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« on: Feb 10, 2014, 12:06 am »
I applied to several stage management internships over the summer. None of them are close to my hometown or even in the same state. Why I showed my father (who is in HR) my cover letter he started questioning me about applying for internships so far away (emphasizing on the fact that I don't have a car). After calming him down and vowing to never show him a cover letter again, I sent my parents a list of all of the theatre companies was going to apply to, how much they pay, and if housing is included (all of them had housing). My mom said to just apply and we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Two months and several applications later, I got an interview for a company in Upstate New York. I call to share with my mother the good news and the first thing she does it start question my choice of location and how I am going to get there and whatnot. She kept asking me questions I answered months ago when I told her where I was applying.
MOM: Does this internship pay?
ME: Yes, there is a small stipend and housing.
MOM: Is the housing free or do you have to pay for what they give you.
ME: It’s provided. They house interns in dorms or block of apartments they own or something like that.
MOM: And this is only for the summer?
ME: Yes, summer season are typically from Mid-May to Mid-August.
MOM: What are your plans after that?
ME: I gave you a list of 2014-2015 season internships. The theatre season starts in September and runs through May. I've told you all this before.
I don’t know. These conversations with my parents are tiring and I feel like they are rooting for me to fail. I don’t have it like them where I can find a job in my hometown. Sure there’s a community theatre, but how is that going to look on my resume verses an internship at a regional theatre? My father keeps questioning why I choose to do an internship verses finding a “real job.” I keep telling him that it is where I have to start if I want to break out into the professional world. Besides I could have done an internship when I wanted to a couple years ago, but my parents said no. There are tons of seniors in my class who interned during the summer in-between their junior and senior year, who are now ready to ASM or even SM at production companies. We’ll they held me back for too long. I do I tell them, that every time I talk about my future I feel like they are belittling me? That I want their support, not their opinion?