The Halfway Point
We are at the halfway point of our internship at Portland Stage, which seems incredible. I have just finished a week of sitting in on rehearsals for Words By as well as striking The Snow Queen, which is the only strike I have ever participated in where we did not destroy anything, but in fact carefully preserved all of it so that the show can be done again in a few years. I just finished up my final paperwork for The Snow Queen for the next stage management intern that works on it, and then immediately started reading Veils, the next show I am involved in.
Thinking back on those first days of the internship in August, it is incredible to me how much of a community we have become. If someone needs help with anything, from moving flats to keeping a birthday party a surprise, everyone here pitches in to help out. The phrase “theater magic” is often used to describe how seamless transitions happen onstage, but I believe the actual theater magic is the camaraderie that is created every time a production begins, from the director and designers to the technical and administrative departments, from the stage manager to the actors and run crew. We are all in it together to create a show and perform it for an audience, and it is an amazing feeling to experience. The community the Portland Stage Intern Company has created is one of the most welcoming I have experienced, and I am so excited for us to continue to grow for the next five months.
Time moves very quickly, and it seems like it was yesterday that I was meeting the interns that have become like a family. I have learned so much from everyone who works here, and I now more fully appreciate how much work it takes for one performance to happen. It is unbelievable that it will soon be May and we will be leaving Portland for new adventures, but I know that my fellow interns and I still have so many experiences left before we leave that I am sure the second half of the season will be even more memorable.
PortlandStage 