Potential employees are often told that they need previous experience to be in with a chance of getting on the theatrical job ladder, but that forces the catch 22 question, "if no one will employ me then where will I get experience?!"
An excellent way to get that much desired experience is through an Internship or Work Placement, and luckily at the RSC we have a successful and enriching Work Placement programme which is now recruiting for its Summer batch of interns.
The RSC Key decided to get the experience low down from one previous Marketing Intern, Matt Wernham, and here is what he had to say...
When did your internship with the RSC take place?
I was an Intern from September 2009 to July 2010
How old were you?
I was 20/21
At what stage of education/life would say you were at, at the time?
Well it was a bit of an odd gap, I was doing theatre work experience at a college as well as my internship at the RSC and working as a waiter so I suppose I would class it as a gap year although by that point I was in my 3rd gap year after leaving school.
Since completing the internship do you think it has directly influenced any advancement in your career in the theatre or a related industry?
I am now studying on the BA Acting course at Drama Centre London and I think it certainly helped in securing my place. Apart from it being an impressive and very professional looking credit on my CV the fact that it is in marketing, shows a willingness to experience other areas of theatre and understand the whole process of theatre making. I think there are plenty of actors out there who think that all theatre is about it going onstage every night and giving it your all for the audience, they don't see what it takes to get that audience into the theatre in the first place.
Has your involvement in the internship been directly remarked upon by any subsequent employers or professionals?
Yes people have picked it out on my CV and asked me about the experience. It’s a great thing to talk about in an interview.
What was your highlight of the internship?
The run up to Arabian Nights an exciting time, the print material was fantastic plus I kept hearing whispers about some of the amazing things that happened in the show. But more importantly 'The staging area' a spot in the office where you can help yourself to chocolate/cakes/biscuits, that was a fairly major highlight!
What was your strangest/most surreal moment?
My most surreal moment was when I was working on the trailer for Macbeth, and found myself standing in the car park behind the RSC waterside space trying to melt a dolls face.
What was your biggest surprise about working with the RSC?
My biggest surprise was how down to earth everyone was, I suppose I thought because it was the Royal Shakespeare Company, the office might be a bit stuffy or pretentious but it is absolutely the opposite. Its just a group of friendly and passionate people who really care about the work they do.
Are you up to the challenge? You can apply now http://www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/work/vacancies.aspx
Amelia, 19
Thank you to Matthew Wernham for his contribution to the RSC Key Blog.
