An Intern’s Perspective

Brissa Lopez (she/her) High School Drama Teacher Atlanta, GA, Metro Area

How have your internship experiences impacted your life (good and bad)?

I have interned at three top children’s theatres. I was a young first-generation college student excited to work in my field, determined to make ends meet. My low-income grandparents worked extra shifts to provide me with the resources to move to these cities and make a mark for myself. At the time, I thought to myself that I was lucky to be in the room. I ignored the snickers of other interns or employees of the theatre and told myself that I deserved to be there and I wasn’t a token. And I proved that time after time. I excelled in teaching and absorbed everything I heard and saw. I found a way to make ends meet despite not being properly compensated.

Looking back now, I realize how problematic their business model was. These theatres are bringing in interns to teach their summer camps, camps that bring revenue the theatre needs to survive. The labor of these interns is helping to pay the full-time employees and fund the theatre’s programming and shows. Yet their interns aren’t compensated enough to survive. Many have to take on second jobs and/or put their families in difficult financial situations to support them.

At my first internship, a prominent theatre encouraged us to apply for food stamps because they were aware that we wouldn’t be able to survive without them. I didn’t apply, but many of my peers did. I am certain it never crossed their mind the trauma associated with food stamps for their POC interns. At my next internship, the stipend went up, but they didn’t provide housing. The spring before my internship, I took an additional job to save money to be able to live and survive in that expensive city. After graduation, I moved to another city where I still didn’t make enough as an intern/fellow to pay my student loans. Not only did I have to take up an additional job to survive, but I had to ask permission from my theatre because they felt entitled to my time.

At each inter nship, there was a common theme of not having enough representation. I would advocate and try to bring solutions, and at two out of three internships, I became the problem. I was the intern who couldn’t be satisfied with the status quo and whose white male boss felt threatened by that.

What do you believe the future of internships should be for our industry?

Every person in the theatre industry deserves to be compensated at a livable wage. If a theatre cannot afford to adequately pay all of their employees, then they need to reassess their business model. And no theatre should feel entitled to their employees’ lives. Yes, theatre is our passion, but it is not healthy for it to be life-consuming.

How can companies better face the equity issue of internships?

If a theatre is relying on unpaid work to survive, they need to reassess their budget. Any other thoughts you would like to share?

I learned a lot at each theatre, and I’m thankful for the time I spent learning from so many great artists. It is time for theatres to invest in having adequate resources and support for their interns of color. Typically, they come from low-income households and have to jump through more hoops to be in the room and to stay in the room. Interns of color shouldn’t be taken advantage of or ridiculed for advocating for themselves. As an educator today, I believe in equipping my high school students to ask for what they need. It is our job in the education field to listen and to provide. I know these top children’s theatres believe in putting the needs of children first, but somewhere along the way they have forgotten that the interns they hire were children just a few years prior.

be identified. “Fortunately, the old-school way of treating interns (especially resident interns) with overwork and next to no pay is dying out and newer, better models are evolving.”

Internships: then and now

The concept of internships arguably can be traced back 4,000 years to ancient Egypt. Internships, or apprenticeships, as they are commonly called outside of the United States, were so important to society and commercial interactions that there are references to them in Hammurabi’s Code (circa 1792–1750 BC).

Greek philosopher Aristotle (apprentice to Plato, who was the apprentice of Socrates) wrote about the importance of techne and praxis, two key features of internships. Techne is about craftsmanship and the value of making or doing, as opposed to intellectual or academic understanding. Praxis is about combining practice with thoughtful reflection. This “‘learning-bydoing” methodology is the cornerstone of the continued value of internship opportunities.

In the United States, the practice of apprenticeship came over with the settlers. The concept of an unpaid internship was officially recognized in the 1940s by the U.S. Supreme Court, when the court ruled that railway workers who were members of a training program were not guaranteed pay. The subject went relatively undebated until the mid-2010s. Following a controversial 2013 lawsuit filed by a group of unpaid interns against Fox Searchlight Pictures, and a judgment referred to often as the “Black Swan” ruling, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) changed its formerly rigid six-criteria test to a more loosely applied, flexible seven-factor test to distinguish employees from interns.

The test is ultimately aimed at determining the “economic reality” of the intern–employer relationship and whether the internship is primarily for the educational benefit of the intern or the financial benefit of the employer (Read online at www.DOL. gov: “Fact Sheet #71”).

Although this is the standard reference for all employees, this seven-factor test technically only applies to for-profit companies, meaning it may not affect interns working for nonprofit theatres. The USDOL states that “unpaid internships for public sector and nonprofit charitable organizations, where the intern volunteers without expectation of compensation, are generally permissible.”

The bottom line from that: Those hoping to get internships need to understand that they can either be paid as an employee, and hours of work, and clear identification of unpaid or paid status and policies, such as those related to reimbursement or insurance coverage for workplace accidents and injuries.

In his survey response, Garry Lee Posey (he/him), founder and executive artistic director of the Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga (TN), underlined the importance of both intern and employer having a clear understanding of their agreement. Posey identified “actual opportunity vs. presumed opportunity” and “clarity of expectations” as what is most important.

Many theatre companies with intern- is important that the intern has an advisor actively involved and collaborating with the work being done.

Addressing inequity

The nature of the internship model –often offering no pay or a stipend – fosters systemic issues with equity and access. It can unintentionally create a socio-economic divide where students from more financially stable families or who are already benefiting from scholarship support are much more likely to feel secure enough to pursue an internship and thus are more likely to benefit by receiving future employment opportunities.

FROM THE AUTHOR OF Playwriting with Purpose

Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage A NEW BOOK PERFECT FOR INDIVIDUAL OR CLASSROOM STUDY!

Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage is the newest book from award-winning playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger, coauthored with Broadway Dramaturg Allison Horsley. It includes writing exercises, case studies, interviews, and more. "This book gives you courage to start writing and keep writing. It looks at adaptations from all angles, while prompting and nurturing your own unique approach. It's for the novice, the experienced, the student, the professor, and everyone in between." -Elena Araoz, Princeton University. Available now where ever books are sold.