Student Blog: Summer Internship Wrap-Up

Hello again! So happy you’re here :)

If you have been following my blogs this summer, you probably know that I worked at a regional Broadway organization these past four months as a Marketing Intern! I worked at Broadway Grand Rapids in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where my roles and responsibilities mainly consisted of creating and scheduling social media content, devising social plans for tours coming through, and general tasks around the office. It was the most incredible experience where I worked alongside amazing people, found the best mentors, and really learned the value of non-profits within a community. In this post, I will be recapping my internship, sharing some of my takeaways, and giving advice on finding a theater internship of your own!

Some of my internship highlights:

• I saw 2 Broadway National tours! (Wicked and MJ)
• I got to attend a variety of community events, such as small business grand openings, local community theatre showcases, and restaurant fundraisers.
• I attended the MJ cast party and met Roman Banks (who played MJ)!
• I got to meet and speak with Steve Quinn, the Wicked National Tour company manager!
• I became familiar with a variety of social media tools, such as Meta Business Suite, CapCut, Canva, and more.

Those are just a few of my favorite and most notable things that I got to do this summer! Working for a professional theatre organization AS a theatre lover was such a surreal experience. Our office walls were covered with signed show posters, Broadway soundtracks played through the speakers, and over lunch we would talk about our favorite (and least favorite) musicals. I seriously don’t think any work environment will top it.

Some of my internship takeaways:

• Try new things!! This internship really challenged me in that it forced me out of my comfort zone more than a few times. I am not very active on my personal social media, so posting consistently and posting effectively took some getting used to, but the skills I learned in doing so will make me a better marketing professional in the long run!
• Networking is key. There were countless events that I attended where there were many high-up, successful people to talk to and interact with. I quickly realized it was vital to take advantage of these opportunities and introduce myself. It’s a good idea to start building your network as early as possible, and as college students, we are in the perfect position to meet anyone and everyone, because most of us are completely unsure what we want to do in our future careers. My biggest piece of advice that you can do RIGHT NOW? Make a LinkedIn profile and add 10 connections right away. Then, as you meet more people and have more experiences, you can keep track of it all right there.
• There is SO MUCH happening behind the scenes. Do you have any idea what it takes to set up a Broadway National Tour set? Or the amount of work and budgeting that goes into the marketing and business plans in every single city they visit? While I still don’t have all the knowledge, I did get to see a few things, and it really opened my eyes to how many people are actually involved in these shows that aren’t on-stage, and aren’t even in the same city as the performance!

My advice on finding theatre internships:

• You can do what I did, and just cold email the organization you want to work for! I quite literally went on Broadway Grand Rapids’ website, found their marketing director’s email, and sent her a letter of interest introducing myself and saying I was looking for a summer internship! In your email make sure you include some background information about yourself (such as your school, year, major) and your contact information. Be polite and direct - it doesn’t need to be very drawn out!
• LinkedIn is also one of my favorite places to search for internships. You can use keywords (theatre + summer + internship + [your location]) to find opportunities that are more suited towards you.

There it is! My summer internship wrap-up. I hope this was helpful, and that it inspires you to go out there and get that job! Best of luck in your search, I promise everything works out and what is meant to be will be :) 

Peace and love,

Natalie

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