Lifetime. (I actually still do this!) I also wrote scripts for projects that I knew wouldn’t see a day of production. Because working on them filled me with joy. And it’s silly to do anything other than run towards joy. 

As I was writing scripts, directing in tiny theaters, and working bad PA jobs, I met my dear friend and mentor, David Wally. Years later, David would become a Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer of Mycotoo, the Experiential Design Firm where I currently oversee the Creative Department as Director of Creative. But back then, he was another playwright alongside me in a short play festival. Hailing from an impressive film career but looking for a change, David was tasked to direct the first year of Dark Harbor, the Halloween Haunt at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. After having the privilege of stage managing and directing a few of his shows,  (without disrupting his artistic intent too badly), David called me and asked me to join him. 

IAnd it was Dark Harbor that transitioned that experience that transitioned my career out of traditional theater and into Themed Entertainment and Experiential Design – which I like to explain as t. That is, Theater experienced outside of a proscenium. 

Dark Harbor led to a slew of other Themed Entertainment projects. I’ve had the great privilege to take on the role of Writer and Creative Director for a DreamWorks theme park in Dubai, multiple theme parks in Indonesia and China, and new themed lands in Dollywood. 

13 years ago, my mentor, David Wally, once again upended the trajectory of my life, offering me a position with his new firm, Mycotoo. As a Creative Director under the umbrella of Mycotoo, I wrote and directed live shows at Universal Studios Hollywood, including the Lunar New Year celebrations, The DreamWorks Theater, the Walking Dinosaurs, and the Blue Raptor show at Jurassic World. I continued working on Dark Harbor, adding more seasonal experiences to my resume like WB’s Horror Made Here, Dark Horizon in Orlando, Aftermath at Six Flags, and Chill at Queen Mary. I worked as Creative Director for family entertainment centers for Lionsgate, Discovery, and Dig It. I’ve stepped in as Writer and Creative Director for experiences with Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers,, Tyra Banks, the Prince Estate, Shrek, Secret Life of Pets, Kung Fu Panda, Harry Potter, Bladerunner, Game of Thrones, West World, Fallout 76, National Geographic, Universal Studios Orlando, D23, and Stranger Things. 

A few years ago, the Mycotoo Partners offered me a position as the Director of Creative, overseeing the Creative Department from an Executive level. As a Design Firm that expands across multiple facets of storytelling, from Theme Parks to Live Shows, Seasonal Experiences, Experiential Activations, Museums, and Entertainment Development and Municipalities, I am tasked every day to wear a different hat, satisfy a different type of storytelling, and ensure teams of people are building experiences that bring awe and wonder to the fans of Intellectual Properties. We pull those fans off their couch and immerse them into the real-world version of their favorite movies, shows, video games, and brands. 

Some days, it’s hard. Some days, it’s more personality management than creative direction. Every day it’s fun. 

And when projects get difficult, I go back to my roots. Tthe team and I remember to approach things it like unapologetic theater nerds. 

We figure it out! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Life has taught me the same lesson time and time again. You can, in fact you MUST, redefine your definition of success. High-performance coaches and self-help gurus like to shout into Ted Talk microphones that you have to remain steadfast in your goals, and wavering from those goals means failure. 

I call BS. 

As your circumstances change, your likes and dislikes change, and the landscape of what fulfills you creatively changes, so too should your definition of success. The script of your life is defined by revisions. So why on earth wouldn’t your goals be as well? It is this flexibility, this willingness to be pliable and lean into the peaks and valleys of my career that have allowed me to find the place in which I am so happy now. 

There have been some years when my definition of success was Creative Lead or an Executive Position on a project. There have been some years when my definition of success was leaving a toxic company, even though I had the title I wanted and was working on a great IP. And there have been some years, like this past year with a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old at home, that success was just making it to the office having showered. (I only hit this one 70 percent of the time…) 

As I enter my third decade in entertainment, proud of what I have accomplished and privileged to do what I do every day, new ideas and opportunities I never imagined are within my purview. Goals that weren’t even on my radar 5-10 years ago are sneaking their way into my psyche. Blessed with two gorgeous daughters,  (a mere 20 months apart, ) the insanity of daily life requires my work to adjust to make space for motherhood. I don’t fight it. I adjust. Find new ways to deliver on my work projects and guide teams to the finish line. (And for anyone concerned about hiring a caregiver, I’m telling you now: motherhood has made me a WAY better leader.) 

My markers of success are constantly evolving to fit my lifestyle, my family, and the new possibilities that have appeared. One MUST embrace the inevitability of change. I ask myself, “What do I need now?” “What will bring me joy?” And how I answer those questions are the foundation on which I measure success. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Mycotoo, we build guest experiences in an immersive and visceral way. Most audiences enjoy their favorite IPs from a screen. There is something so uniquely beautiful about taking a property off a flat surface and creating a world one walks through, bringing to life the nuances of the environments, the text, the characters. 

As a culture that is starving for connection outside of DMs and Zoom calls, the experiences we create, living, breathing installations that immerse guests in unexpected ways, are not just a fun-to-have. They’re a necessity. They’re a reminder of what is possible if one puts down their phone and simply looks up. A reminder of the tangible, tactical elements of entertainment and how not just sight but sound, touch, and smell bring forth memories and ground us in story. 

Whether it’s excitement, heartbreak, love, anger, or fear – the experiences created by the unbelievable creative teams at Mycotoo are meant to draw forth raw emotions. They ask people to leave their screens, to walk away from their standing desks and Slack channels. They connect guests with their friends, but also with other like-minded audiences – strangers that bond simply because they went through an activation together. , to become bonded with strangers because they went through an activation together. Our experiences sit at the crossroads of entertainment and immersion. 

And, to me, that is a thing of beauty. 

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
Happiness is an inside job. 

I know. (Eyeroll) It can’t be so cliché and simple. 

It is. 

It’s something that took me several years to understand. I, like many high-achieving, type A personalities, found myself spiraling in the “what’s next” syndrome, never stopping to take in my accomplishments or, even worse, to express the proper gratitude for the opportunities I was awarded. 

Every achievement was met with “yeah, yeah, yeah…but when I hit the next level…” 

That thinking is a recipe for deep unhappiness. 

And I found my way out through a quote that is actually miscredited to Lewis Carrol. 

“The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” 

Many believe this was written by Lewis Carroll as said by the White Rabbit in The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. It was not. Fun fact – literature scholars actually believe this quote was first put in print in the Detroit Free Press, having been spoken by a truck driver named “Bill” as reported by a clerical worker at the Michigan Central Terminal in 1948. 

(I told you – Imma big ole’ nerd.) 

Miscredited it may be, but it is the quote that unlocked my understanding of happiness. I followed “Bill’s” advice. I was working too hard and getting “behinder.” So, I slowed down. I took time. Took space. (Got a therapist.) I allowed myself to be still with the privilege of my very wonderful job, working with very wonderful people. To love my very wonderful family. And appreciate Mycotoo’s very wonderful clients and projects. 

That’s where the happiness is. When you take a moment to breathe in all you have. You’ll still have goals. There will still be aspirations. It’ll never be perfect. It’s not supposed to be. 

After my 40 years on this planet, all I can say with complete certainty is that until you learn to slow down and find gratitude for what you have, you will, without a doubt, always be “behinder.” 

Contact information:

• Instagram: @bonnie_hallman 
• LinkedIn: Bonnie Hallman https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-hallman-a92012b3/