Westlake Picayune

By Dane Anderson, Staff Writer 

Ellen Cañas, the marketing force behind One World Theatre, spent most of her early days in Los Angeles. 

She gave up the hustle of the fast-paced environment, along with a lucrative job with the Grammy Foundation, to come to Austin. She was looking for a better lifestyle. She was looking for a job that made a difference. She was looking for community.

Cañas has found all of those things in Austin and in her work with One World Theatre. She has also found a way to help bring a sense of world community to musicians and those who love the art musicians create.

Cañas started her career in the fashion industry, working for Kenneth Cole in Los Angeles. She helped the designer launch his line of Reaction watches in Southern California. After the birth of her son, Gabriel, in 2003, Cañas took a new job with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the home of the Grammy Foundation. She did fundraising, marketing and public relations for NARAS’s nonprofit organizations. 

“It was the greatest job ever in some ways,” she said. “We had all-access passes to broadcasts; we could go to rehearsals. I got to work with Sting, Bono and Brian Wilson. Everybody who worked there was top-notch.”

After about a year with NARAS and a new baby, Cañas began to rethink her life.

“It takes a lot out of you, that L.A. lifestyle,” she said. “I lived 16 miles from work, but it took at least an hour and a half to drive each way. “

Cañas said she felt her life shifting in every direction. When her husband at the time was offered a job in Austin, Cañas jumped at the chance to make the change. She took a job with a NARAS sponsor, Gibson Guitars, where she took over event planning, marketing and promotion.

“Basically, I did anything I could do to get the Gibson name in front of the eyeballs of people locally,” she said. 

Hartt to heart

While working for Gibson, Cañas met Hartt Stearns and Iluminada, the founders of One World. They talked to her about their mission to showcase world-class artists in Austin and give more local children, regardless of their economic status, a chance to see and understand theater. 

“Hartt and Iluminada really believe, all the people at One World believe, that through music, song, dance and story telling – some of most natural and powerful forms of communication – we can develop an understanding of people with whom we share this world – one world,” she said. 

Cañas was hooked. 

“I got a good vibe from the beginning,” she said. “There is nothing like One World anywhere.”

When an opening came up for marketing director at One World, Cañas said she fought hard for it.

“I really wanted to be a part of it all,” she said. “I saw a conscientious community there, full of acceptance, creativity, diversity – all the things I left corporate America for.”

One World board member Jonathan Friedman said he was skeptical when he first heard the nonprofit organization was going to hire Cañas. 

“ ‘Why do we need her?’ I asked people,” Friedman said. “But then I met her, and I saw how professional she is and the pivotal role she could play. She brings a whole new level of experience to play that comes from her L.A. background.”

Cañas is working hard to earn the trust placed in her by Friedman and other board members. She wants to help One World develop a reputation as a premier music venue. She says the organization is not in competition with downtown Austin spots. It is a more intimate place where the audience can really get to know a performer on a human level.

“Artists seem lighter and happier when they play here,” she said. “They relax. They talk. It’s a more personal thing for them. They open up more with the audience.”

Cañas said she has noticed a change in herself since she moved to Austin, and since she became part of the One World family. 

“I like simple now,” she said. “I don’t feel the pressure. I had to detox from L.A. I’ve got my priorities together finally on what is important in life.”

What is important to Cañas now?

“My son,” she said without hesitation. “And doing something with my life beyond earning a paycheck, feeling pride in what I do.”

Cañas keeps her goals as simple and straightforward as her life. She’s saving every penny to buy a house. She wants to plant deep roots.

“I want to help One Word grow and grow to become all that it can be,” she said. “It’s a magical place for music and theater. It’s a place where everyone has a chance to be a part of that magic.”