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Creating Student Internship Opportunities with Cooperative Drama

By Mike Steele 

Mike Steele has been writing and directing as far back as he can remember.  He spent the bulk of his teenage years performing in school and community theatre productions and continued to act through college while he completed a BS in elementary education and sociology.  Mike directs school and community theatre productions and teaches cooperative drama workshops, a process in which he incorporates writing into the creative process. 

Cast or crew?  The decision can be difficult for student artists who may not entirely know where their interests and talents lie.  Chances are, you have student performers who want to learn more about the behind-the-scenes aspects of production — students who may aspire to study some aspect of the performing arts in college or students who might want to become the next you and direct school or community theater productions.  I try to create opportunities for individual students who want to both perform and hold production responsibilities at the same time.

In a previous article, I discussed several whole cast activities I utilize in my Cooperative Drama program to promote trust amongst student performers.  In addition, I also create exclusive internship opportunities for select student performers who express a deep interest in the performing arts.  As these students take on leadership roles within a production, their fellow cast mates learn to depend on them, and trust throughout the whole cast grows stronger.

Below are descriptions of a few of the Cooperative Drama internships I have offered to individual students through the years...

Director Intern.  The most coveted of all the internship positions is always the director intern, reserved for one or two students who have participated in several theatrical productions and have demonstrated leadership capabilities in the past.  Not to be confused with typical “student director” responsibilities like writing down blocking or taking attendance, this position allows students to insert their own directive authority on certain aspects of the production.  I meet with these students frequently before and during the rehearsal process where we agree upon an overall vision for the show and then break down the types of costumes, props, and set pieces that might best serve this vision.  I invite these students to all production staff meetings where they can contribute their own input and ideas.  I also allow these students to block five to ten minutes of the play midway through the blocking process.  I spend several rehearsals modeling how I organize my blocking in the script and provide my own rationale for when, why, and how characters move across the stage.  I then assign the director interns the task of preparing their own blocking for several pages of the script.  Once I have approved the blocking, I allow the director interns the opportunity to command a rehearsal.  It’s not only incredible to watch these students take charge, but to see their classmates respect and trust direction from their peers.

Choreographer Intern.  This position is reserved for a student with several years of dance experience in a musical production.  The choreographer intern shadows the choreographer at all rehearsals.  The two also meet frequently to discuss what styles of dance are appropriate for the show, how to feature a variety of students with different dance skills and abilities, and how costumes, props, and set pieces must be constructed or modified to best showcase choreography.  Like the director intern, this student attends production staff meetings and has the opportunity to collaborate with the group.

Producer Intern.  For a student with strong organizational skills, this position works with the producer to experience the million and one things a producer handles throughout a production.  A large portion of the work takes place before auditions.  From securing a play’s rights to booking rehearsal and performance spaces to setting a budget, this student has the opportunity to assist with all the logistical planning that goes into making a production possible.  The work doesn’t end once rehearsals begin, either.  The producer intern attends all production staff meeting and assists the producer during those unexpected crises that always seem to pop up.  When you need an extra $100 to fix the broken light board during tech week, you’ll have an extra mind helping you figure out where and how to adjust the budget.

Internship possibilities are endless and can be completely tailored to meet your own needs and the interests of your students and staff.  In the past, I’ve paired students interested in design with my costume and set designers.  I’ve set up student musicians to work with the music teacher to write original music for scene changes and curtain calls.  I’ve even partnered with students to write original plays.  Any opportunity to take on an additional responsibility can be an incredible learning experience for your students.

I’ll admit, giving up some creative control can be very difficult.  As teachers and directors, we’re used to being in charge.  To avoid potential conflicts amongst students, it’s important to set some ground rules so that everyone involved in the production knows what to expect.  When is it appropriate for your interns to offer input to other students?  Who has final authority if interns have conflicting ideas?  It all depends on your own comfort levels on these issues.

You’ll also want to determine how you select interns.  I always limited these opportunities to upperclassmen with previous school play experience, and asked interested students to submit an application and personal statement for the production staff to review.  For a fall play, I selected students towards the end of the previous school year so we could hit the ground running in September.  For spring semester, I go into winter break with my interns already in place.

Creating student internships is a lot of additional work for you and your staff, but the end result is well worth it when you see trust and respect strengthen throughout your entire cast of student performers.