Internship vs. Summer Program

[marcusianl]

For someone wishing to pursue a career in lighting design, would it be more beneficial to participate in a college run summer program or an internship with a professional or community theatre? In the case of a summer program, are there any out there that anyone recommends?

Thank you,
Marcus

[gafftaper]

Either would be great... it doesn't matter what your specialty, as a young technician you should be trying to work as many places as you can for two reasons:

1) Networking is critical to getting real paid gigs. The more people you know and impress with your hard work the easier you will find it to get jobs. Having a degree is important to prove you know your stuff. However a good resume endorsement from someone who works at the place you are applying (or who is well known in town) will get you the job.

2) The more places you work the better technician you will be. Getting out and experiencing tech work in a variety of places is some of the best education you can get. Watching how others work and design in crazy situations is really helpful to your growth.

Internships are typically tied into a specific college degree program. There are usually very few that you can just apply for yourself. For example "Joe's theater" has an agreement with the local University to take 5 interns a year... you can't be an intern without being part of that University's program. In the case of the Cirque internships, mentioned recently, I believe one of the requirements is you have to be part of a college program that will give you credit for being one their interns.

There's one last important option you are missing: Summer stock. There are LOTS of options out there for summer work. Be it working at an amusement park, Shakespeare in the park, working on a local music festival or county fair, Theaters run kid's theater camps and they need technicians. All of these LOVE to have high school and college students work for them and you will learn a lot. By August your local community theater is starting to gear up for their fall show and would love to have your help. Some of these pay some don't, don't let that stop you.

To emphasize again: Work as many places as you can (where and what doesn't matter) in order to develop a diverse background and to meet (AND IMPRESS) as many people as possible.

[marcusianl]

Is there any sort of directory or website I could use to find local theatres seeking interns?

[gafftaper]

Again typically colleges and universities have these internships all locked up and there are very few that are just open to apply for. If you are thinking about this summer you are out of luck. Any summer internships would typically take applications starting in the winter sometime for next year. Regular school year long internships (like the Cirque one mentioned recently) are taking applications now for starting in the fall.

There may be some big internship database out there that lists them... sounds like a question to ask a guidance counselor.

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by marcusianl

Is there any sort of directory or website I could use to find local theatres seeking interns?

See the sites listed at the end of the collaborative article, Getting a Job in the Industry. All have internships listed as a separate category. You may also find the thread http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/l...rn-skills.html of interest.

[ruinexplorer]

One of the best things to do, as with applying for a job, is to look at the specific places that you would want to work. Many of the popular places which offer multiple internships have no need to advertise because they are getting enough applications through schools or directly (if they don't require it to be part of a program). I'm not positive, but I think I remember that when I was hiring for a theater, we could not do an internship unless it was part of a school curriculum due to labor laws. I don't remember if that was state law or national law. So, you may be better off looking for a summerstock position or volunteering for community/reperatory theater.

[gafftaper]

I believe that having an internship that is tied into a educational program is the way they get around union contracts. You can't just go volunteer to work at a union theater. It's simply not allowed. However they are allowed to do interns.