Current student at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, Colette worked at The Gateway Playhouse in Long Island, NY backstage working with costumes and I got a chance to interview her about her job to see what the experience was like.

MV: What is your job?
CG: My job there was to run wardrobe backstage of a show at the theater.

MV: What were the difficulties in being hired?
CG: There really were no difficulties for me because they needed someone to handle costumes, so I volunteered to help. But, I could see it being an extremely difficult field to be hired in, I was lucky they needed my help.

MV: What did your work consist of on a daily basis?
CG: My work consisted of making sure the actors had each garment of clothing for every performance. If something didn’t work on stage I would find something else that would go with the rest of the show as a whole. There always needed to be unity with the costumes because without that a show does not have the same effect on an audience, and does not run as smoothly.

MV: Exactly what do you think are the benefits of being an intern?
CG: From working with such a wide variety of talented people, the benefits are you get to learn a great deal of things and do a lot of hands-on work at the same time. Also, you can make wonderful, life-long connections with people with a similar interest as you.

What is some advice you could give to someone looking to be hired as an intern?
CG: I learned it is important to take advantage of the professionals around you. Ask questions, and do as much as you can. Also, it is really wonderful to try to go far and beyond what they ask of you because you never know who’s around that will eventually hire you full time and remember you in the long run.

MV: What are your inspirations that pushed you to learn about this field?
CG: I have been acting for a really long time and I wanted to learn about another area in the same field to make me more well-rounded as an actor. I hoped that by interning I would be able to understand theater as a whole and not just acting.I found that it made me a better worker because I was able to see a portion of the backstage work that is necessary for a production.

MV: Thank you, Colette!