How live performance training ignited a career

By Laura Michaud & Melissa G. Wilson

What does a one-act play about the Alamo have to do with leading a consumer data company? Everything, according to Zora Senat.

Today, as Chief Commercial Officer at Cuebiq, a leading consumer data and insights company, Zora’s unique leadership is informed by thousands of hours on stage. Her approach to business strategy, team collaboration, and storytelling all trace back to her theatrical training. And in a full circle moment, she’s joined the Encore Center for Performing Arts’ board, bringing her expertise back to her artistic roots.

Zora’s love of theater began in Dallas. From early childhood, she was immersed in live performance through the Dallas Children’s Theater and later the Dallas Theater Center. By high school, she was fully committed, attending Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, logging over 1,200 hours across all facets of theater: acting, stage management, set design, and playwriting. In fact, her one-act play Remember the Alamo was published and performed during the center’s summer festival.

At Northwestern University, she continued building her foundation, studying theater while shifting toward the business side of the performance industry. Here, Zora managed to produce over a dozen shows, more than ten times the student quota. As producer of the campus improv troupe Mee-Ow (whose alumni include Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Seth Meyers), she further refined her abilities in project coordination, team leadership, and creative storytelling.

Upon graduating, Zora’s path took an unexpected turn. She shifted from theater into data and technology, a field that may seem worlds away from live performance. But Zora quickly realized her training gave her a unique advantage.

Yet, there were challenges in translating her stage experience. While Zora was comfortable performing in character, presenting her own ideas in business settings felt unexpectedly vulnerable. “It’s ironic,” she admits. “But personal authenticity, not performance, has been my ongoing learning area.”

That vulnerability became her strength. “Theater taught me to tell compelling stories with limited resources,” she says. “It prepared me to work under pressure, adapt, and bring out the best in others, even with less ideal conditions.”

Today, those early experiences on stage have helped Zora build invaluable skills like discipline, resourcefulness, teamwork, and creative problem-solving. They also laid the groundwork for the leadership style she carries into her career. It’s a style that directly shapes how she leads teams and navigates business challenges.

Now, as a board member of the Encore Center for Performing Arts—an initiative to establish a world-class performance space in DuPage County, Zora will put the full spectrum of her skills to work.

“It feels like destiny,” she reflects. “I began my life learning how the arts shape empathy and community. Now I get to help create that space for others.”

Her journey illustrates that the lessons learned in live performance: collaboration, resilience, and creativity, don’t just prepare you for an artistic career. They prepare you for life. 

Laura Michaud

Melissa G. Wilson

About the authors:
Laura Michaud is a founding member of the Encore Center for Performing Arts and Stage 773.
Melissa G. Wilson is a performing arts enthusiast, author, and renowned networker. For more information visit EncoreCenterforPerformingArts.org