MEET THE ALLEY’S SUMMER INTERNS: PART THREE
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 Carly, Justice, Mina, and Sarah!
First up, Carly- one of our ECE Play Makers interns. We talked with Carly about her experience in education/community engagement, the Alley, and more!
How did you first hear about the Alley?
Carly: After graduation, I moved back to Houston and was looking for internships; I found the Alley and learned about its success as a regional theatre. So, I applied and I got it – which I am so grateful for.
Do you have any experience in ECE-related fields? How did you become interested in working with Play Makers?
Carly: I help with the kid’s ministry at my church, and I’m also a director at World Theatre. These experience were extremely fulfilling. With Play Makers, while I’ve devised with people my age, I’ve never created a new piece with kids, so this seemed like a fun opportunity. I’m loving it and I’m interested with going further in this world as a teaching artist.
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day-to-day look like?
Carly: To start the day, I help bring in kids from drop off. Once 9:00 hits, all the kids circle up and we do a group warm up. After that, we split into our age groups and rotate through stations: acting, movement, Play Makers Space, and then we work on our show. The day ends with a group share!
What have you learned from this internship? From the Alley?
Carly: By going back to the foundations and building blocks of acting, I’ve learned how to let the kids teach you; they help me be patient, understanding, and compassionate. Kids will teach you lessons that you sometimes forget as an adult.
Why do you love theatre?
Carly: When I was a kid, I loved singing and storytelling without knowing that it was theatre. It’s something I’ve been loving all my life; it’s an escape for me and a way to put yourself in other people’s shoes. I love telling stories that bring communities together, that spread love and light.
Next, meet Justice, our Literary intern!
How did you first hear about the Alley?
Justice: I first heard about the Alley through a friend who was a local to Houston; I was curious about the Houston theatre scene because I’ve lived in and around Houston before, but I didn’t know too much about the theatre world here.
Do you have any experience in literary? How did you become interested?
Justice: A lot of my theatre experience prior to college was studying it through class and looking at plays through a literary lens – in English classes and such. I got reeled into dramaturgy in college because people needed dramaturgs; I like to read and research, and being in the theatre world already, it was a natural storm.
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day-to-day look like?
Justice: I reformat scripts, I work in the library organizing theatre-related texts. I also retype scripts and do content warnings for the upcoming season.
What have you learned from this internship so far? From the Alley?
Justice: I’ve learned how sociable a workplace can be. Plus, I never really realized that people had office jobs relating to theatre. It never really clicked, but you can have an office job that is so interconnected to the arts, and I find that amazing.
Why do you love theatre?
Justice: What else is there to love? I love culture and playing pretend, and I love people showcasing their talent.
Here’s Mina, an amazing Scenic intern.
How did you first hear about/interact with the Alley?
Mina: I grew up in Houston and my family has always done theatre, so I’ve known about the Alley since I was a kid!
Do you have any experience in scenery/scenic technology? How did you become interested?
Mina: Yes, it’s my focus in college right now. I became interested in scenic technology in middle school but didn’t really start working on shows until high school – where I was able to take tech theatre classes and design and build sets.
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day-to-day look like?
Mina: As the scenic intern, I do a lot of carpentry in the shop. My day-to-day changes week-to-week, but I have also done some drafting and some budgeting!
What have you learned from this internship so far? From the Alley?
Mina: It’s been really great to work with the scenery team this summer and just to get to see and participate in the process of building shows has been an incredible learning experience. They’ve all taught me a lot, and I’ve been able to not only improve my carpentry skills, but also to gain a better understanding of the industry in general and how to find my place in it in the near future!
Why do you love theatre?
Mina: I love theatre because nothing really good and impactful can be done alone. Community and teamwork are such important things in theatre, particularly on the technical side. Also I really like to build things.
Last but not least, it’s one of our Conservatory interns – Sarah!
How did you first hear about/interact with the Alley?
Sarah: My parents took my sister and I to see A Christmas Carol and I absolutely loved it!
Do you have any experience in ECE-related fields? How did you become interested in working with Conservatory?
Sarah: After completing my freshman year at Texas State University where I’m majoring in Technical Production, I wanted to intern somewhere to further gain experience in stage management. After researching internships, I saw that the Alley had their Conservatory, which sounded exactly like what I am interested in!
What kind of work do you do at the Alley? What does your day to day look like?
Sarah: I am an Alley Conservatory intern, where I help manage the production of a devised show performed by the Conservatory students. Currently my day to day is includes tasks like prop tracking, taking blocking notes, and calling cues for our show.
What have you learned from this internship? From The Alley?
Sarah: I have learned important skills for stage managing like organization and leadership. At the Alley, I’ve learned what working at a professional theatre looks like, and all of the incredible networking opportunities as well as learning from the Alley staff that has talked to us during intern chats.
Why do you love theatre?
Sarah: I love how there’s so many stories to tell and how there’s an infinite amount of ways to tell those stories. I’ve always wanted to work in a field that creates good, and the way theatre lets audiences escape the world for just a couple hours, is something I love being a part of.