Student Blog: A Look Back at My Fall 2022 LJP Internship

This past quarter I had an amazing opportunity to intern for La Jolla Playhouse in their Marketing and Communications department. It was my first experience working in an office and more specifically in a non-profit organization. From helping out with VIP Celebration Nights to attending intern seminars, these past few months have been a great opportunity for me to learn more about the Playhouse and arts administration.

One of my most memorable times as an intern was when we were working on As You Like It. Part of the Marketing and Communications team's responsibilities are the programs and inserts. For this particular Shakespeare production, we thought it might be helpful to include a plot synopsis and character breakdown program insert for patrons. I was so excited about this project and got to come up with creative titles for each section of the play such as "Get Ready to Rumble" and "I Am Your Rosalind." Not only that, but when I got to go see the show for myself, I saw several patrons utilize the synopsis which made me feel like I helped enhance their experience.

Throughout my time as an intern, a big part of my responsibility is making Instagram content for each VIP Celebration Night. This session included Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes), Kristina Wong: Sweatshop Overlord, and As You Like It. For each reel, I would capture video clips of the party decorations, food served, and the cast photo that's taken. The next day, I'd stitch it together to recap the previous night's festivities. I also was tasked with submitting calendar listings for our upcoming shows as well as taking photos for various LJP events. In terms of other social media content, I've created a lot of posts related to terminology. For Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes), we highlighted specific Spanish terms that were related to the show such as "tarima" (a wooden platform used as a dance floor) and "jarana" (a guitar-like stringed instrument) which are both used in a traditional fandango. For As You Like It, I did a Shakespeare-isms series that highlighted Shakespearean terms from the show such as "foresworn" and "knave." Through these projects, I got more experience with Canva and curating meaningful social media content.

The internship program at La Jolla Playhouse also includes intern seminars with all the areas of the organization. Philanthropy, prop shops, and company management were a few of ours that helped me gain a better understanding of how a non-profit theatre company runs and to learn specifics about the other departments. One of my personal favorites was the production management seminar where we learned how to create a linear calendar that tracks the important dates for each show in the upcoming season. We were also able to learn more about how production management interacts with designers and how they problem-solve on the fly.

I'm so thankful and excited to continue working as an intern through May 2023. Some exciting upcoming events and projects include working on The Outsiders, the WOW festival, and our annual LJP Gala. Stay tuned for more updates and Happy New Year!