MEET THE ALLEY’S SUMMER INTERNS: PART FOUR
Every summer, the Alley welcomes a group of interns dedicated to advancing their careers in professional theatre production, arts administration, or non-profit marketing and management. These internships are educational opportunities that supplement a strong theatre education and act as a bridge for early career professionals; the interns work closely with Alley staff, artists and craftspeople to increase their skill set, sharpen their business acumen, and learn instrumental theatre techniques and gain professional experiences in the theatre industry.
We are delighted to introduce the intern cohort to the Alley community. Get to know Anthony, Andrew, Daryn, and Makayla!
First up, Andrew- our General Management intern. We talked with Andrew about his experience in management, the Alley, and more!
How did you first hear about the Alley?
Andrew: I feel like it’s difficult to not hear about the Alley when you live in the Houston area and you’re interested in theatre!
Do you have any experience in management? How did you become interested?
Andrew: It started all the way back in high school. In Thespian Society, I competed in “theatre marketing,” which was so fun and it’s what got me into theatre production. Trinity University gave me a scholarship because of my theatre marketing portfolio, which ushered me into college-level theatre – working on productions every semester. I’ve done both stage management and production management.
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day-to-day look like?
Andrew: There’s not really a standard day for me! There are some days when I stay at desk and look at budgets or do research. There are some when I’m in meetings all day where people are talking about marketing, how the current production is going etc. It’s really exciting because there are so many different aspects to management.
What have you learned from this internship? From the Alley?
Andrew: A very basic takeaway is learning about how far in advance the Alley works. I’m doing stuff for the season after the one that’s coming up; it’s mind boggling to me that a theatre can be that organized. Workplace-wise, I’ve learned a lot about email management and the best ways to organize tasks.
Why do you love theatre?
Andrew: What is there to not love about theatre?! It’s the coolest art because the people designing the set are artists in the same way that the actors onstage are artists. You’re combining so many different pieces of art into one “mega” art. It has always been so interesting to me – both the process and the product. You put so much work into something that’s temporary. I used to always be like “Why do we build these sets just to take it apart?” But I now have found joy in theatre’s temporality.
Next, meet Anthony, our Operations intern!
How did you first hear about the Alley?
Anthony: Years ago a friend of mine brought me along to see Noir at the Alley. It was one of the best shows I’d ever seen, and I’ve been following the Alley’s work ever since!
Do you have any experience in Operations? How did you become interested?
Anthony: I never had any direct experience in Operations before this internship, but it seemed like the right place for me to be. My previous work in television and radio helped prepare me for the role, as many skills I used there transferred into this job.
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day-to-day look like?
Anthony: Operations handles all of the day to day actions that help keep the Alley running. Every day is different and my daily tasks can span from setting up for meetings and parties, fixing or replacing equipment, making sure things people need in the building are available, and cataloging materials in the Alley Archives.
What have you learned from this internship? From the Alley?
Anthony: Coming from media production, this internship has allowed me to learn so much about how a theatrical production comes to be, and all the parts that help make it happen. I’ve also learned so much about leadership and collaboration from the wonderful folks I’ve worked with in Operations.
Why do you love theatre?
Anthony: I love the experience of a great live performance, weather it be theatre, music, comedy, etc. Theatre allows all of these artforms and more to combine and tell stories you can’t experience anywhere else!
Here’s Daryn, an amazing ECE Play Makers intern.
How did you first hear about the Alley?
Daryn: I was homeschooled when I was younger and my mom got tickets specifically for homeschooled kids to see A Christmas Carol at the Alley. After that, I’ve been able to see A Christmas Carol six times and a bunch of other shows as well.
Do you have any experience in ECE-related fields? How did you become interested in working with Play Makers?
Daryn: With my community theatres, I did a lot of internships working behind the scenes and teaching for the kids shows. As an education major, Play Makers stood out as a great opportunity; I didn’t know much about it, but it sounded super fun.
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day-to-day look like?
Daryn: It depends on the age group! Usually, we start with acting – going over our story and setting up a timeline for the story. Each group also does a movement piece, so we teach them all the elements of movement and put it to music. Then, we do Makers Space, where the kids make all their props and costumes!
What have you learned from this internship? From the Alley?
Daryn: I’ve worked with kids to put on a show, but I’ve never taught the basics of theatre. So, working with kids and helping them grow in the arts and beyond is a totally new environment for me.
Why do you love theatre?
Daryn: I just love everything about it! I love how it’s group of people coming together to make something beautiful. It incorporates almost every style of art and it’s so beautiful to make something for people to enjoy. Someone saying “I saw your show and it inspired me” makes me so happy.
Last but not least, it’s our ECE Admin intern – Makayla!
How did you first hear about the Alley?
Makayla: Growing up, I was involved with community and school theatre in the Houston area, so I’ve always known about the Alley. I’m in my final semester of my graduate program in nonprofit management, and I’m required to have 240 hours of a final internship. I knew I wanted to work in nonprofit arts management and I was really drawn to the Alley’s emphasis on diversity and their awesome education and community engagement programs. I reached out about how I could get involved, and that’s how I got here!
Do you have any experience in ECE-related fields? How did you become interested in working with Play Makers?
Makayla: I’ve always wanted to work with children. At the end of undergrad I realized that I didn’t want to be in social work (my degree), and I started getting involved with nonprofit organizations. i wanted to find a way to meld my passion for the arts with the nonprofit sector, which led me to nonprofit theatre!
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day-to-day look like?
Makayla: I work on logistics on the summer camp program Play Makers. I assist admins on keeping things running. We have a catering service for the kids’ lunches, and I’m in charge of organizing and distributing. I organize T-shirts being given out to campers. I sit in on various talks about improving the way that Play Makers runs. I also do a lot of communication with the other interns and Teaching Artists on behalf of admins. During the school year I’m a substitute teacher, so I help out with the kids when TAs are occupied.
What have you learned from this internship? From the Alley?
Makayla: My mind has changed 15 million times about what I want to do. Coming into the Alley, I thought was going to be diving more into development and fundraising, but I’ve fallen in love with the community engagement program. It’s led me to apply to jobs in that field around the city. I’ve also learned how to communicate on various levels; a lot of my schoolwork has required me to connect with different departments, which has taught me a lot.
Why do you love theatre?
Makayla: I love theatre because it’s allowed me to participate in community building. It’s a great way to make friends and express yourself –portraying stories in new, understandable ways.
