The Sparkiest Future

The Sparkiest Future

by JJ Peeler

This week, the interns once again embarked on our familiar sequence of strike, load in, focus, and tech. By now this isn’t our first rodeo. We know exactly what to expect from the extended days and wrench-wielding electrics calls. The strike for Words By: Ira Gershwin and the Great American Songbook was unusual due to the large steel-frame mosaic structure we needed to disassemble. Something I’ve learned about strike, however, is there is always something unusual. This round was by far the loudest strike; and the sparkiest.

My own world as a Directing & Dramaturgy intern the past few weeks since Words By opened, has been consumed with research and prep for my next project at Portland Stage: Tribes by Nina Raine. This production is entirely different as far as the research needed to bring into rehearsals. For Words By, I dove into historical materials of real people, educating myself of the work of Ira Gershwin and his colleagues. For Tribes, my work has been more focused on the abstract ideas presented in the play: How do we communicate meaning? And what does it mean to be a part of a tribe?

The largest part of all of our focus this week, outside of our normal work duties, is the question: What’s next? Many programs, internships, graduate school applications, and job opportunities are accepting applications for the fall. While thinking of the future beyond May is stressful, the support and guidance we receive from the staff here is immeasurable. The staff have seen numerous intern companies move on from Portland Stage, and can give insight regarding where to go from here (and contacts of former interns now spread far and wide). Some guidance is more formal, like the resume and cover letter workshop our supervisors led. Some is more personal and unplanned, like stepping into an office to chit chat over which fellowships might be right for a soon-to-be-former Directing & Dramaturgy intern like myself. I am grateful for these relationships that I have formed here over the past season. Not only are the staff members at Portland Stage terrific resources for the daily life of “how to be an intern”, they are a great resource for career counseling and professional development. It’s nice to know that spending a season at Portland Stage means the relationships developed here will be lasting ties. Both the intern company and the fulltime staff colleagues are a great community of people upon which to draw for support.