I am about to conclude the second week of my internship with Stagedoor Manor, and I am having an incredibly positive, productive experience thus far.
I began my internship with a supervisory meeting on what it is going to look like. My supervisor and I mapped out my internship into sections: education, accessibility, social media, and performance/professionalism. In the past two weeks, I have been focusing on social media and accessibility because those are the two areas I am most comfortable and familiar with.
I have been successful in the sense that I learned how to manage my time with trial and error. Social media is very independent, and I have been lucky to be trusted with all of the social media platforms and essentially “do my own thing.” I have been able to get my theater camp a lot of attention on TikTok and SnapChat so far, which is really exciting for me and the new campers that are coming this year. I also set up multiple social media takeovers with alumni who are in current Broadway shows, which has been getting positive feedback as well.
I spoke in depth with my supervisor on how to make Stagedoor more accessible with mental health awareness, learning disabilities (which is important to discuss when it comes to learning lines and being in a professional setting), and food (allergies, dietary needs, people who cannot find anything to eat while they are at camp, etc.) We brainstormed ways we can work on this and it is an ongoing conversation. I discussed having grab-and-go fruit available at all times, counselor check-ins, a yogurt parfait bar in the morning, granola bars as a nighttime snack, and more. All of my ideas were received very well and I am eager to continue going down that path.
In the next two weeks, I will be moving on to the education department, which I am both nervous and excited for. I am nervous because the education department at Stagedoor is very intense and serious. I have no experience with education, but I am excited to access this area because I know that I am the voice and perspective the department needs to rely on. Stagedoor has rarely been in such close contact with a camper regarding education and how to improve it; this is very unique to not only me but to them, and I know the education department is looking forward to the collaboration.
The challenges I am encountering and anticipate is the fact that a lot of my internship so far has been independent. Loneliness aside, I am working on managing my time appropriately, not getting caught up in one aspect of the internship, and also finding time to take care of myself. For the most part, I choose my own hours which is both amazing and difficult. I get to decide when I work in between my acting classes, but I have very little given structure, and having structure is important for my sanity.