Show Posts
1
Employment / Guaranteed Summer Stock vs. Potential Internships
« on: Mar 12, 2016, 01:27 am »
Hello all! I'm in a majorly stressful, time-sensitive bind, and could really use some advice.
So I'm a sophomore in college who just got into stage management this year (but I've always been in love with theatre + planned on working in the theatre industry in some capacity, so I've got a solid knowledge base). I need something to do this summer to build my SM résumé, since it's currently pretty slim.
Here's my problem: I've been spending my entire spring break writing cover letters for internships this summer - some of them definite reaches, and some that my production management professor thinks I have a decent shot at getting. BUT I just got offered an ASM gig for a small regional theatre festival. It's a month of work, $300/week plus overtime, and housing is included. Which is all unquestionably awesome, but I worry that I won't learn very much, since the show is so small (cast of two people) and it would only occupy a month of my entire summer. And while I absolutely welcome every learning opportunity that comes my way, I can't help but wonder if I should be doing better. I have to take the job or decline it by Monday.
Now, I haven't applied for any of the internships yet, since they all have application deadlines in the coming weeks. I really don't know what my chances are like for getting any of them (plus many are unpaid with no housing), so I'm tempted to take the safe bet I currently have, take another academic year to build my overall theatre management/arts administration résumé, and then be really competitive for internships next summer (summer before senior year). But I don't want to miss out on the internship scene if that's something I *should* be doing right now. I don't know exactly what I want to do postgrad, but it will be something in the realm of arts admin, if that helps.
Wow that was a huge amount of context, but I guess my core question is: is it okay to take on some solid, but unprestigious paid work the summer before junior year OR should I really be trying to snag an awesome internship?
So I'm a sophomore in college who just got into stage management this year (but I've always been in love with theatre + planned on working in the theatre industry in some capacity, so I've got a solid knowledge base). I need something to do this summer to build my SM résumé, since it's currently pretty slim.
Here's my problem: I've been spending my entire spring break writing cover letters for internships this summer - some of them definite reaches, and some that my production management professor thinks I have a decent shot at getting. BUT I just got offered an ASM gig for a small regional theatre festival. It's a month of work, $300/week plus overtime, and housing is included. Which is all unquestionably awesome, but I worry that I won't learn very much, since the show is so small (cast of two people) and it would only occupy a month of my entire summer. And while I absolutely welcome every learning opportunity that comes my way, I can't help but wonder if I should be doing better. I have to take the job or decline it by Monday.
Now, I haven't applied for any of the internships yet, since they all have application deadlines in the coming weeks. I really don't know what my chances are like for getting any of them (plus many are unpaid with no housing), so I'm tempted to take the safe bet I currently have, take another academic year to build my overall theatre management/arts administration résumé, and then be really competitive for internships next summer (summer before senior year). But I don't want to miss out on the internship scene if that's something I *should* be doing right now. I don't know exactly what I want to do postgrad, but it will be something in the realm of arts admin, if that helps.
Wow that was a huge amount of context, but I guess my core question is: is it okay to take on some solid, but unprestigious paid work the summer before junior year OR should I really be trying to snag an awesome internship?
