As incoming freshmen, Kim Weisberg and Emika Abe knew how
difficult it was to get into professional theater. Four years and
many internships later, they’re well on their way.
“An internship is essential. It helps students get
familiar with how the industry works,” said Bill Ward, chair
of the theater department and internship coordinator.
“We encourage students because it’s an excellent way
to get your foot in the door,” Ward said. “Interns get
involved in movie campaigns, business meetings and other
things.”
The two graduates’ numerous internships have not only
expanded their prospects, but have also given them a window into
another side of the industry.
“I came to UCLA (with) an acting concentration, then I
realized that I wanted to do something in theater other than
acting,” Abe said. “So I thought more about theater
management, working behind the scenes ““ a little more
business-oriented, but still involved in the arts.”
In Ward’s 20 years of experience as an internship
coordinator, he has found that internships can be a deciding factor
in terms of career paths.
“I had a student who took an internship and learned that
the internship helped him realize that (theater) is not want he
wants to do as a career,” Ward said. “Everyone in the
big studio companies started out as an intern, because interns are
often the avenue where students find professional work.”
As Abe and Weisberg completed each internship, more
opportunities arose. Both graduates interned at the Geffen
Playhouse in Westwood, which was inspirational and led them to
other work.
Weisberg is now involved with an 11-month internship at the
literary management office of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, which
she discovered via the connections she’d made at her prior
position.
“My supervisor (at the Geffen) told me about it. I was
looking for a full-time internship after graduation, and she
pointed me to the right direction,” Weisberg said.
After Abe’s quarter at the Geffen, she spent two quarters
at Reprise!, a theater company based in Santa Monica that produces
Broadway-style musicals, during her senior year.
“There’s so much you can learn by being around
people who are doing what you love to do that you can’t learn
other than by experience,” Abe said. “Reprise! was
going so well and they wanted me to keep going, so I continued that
in spring quarter.”
Abe has a full plate of theater experiences on her resume,
beginning at the age of 8. She has been employed as a theater
summer camp teacher over the past four summers and worked at her
native Palo Alto’s children’s theater as well, so she
can certainly be considered familiar with smaller-scale theater
careers.
But now that she’s acquired an internship with the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival ““ the oldest, largest and most
prestigious festival of its kind in the nation ““ she’s
determined to make the most of it.
“It is programmed so that interns could eventually get a
job there. And it’s always easier to hire someone when you
know how they work,” Abe said.
At the Oregon festival, she will be a part of the Fellowships,
Assistantships, Internships and Residencies program, where she
expects to continue learning about the professional world.
“I’ve had such good experiences at the Geffen and
Reprise!, just by learning a lot from being there and being in the
environment,” Abe said. “I wanted something that I
won’t only be working in, but also learning, and I think you
would get that more from an internship than an entry-level job
position.”
Now, successful and several hundred miles away from her alma
mater, Abe said that theater students have to be more active in
searching for internships and contacting program managers about
possible positions.
“I think it’s important to learn and take
responsibilities for your own education and not wait for things to
be handed to you,” Abe said. “Obviously there’s a
lot of opportunity in Los Angeles, but I think it’s important
to step out of UCLA a little bit and make something of what’s
around you.”