Goodbye New York

            As the summer comes to a close, I would like to impart some final words of wisdom to anyone who will be interning in New York City. Living in New York was overall a very overwhelming experience and the following are a few words of advice to make the most of your experience.

            This first piece of advice was given to me before I left and proved very useful. As my old high school teacher put it, “never pay for anything.” What he meant by that was there are so many discounts available in the city, you should never settle for paying full price for something. I was able to attend about twenty on- and off-Broadway shows this summer and only paid full price for one of them. Even though New York is a very expensive place to live, there are a multitude of websites that provide good deals in return for signing up for a free membership. It is also a good idea to look for monetary help before you move. The Career Center at Dickinson offers grants to help students with unpaid or even low-income internships. This grant helped me deflect the costs of food, rent, and travel to and from work.

            On top of looking for all of the good deals, you should ask your coworkers about things to do in your free time. If they are from New York City or have been there a while, they probably know some cool places off the beaten path. New York has many well-known areas filled with tourists, which can get very crowded and annoying, especially when you work in midtown Manhattan right off of Times Square. Your coworkers probably feel the same way and know where to go to get away from all of the hustle and bustle. The city can seem overwhelming with all of the opportunities it presents, so use the people at your office to weed through those choices to find the most interesting (and cheapest) options.

            Another thing I realized one day while making my morning commute is that people in the city rarely look up. It’s really easy to get caught up in the New York swing of things and barrel down the sidewalk every morning with earphones in and your head down. It is important to remember that you are in a city with some pretty amazing sites that you probably pass by every day without noticing. If you just take the time to look up every once in a while, you will be reminded of how marvelous New York really is.  Just remember to keep walking while you’re looking up, or you might get trampled.

            I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog this summer, as I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you. I have been provided so many wonderful opportunities and I have learned a lot about where I want my career headed after college. I wish to thank Second Stage Theatre for providing me with this opportunity and allowing me to expand my network of contacts within the theatre industry. I would also like to thank Dickinson College for giving me the very generous grant as well as a helpful support staff to stay in contact with over the summer. 

Internship Advice

           Looking back over the past ten weeks, I have been thinking about what advice I would like to have known before I started my internship. I believe this advice can apply to any internship, not just theatre.

            My first piece of advice to someone starting an internship is not to be afraid to ask questions. When I first started, I assumed that I couldn’t do something if my supervisor hadn’t explicitly stated that I could. I didn’t realize that she was a very busy person and some things had just slipped her mind. Eventually I asked if it would be possible for me to experience other things outside of my specific department and I wound up going to some really neat and eye-opening events. I am very interested in lighting design and because I mentioned this to my supervisor, I was able to sit in on tech rehearsals with the lighting designer. I was also able to attend Equity Principle Auditions and see how the casting process works, which is something I had never experienced before. Don’t just assume that because a specific event is not within your specific department that you cannot tag along. I found that people in different departments are eager to show interns what they do, especially if they do not get an intern of their own.

            My second piece of advice is to listen to as much advice as possible. I feel that I have absorbed so much information in this relatively short period of time that it is almost too much to process. Everything I have learned is also very relevant to my career path. By just sitting at my desk and listening, I have learned a lot about what to do and what not to do when working in either a theatre or an office environment. For example, a staff member recently left Second Stage and my supervisor has been trying to fill the position. One day while she was reading through résumés and cover letters, she walked over to my desk and began ranting about what a person should never put on a resume. It was an impromptu crash-course on applying for jobs that will be very beneficial to me in the future even if I don’t wind up working in theatre. I have also learned a lot about phone etiquette and professional language from listening to different conversations held at the cubicles around me.

            Lastly, as your internship is nearing its end, it is a good idea to sit down with your supervisor and talk about what you need to do to wrap up. The worst thing that could happen to you is to leave something unfinished that was crucial to the company. If this happens, the only thing a supervisor will remember down the road is how much of a mess was left. This can be detrimental when it comes time for listing references on future job applications. As my supervisor put it, it is important to be indispensible while you’re there, but replaceable when you leave. You want your future reference to remember how much of an asset you were and not be bitter about your leaving. My last week at the office, I spoke to my supervisor because I was worried about getting all my projects done in time as the department was handing me more and more little assignments. We were able to prioritize everything, so that I could definitely finish the most important tasks. It turns out another intern was coming in that month and they needed an extra task for her anyway. By just talking to my supervisor and being honest with her, I was able to avoid overworking myself and leave the job without any resentment toward me.

Institutional Giving

A permanent home is essential to ensuring that Second Stage can continue putting on productions into the future. After a brief scare of losing its home a couple years ago, the theatre has decided to move to Broadway. It has purchased the Helen Hayes Theatre and plans to start productions there as early as 2013. This acquisition, of course, requires a large capital campaign to support it.

Over the past couple of weeks, the development office has had me researching corporations that have made a pledge to be philanthropic. I collect information on the process for applying for a grant from them as well as a list of their senior staff and board of directors. I compile all of this information into a one-page report and send it on to the manager of institutional giving to look over. From these reports they can decide which corporations we should ask for donations and how much we should ask for. There are many different kinds of grants to consider, spanning from donations to general operations or specific programs like education, to capital campaign donations. I feel that my work with institutional giving is very important because my recommendations have led to the discovery of some potential grants that the department did not know about previously.

            Institutional giving is very different from individual giving in its approach. Institutional giving is mostly grant writing, applications, and reports. Every application is different as well. The theatre has to shape its pitch so that it is aligned with the corporation’s giving interests. For example, many corporations are moving away from donating to arts and culture and moving instead towards sustainability and education. This, however, does not disqualify Second Stage from the process because the theatre has a very strong educational program. By focusing on these specific programs in our application, there is a higher chance that a company will be willing to donate money. 

            The donation process with corporations and foundations is also much more long term than individual giving because of the application procedure. This has made it harder to see exactly how much I am contributing to the department. While I most likely won’t see any of my work on corporations come to fruition during this internship because of its relatively short duration, I still believe that what I am doing will lead to something tangible down the road. 

Individual Giving

As the end of the fiscal year draws near for Second Stage, the Individual Giving department is working hard to bring in as many donations and subscription renewals as it can. I have spent much time over the past week working with Individual Giving staff to help them reach their goal. Most of this work has consisted of stuffing envelopes for the different mailing campaigns. The letters range anywhere from reminders to renew subscriptions, to solicitations to people who have never given the theatre any money but have seen a few shows there. I am also in charge of taking the returned mail and trying to find a new valid address for the person. We don’t want to lose any important leads, so it is vital that we contact everyone on our lists.

After the letters go out, the office follows up with the person over the phone a few weeks later. This is usually left up to the telefund workers that Second Stage hires, but my boss has given me a stack of leads to handle myself. I like making the phone calls because it gives me a chance to talk with the public and find out their feelings about the theatre. It is encouraging to hear all of the positive response. I have been a part of many telethons for political campaigns, so I was expecting a lot of negative feedback. People tend to hate someone calling them on the phone and asking them for money. This scenario is different, however, because people love Second Stage and are happy to help out. The people I called have also already given to the theatre at least once before, so it is not as difficult as cold calls. I wound up raising over $1,000 over two days, which was very rewarding.

Working in Individual Giving is a lot of the nitty gritty work. There is no set formula for bringing in money, so more innovation is needed every year to find new potential donors. There is also the added problem of the economy. When people face difficult economic times, the first thing they do is stop or decrease their yearly giving. It is a challenge to get people to donate to the theatre when they have fallen on tough economic times. I have spoken to many people who cannot give this year. The goal with those people is to stay in contact, so that they will give again when they are able. It is very important to never forget anyone who has supported the theatre. The most encouraging conversations I have had on the phone are with a couple people who really wanted to donate, but just didn’t have the money right then. They promised me that they would start saving and asked me to call back again in a month. It is nice to know how much people appreciate what the theatre does and helping out in this department has made me feel that I am a vital part of the theatre, even as just an intern.

Special Events

          This week I got the opportunity to learn more about how the special events department works. With the opening of the first show in Second Stage’s Summer Uptown Season came the opening night reception. I was enlisted to help all of the guests up to the theater on the third floor before the show and then collect tickets at the entrance to the party afterwards. It is important to make sure that only invited guests get into these parties because uninvited guests have the potential to create a disruption that could negatively reflect on the theater. The goal is to make sure that the guests enjoy the night and leave with the desire to stay connected to Second Stage. It is about keeping and creating relationships with friends and donors. Luckily I didn’t have to deal with any party crashers and I got to learn a lot about how to pull off an enjoyable event smoothly.

            I also got to interview Lee Ann Gullie, the manager of events and special projects. We discussed everything from how she got into special events to what her job entails and how to break into the industry. One of the most important things I learned is that there is not one path into event planning. For example, Lee Ann majored in neurobiology and behavior and now she is working in a theatre. While her science major seems very distant from what she does in at Second Stage, she was able to relate the skills she learned, like rote memorization, to the skills required for the job. Because she had to memorize so many formulas and diagrams, she is now very good at memorizing faces. According to Lee Ann, the most important qualities for a person in special events to possess are organization, to be detail-oriented, and to be personable. Fortunately, these traits can be learned from a multitude of majors and extracurricular activities.

            We also spoke extensively about the ups and downs to the job. This seems to be a very rewarding profession because one gets the chance to see one’s work come to fruition on a regular basis. Unlike other jobs, where a project could be in the works for years and never actually happen, event planning always has an end date, when the event will actually take place. Special events is a lot of little details that can only come together at the last minute, and seeing that moment, when the tables and lights are all set right before the guests arrive, is what Lee Ann loves most about her job. She also enjoys having the chance to work with so many interesting people from all different backgrounds, such as the board members. There are some downsides to the job, however. Event planning is definitely not a nine to five job. It entails a lot of late nights and Lee Ann and her assistant are often in the office later than anyone else. There is also the ever-present threat of something going wrong at the event and the blame landing on you. It is important to develop a thick skin and learn to deal with public embarrassment.

For me, the pros definitely seem to outweigh the cons in this profession. Not only does the special events team at Second Stage get to work with many different people and organize exciting events, but they also get the added satisfaction of being directly responsible for bringing in a significant amount of money for the theatre. They are often left with the burden of making up any deficits in fundraising and accomplishing that task is very rewarding because they can directly see how their efforts affect the longevity of the company. Overall, I have had a very rewarding and informative experience with the special events department this past week. 

What Is Development?

After four weeks of working at the office, I feel that I have a comfortable understanding of how the development department operates. While I can’t get into the specifics here, I will try to explain the different pieces. The office is split into three basic sections. The first part is institutional giving. This is the department in charge of corporate gifts, like those from Bloomberg L.P., The Walt Disney Company, and Time Warner Inc. The second part is individual giving. As the name suggests, this is the department in charge of donations from individual people. This spans people who donate $25 all the way up to a donation at the “Producers Club” level ($10,000) and beyond. The third part of the development team is special events. They are in charge of planning events that help bring in more donors and money. These events include anything from dinners with the cast and opening night receptions to the February corporate bowling night. All three sections work together to create a very effective development office that keeps the theatre running even through times of economic hardship.

            So far I’ve had the opportunity to work with each section. I’ve been working with the institutional giving department on creating a list of corporations that have pledged to be philanthropic, to see if there are any potential grants we could apply for. I have spent most of my time in individual giving stuffing envelopes for the end of fiscal year mailing. We are sending mailings out to many different strategically chosen demographics that have either given previously or have bought tickets to many shows at the theater. This is an important job because it has the potential to form relationships with new donors. I will be working with special events more in the upcoming weeks, but I have been able to help them out with some catch-up work from the events they had for “By The Way, Meet Vera Stark,” which closed last Sunday.

            Because the department has so many relationships with people and institutions in so many industries, I have had the opportunity to meet many interesting people. In one week, I had lunch with the director of sales and marketing at Planet Hollywood and met the set and sound designers for our current uptown show. This internship is allowing me to broaden my connections within the theatre community and at the same time expand my network to other industries (like the restaurant business). This is an amazing opportunity because it is opening the doors to potentially working in an industry I previously had no access to. Everyone I meet loves Second Stage and what it does, so just by my being an intern there, they already like me. It is great to feel so welcomed in a big city like New York.

            Over the next three weeks I will be interviewing the heads of each department within development. I plan to share what I learn here to give you a more in depth look into what goes into a successful development office. They never fail to keep the theatre afloat and that is a magnificent feat, especially with the way the economy has been the past couple of years. I leave you today with a quote from Neil Patrick Harris’s closing monologue at the 2011 Tony Awards. I feel that it sends a powerful message about how truly dedicated everyone in this industry is and how remarkable it is that a business that is the first to be threatened in bad economic times can continue to put on show after show without a hitch.

“And in the final analysis, what survives tonight?

Theater, because it’s what we live, we’re changing some lives tonight.

And theater thrives because we live to give it, so to speak.

This ain’t reality TV, this is eight shows a week.

Every chorus member that you saw tonight tappin’

Had to make miracles happen

For a chance to see you clappin’

And applauding in the audience. What’s next? Who knows?

                                          Anything goes. Now go see a… Broadway show.”

Some Words of Wisdom

After our weekly staff meeting on Wednesday, we had our first intern meeting. After discussing the nuts and bolts of the internship, we got the opportunity to hear from and interview Michael Mitnick, the playwright who wrote “Sex Lives of Our Parents,” the current production at Second Stage’s theater on 76^th street. He provided us interns with words of wisdom that can be applied not only to everyone involved in theatre, but also to anyone trying to excel in any business.

            Mr. Mitnick shared with us his recipe for success: luck, perseverance, and talent. While perseverance and talent are pretty straightforward, his definition of luck was quite different. Luck refers to being in the right place at the right time.  He named quite a few examples where he has gotten a job simply by striking up a conversation with someone. Contrary to popular belief, luck is not something that is completely out of our hands. A person can’t be in the right place if they don’t put themselves out there. The running belief in the theatre is that you should go out six nights a week. It is not enough to simply go see the shows and remark that you enjoyed them in an interview or cover letter. Personal relationships are very important and give you an automatic leg up. The specific example given in the meeting was to go to the bars the people involved in the production frequent. Strike up a conversation with someone and do not just talk about the show. Although many of these people are household names, they are still real people who enjoy talking about things besides their careers. If you are looking to break into the theatre business, chances are that these people have many similar interests as you.

Although I, being under 21, cannot connect with people at bars, I have already put this advice to good use. I recently saw a production called “H4” in a tiny off-off-Broadway theater. As I was reading through the playbill, I noticed that one of the supporting actors had also been in the on- and off-Broadway production of “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson.” I happen to have a friend obsessed with that show. I was never able to see it, but I love the soundtrack, so I figured I would find this guy after the show to get his autograph. When he exited the theater, there was no one around him, as not many people care about supporting roles in off-off Broadway performances. I had no problem getting to him to ask him to sign my playbill. He also agreed to give me his autograph for my friend. He even took the time to write her a note. That is when we got to talking about what she and I do. I explained how she and I both attend Dickinson College and she is a theatre major interested in directing and design. I also explained my interest in lighting design and how I’m currently interning in development at Second Stage. He said that was interesting because he has a theatre company that it is always looking for new people. Without even realizing it, I had just made a new relationship with someone in the business. He gave me his card and invited me to come see their next show. If you look at the “luck” ingredient from a statistical point of view, the more places you go, the more likely it is that you will wind up in the “right place.” 

The other interesting subject that Mr. Mitnick discussed with us was how the theatre business is not as cutthroat as some people think. He said that we will “rise with our friends” and that we don’t have to compete with them. He gave us the example of a guy applying to write a score for a musical who enlisted his friends to help. Although the theater did not think his score would work for the show, they were extremely interested in the voice on the track. This allowed the friend who helped him to get a leg up. As she rose in the business, she could then enlist his help on a project, bringing him up with her. This was an interesting way to look at theatre because we often believe that we need to beat out our friends for the good positions. Mitnick proposed that we should instead focus on forming good relationships to help each other out down the road.

            I will leave you today with a quote from actress Helen Hayes that reflects the message shared by Mr. Mitnick: “If you rest, you rust.”  

An Introduction

          Since ninth grade I have been very involved in all of the technical aspects of putting a play on stage. The majority of the discussions that take place among the technical team have some mention of the financial restrictions that the plan faces. Throughout high school I just took the amount of money allotted to us as a given and never questioned where the budget came from. I was simply told that we could only buy the cheapest wood or that we would have to find a specific prop at home because we could not afford to buy one. This continued into college, where we often have to make different artistic decisions because the original option would be too expensive. But once I became an economics major at Dickinson College, I grew much more interested in the business side of theatre and what has to happen to allow any art to be presented on stage.

So I decided to dedicate this summer to finding out how professional theaters make their money. This blog is designed to take the reader on a detailed journey of the lesser-known business side of theater; to go behind the bright lights, complicated sets, and big name actors and look at what has to happen before any actor can step foot on stage, any lights can be hung, or a play can even be selected. The people I work with in the development office at Second Stage Theatre are the backbone of the organization. Second Stage is a non-profit theater and ticket sales alone cannot sustain the program. Fundraising is needed to make up the difference, which is why the development office is so crucial. They receive very little credit for what they achieve, except for the very small administrative listing in the bottom right-hand corner on one page of the playbill. Yet without them, there would be no Second Stage.

            I was drawn to Second Stage because of its unique mission in the off-Broadway community. Not only is it not-for-profit, but it also puts the majority of its resources into the creative process as opposed to the finished product. This makes my internship even more rewarding because the staff makes sure that I experience more facets of the business than just development. I am not running to get coffee for people or doing menial jobs no one else wants to do. Instead I feel that I am actually contributing to the development team. For example, I have been working on the fiscal year-end mailing campaign and compiling a database of corporations known for philanthropy. This database has been very beneficial to development because it is a list of corporations that might be a good resource for the theatre to reach out to for financial support.

            I have also had the opportunity to take part in events outside of development. I have attended two new play readings, a meet and greet for the upcoming shows, an invited dress rehearsal, and a walk-through of a potential event space. One of the most exciting experiences was the first read-through of our upcoming play, “All New People,” by Zach Braff. Not only did I get to meet Braff (“Scrubs”) and Justin Bartha (“The Hangover”), but it will also allow me to continue to see this play all the way through to the final product. I had already read one of the earlier versions of the script. At the event, I also introduced myself to the lighting designer, who invited me to a tech rehearsal. All together, I will get to go from raising money for the theatre through script revisions and tech to the invited dress at the end of June. Seeing the whole process will really help me to understand how all of the different departments come together to make a production happen.

I invite you to join me on my ten-week summer journey into New York City’s off-Broadway scene and learn about the lesser known, but equally as important, side of the business.