While some are called to the stage for its spotlight and standing ovations, Stephanie Pacheco is enchanted more by the mysterious action that happens behind the scenes. They rarely take a bow at the end of a show, but it is the set builders, costume designers and stage managers, she said, who make a performance come alive.

Last month, Ms. Pacheco concluded her first summer as executive director of The Yard — her latest position in a career dedicated to supporting the dreams of performing artists. Over the last three months, she worked alongside dancers and musicians from around the world through the company’s residency program to help bring their creative visions to life and propel their careers forward.

“I just get really excited about working with creatives and artists to help them get where they want to be,” Ms. Pacheco said during an interview with the Gazette. “I mean, growing up, as soon as I learned that stage management was a job, I thought, ‘oh, that’s what I want to do.”

Ms. Pacheco has a long history of helping performers master and present their craft, and has been surrounded by the arts all of her life. Her parents, whom she describes as “culture vultures,” enrolled her in tap dance classes at five years old, and took her to as many live performances as possible.

But backstage is where she felt she truly belonged, and after joining the stage crew of several local productions, Ms. Pacheco retired her tap shoes to become what she now calls a “professional enabler,” or someone who helps others achieve their artistic goals.

“So much of my childhood development was so profoundly impacted by the opportunity to perform and study dance, theatre and music,” she said. “But I am not really the one with the creative vision. Instead, I felt drawn more to organizing, producing and educating.”

For college, New York City called, and she moved from her small town in eastern Connecticut to attend New York University, where she fully immersed herself in the urban artistic scene and learned the ropes of show production and promotion.

“Going from a very rural space into New York City, with all of the arts and culture that it has, was a big privilege,” she said.

It is a privilege, she continued, that she now aims to bestow upon others from similar communities by connecting them with city-based institutions and opportunities.

Whether working at Dartmouth College, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts or Links Hall in Chicago, as she did during the past two decades, she has always encouraged performers to think big, and has fought to make the performing arts more accessible.

“While at Dartmouth, I once worked with a musical collaborative... made up of [musicians] from up and down the Nile River. We sat them down to hear about their projects and ideas... and linked them with people and groups that could support them. A few years later, they toured across the world.... That’s my joy.”

Ms. Pacheco said she has long admired The Yard. When she heard last fall that the organization was looking for a new executive director, she rushed to apply. She dreamed of returning to New England, where her love for the arts was born, after four years in Chicago.

After a nine-month hiring process, she arrived at The Yard in June — on the day of its first performance this summer. The season was an extraordinary whirlwind, she said, full of rehearsals and performances for the company’s seven artists in residence.

The summer season has ended but Ms. Pacheco is already conjuring up plans for next year, and ways that The Yard can be more active in the off-season. Her job, she said, is still to help artists thrive, but also to broaden the local performing arts sphere and attract more performers to the Island community.

“I really think that we can serve not just the Island better, but also visiting artists,” she said. “There’s so much potential for us to continue the work we do throughout the whole year. We just have to dig a little deeper... and also winterize our buildings.”

Later this month, The Yard will partner with Circuit Arts and host dancers from the Works and Process series at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City for a residency here on the Island. The idea, said Ms. Pacheco, is to give the Guggenheim artists a space to workshop their newest projects without pressure to make it performance-ready.

“It’s not going to a massive, ticketed, promoted show,” she said. “It’s more an opportunity for the dancers to explore new movement. And part of what they do has a film component, so that’s where Circuit Arts comes in.”

The Yard is also hosting an alumni celebration event Sept. 23. Former artists in residence, employees and people who have taken its dance classes are invited to reconnect over food, drinks and live music. Family members of the late Patricia Nanon, founder of The Yard, will also speak.

There is more to come, too, she said.

“Here at The Yard, we have so many powerful artists doing compelling, important work. And I will be working closely with everyone here to work on deepening these partnerships and making things happen all year round.”