Internship Reflections

This summer, I spent around 13 weeks working as an electrics (lighting) intern at the Gateway Playhouse on Long Island. I stepped off the plane from my study abroad in Spain straight into a changeover into their second show of the season, 'S Wonderful, a Gershwin tribute musical. My boyfriend and I broke up the week I got back into the States; I met a great friend while running spotlight, who got me through the summer.

all production photos taken from the Gateway Facebook page

Next, I was the light board operator for Legally Blonde: The Musical, a perky show based on the movie. I learned a lot and happily got a bit of time on the board and watching programming...and learning how to reset pesky movers. I also got a bacterial sinus infection, which is a common affliction at Gateway, and recovered in due time. I don't think I will ever recover from the sight of pink rope light, though.

We took Spamalot to the Patchogue theater, a town over. Loading the trucks, hauling equipment, and running fresh cables in that theater was a hell of an experience, but a good one. I will never forget the cast and crew of that show, nor the fact that I didn't get sick of it, even though I watched it over 20 times from behind my spotlight. Patchogue held some new tricks, like the focus track seat that moved with the front of house truss we hung lights on; and how we climbed up the booms to either side of the stage perched behind Juliet balconies to hang lights. Our electrics crew separated to work on the student production Tommy at that point as well.

Next came Sunset Boulevard....hauling Dora along with it. I enjoyed Sunset more and more as it went along, though my friend Ken left partway through the run, along with most of the other interns, and things started to change into fall mode at the Gateway: lots of new faces, overhire, prep for the final show and mentally gearing up for Halloween. We won't talk about the Dora load-ins and load-outs on crappy split ramps.

Finally, after living with 5 (or was it 7?) people in one room, I had the room to myself for my final week at the Gateway, finishing Sunset and moving into Sweeney Todd, an absolutely thrilling show. I am thinking about going back to visit and see it again this weekend. As rough as the tech was for it, the show blew me away.

All in all, a crazy, but good, summer. I learned a lot about troubleshooting and fixing stuff, and now have a huge appreciation for the theater here at St. Mike's (both the summer playhouse and the academic world) and beyond. Although I had worked in a hemp house before Gateway, and it had an even worse weight system, I found myself at a loss sometimes this summer about the conditions that we worked in and the terrible equipment we made work. I find myself missing it despite this, somehow.

I suffered almost no culture shock because of the intense work schedule; I grew to like many of the people I worked and lived with, especially as the summer wore on. The shows the Gateway produces are pretty high quality, and being just outside of the city means good names come through to act and direct and design. It's a step I'm glad I've taken, and makes me feel like I could survive anything. Thank you to the staff and various departments who taught me and took care of me this summer.

The house at Gateway