WTOC Administrative Internship: The Real Story

So, Kim’s allowed me to hijack her blog! Wheeeee!

Actually, this is likely only going to be interesting to a small subset of you, but hang in there if you’re looking for a summer that’s immersed in music but requires you to do absolutely NO practicing.

(MY KIND OF SUMMER!)

We have several opportunities each summer for behind-the-scenes personnel… assistant stage managers, costume shop and scene shop constructors, assistant directors, multimedia and administrative assistants. They’re all through our nationally-recognized (read: hella competitive) internship program, so they look quite pretty on a resume.

I’m going to focus in on the Administrative Internship for a moment, because it’s an integral part of our summer team and because, quite frankly, it’s a thankless job.

(<dripping sarcasm>Wow, Rahree. You’ve totally sold me. Where do I sign up?)

You see, we’re a crazy bunch of people who work long hours during the most lovely time of year. We spend endless days in each other’s company, trying to ensure that our Mad Plans for summer opera run smoothly, that people feel cared for, that the larger world knows what beautiful, outlandish art we’re creating in our little corner of the world.

We believe that almost anything can be beaten into submission with kindness and obsessive preparedness.

(Even opera.)

But we need help. There are only 2 of us here full-time during the year…when the summer begins our company expands EXPONENTIALLY. And we simply can’t do it alone,

That’s where you come in. You need to have a love of the art form. You need to be able to work with a wide range of sometimes crazy people. You need to smile, even when your heart is breaking.

(Wait….I think that’s a song lyric. But it’s still true.)

You also need to be hyper-organized. You should love puzzles, as the largest part of your job will be to put together the daily schedule. It’s an art form: one in which the most beautiful Jenga-ed schedule is likely fall into a million pieces five minutes before you were planning on leaving the office for the day.

(It totally sucks. But it does happen.)

And you should enjoy changing gears at the drop of a hat. We move quickly around here! (It may be one of the only places where having a touch of ADD might actually be an advantage.)

In exchange for you signing away your summer break to us, we will pay you a pittance. We will find you a place to live that won’t cost you anything, and is WAY better than the nicest cardboard box on the banks of the Potomac River. But we will also give you some fabulous, real-world experience. We will treat you as a valued member of our team. We will keep our doors and minds open so that you can ask questions and get involved in as many aspects of our company as you’d like. And we will laugh often. I can promise you that!

You don’t have to be working towards a degree in Arts Administration. You might be a singer or musician who is trying to figure out what other options you might have. You might be a sudoku fiend who just happens to enjoy hanging out with musicians. (Freak. Oh, wait… I’m one, too.) You might be looking for a summer gig that doesn’t require wearing a suit to work, or that will allow you to do more than make copies.

We’re your ticket, friend. Join us for the summer. It’s our 40th anniversary….I can promise you it’ll be big!

–rahree

For information on our internship program, please visit http://www.wolftrap.org/Education/Internships_for_College_Students/Internships/opera.aspx