Student Blog: How the Theater Industry Prepared me for My Film Festival Internship

I’ve been many things over the last two years of my life, mainly within the theater industry: a Teaching Artist, an Advancement Intern in D.C., a Social Media Manager. Each position required me to learn the ropes of a job as I did it with little to no experience as a foundation. After navigating so many new and exciting experiences and challenges in these roles, I went into fall internship applications feeling prepared to take on anything. Simultaneously, I wanted to explore arts organizations beyond the theater industry to get a new perspective of what its like working with arts nonprofits. The result? Getting an offer to be a Development and Guest Services Intern for the Philadelphia Film Society. What I didn’t know when I accepted the offer is that it would be my most challenging job yet, one that would require me to lean on the skills I had built working in theater.

Remember when Josh Groban said "Hire a former theatre kid. I don't care what your business is. It will go better if you hire a former theatre kid?" Well, I think he was right. I’ve never worked in film in any form, let alone a film festival. The internship program caught my eye though and seemed like the perfect way to get a new perspective of the behind-the-scenes of an arts nonprofit. It’s easy to stick to the road you're already traveling, but I have a bigger vision in mind for the career I am building.  I love the arts, and I want to work in arts management. That does not just include theater, but rather arts organizations that spark an appreciation of all mediums. My appreciation for film has grown since I started here which has been a lovely bonus aspect of my experience. We can talk about that in a future blog though. For now, I want to offer a glimpse into how being in theater prepared me to step into the world of film:

My summer internship was a bit similar to this one in the way that they were both meant to be centered around aspects of development and events. In the summer, I was with Washington Performing Arts as an Advancement Intern focused on donor relations and special events. I was thrown into the fire from week one: attending events ranging from a donor party to small performances that doubled as meet-your-seats events. I was always doing something new while learning how to engage with our community. When I started with PFS, I dived into the fire slowly, spending weeks learning about and preparing for the Film Festival. It seemed less chaotic until October began and things got more intense. This internship required me to take a lot more initiative and have faith in my thoughts & abilities. Internships are great because you can always seek guidance and ask questions since you are there to learn, a fact that still applied to me at PFS. However, my Film Society internship challenged me to trust myself, take what I knew from my own experiences & my knowledge of the film festival, and lead projects while navigating the chaos of the festival with a lot of independence. It was exactly what I needed as someone who tends to doubt my own intuition and skillset.

Preparing for the festival was a lot like preparing to teach for me. When I was doing a lot more Teaching Artist work, I learned quickly that you can prepare all you want, but at the end of the day you will still have to be adaptable because your plans WILL change. Our schedules were half built: ensuring we had key tasks like guest services duties and support for certain films listed. In the timeframes during which there were no specific tasks listed, we would find the best ways to aid in the festival at the four different locations at which screenings, events, and gatherings of attendees took place. We were ready to be called to action when help was needed somewhere last minute, or to assist with the crowds of people coming to sold out films at our Center City venue. I learned so much working this way and got comfortable in adapting to the flow of the fest, offering my assistance to whoever needed me most.

I think my first internship prepared me a lot for the work I took on during the fest too while helping me to understand the importance of community and partnerships. My first internship was with Philadelphia Young Playwrights and there I did a lot of work centered on their festival and community outreach. A large part of my PFS has also been outreach to promote festival screenings, a challenge I was prepared for because it was far from new to me. With PYP, it was a bit different though. I loved making connections between them and other arts organizations & theaters in the city. It was my first time seeing the power of a collaborative mindset in the arts vs. a competitive one. Looking back at the different organizations I’ve worked with, they all work hard to maintain their community connections and partnerships because we are stronger together then we are when we perceive each other as threats to our own success. One thing I don’t like about the performance side of theater is the competitive nature of it with so many people trying to be successful in the industry. On the business side, I’ve seen lovely demonstrations of community care, support, and collectiveness that I enjoy much more. Coming to PFS, I also saw the importance of our community and partners. It brought me joy to be working the screenings and events where I could interact with the people who make us a strong organization.

So, if you are ever debating applying for a job outside of theater you want, or if you're a hiring manager considering hiring the theater kid who just sent in an application showing you their versatility - give yourself/that theater kid a chance! We’re good with challenges and oftentimes, we can adapt to whatever you throw our way, even a big film festival!