Name Jane Lawes
Age 22
Location London
Theatre and the arts has always been an area in which it can be difficult to get started on a career. This is especially true at the moment, and it seems that every other job advertised is actually an internship. At first, I found this very discouraging, especially because it seemed almost as hard to get an internship as it is to get a job!
After volunteering for the Old Vic New Voices and at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, I was lucky enough to be offered a two month communications internship at Oval House Theatre, Kennington. Most of the internship was focused on working with databases of press contacts and carrying out research into press opportunities for the theatre’s upcoming Autumn season, but Oval House is a company where there is always a lot going on and I had the chance to get involved with other things too.
One of the things I enjoyed most was helping with the summer school’s production. I was also able to attend an arts education event, which I found really interesting. This was a very useful opportunity for me because I’m hoping to go on to a career in arts education with a theatre or dance company.
I have always loved theatre and dance, and did performance studies at A Level. My degree is not performance related, though – it’s American literature with creative writing. When I graduated, I knew I wanted to be involved with theatre in some way, but I wasn’t really sure what kind of jobs were out there. The more I looked, the more I became drawn to arts education, and spending time working with the staff at Oval House has given me a good idea of how a theatre company works.
The staff there were all friendly and willing to talk to me about their work, so I was able to learn a lot about the kinds of productions and arts education projects that were going on. It was a great way to gain experience in arts administration and to learn more about the relationships between theatre and the press.
Now that I’ve finished, it’s back to the job hunt. I’m keen to stay involved with Oval House, and to volunteer at other theatres too. Voluntary work is a great way to get experience and meet people working in theatre. It also shows you’ve got enthusiasm. I thoroughly enjoyed my internship, and it’s given me interesting things to talk about in future interviews as I continue in my search for the Holy Grail of theatre in the recession: an actual, paying job.
