Tuesday, March 31, 2015
A Manifesto for Theaters and Interns: Part 2
The Clyde Fitch Report: In my last post, I established a few ground rules that all theaters hiring interns should agree to abide by. They were meant to improve the landscape of professional development in the theater, which can be both arbitrary and at times exploitative. We looked at the internship issue from the perspective of what theaters should do for the interns, so to keep it fair, this follow-up will address how interns should conduct themselves in these competitive positions, and what theaters have a right to expect from them.
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2 comments:
I'm glad that this piece was concluded with the fact this kind of advice applies beyond internship skills. These are common work ethic types that are seen all over the industry in general. I find that these kinds of descriptions can also be really helpful in identifying some of my own personal weaknesses. I also previously hadn't really thought about the best way to approach my own personal working style in an internship setting, so identifying those kinds of weaknesses could be incredibly useful in applying and bettering myself in order to make the best, most lasting impression on my employers. Being an intern is hard. It's not all about working hard, and it's also not all about making connections and socializing. It's a mixed bag of traits and approaches that must be mixed together. You have to work hard, and ask for more work when you're done, and you have to make connections and be personable to your coworkers/cointerns.
The first section of this article about “The Expert” makes me think of the program here at CMU. I know that most if not all people who graduate here are extremely equipped to handle the “real world” of theater and thus often have leadership roles and go higher on the hierarchy ladder faster than other people. But with that comes an ego, and that is something that I try very hard to realize in myself and other people that I work with. I know that everyone here is good at what they do and so they automatically have some sort of an ego. I agree with the article in that everyone needs to realize that they will always have something that they need to learn which will allow them to grow as people. Egos often get in the way of group collaboration, but when they are put aside, amazing work is created.
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