Pillow Pages: Intern Life
A Day in the Life of a Jacob's Pillow Summer Intern
by Avery Ucker, Development Intern, Institutional Support
At the Pillow, a fleet of 32 interns work in every facet of the Pillow, from Production to the Archives, supervised and supported by the professional staff. It is a job that demands enormous passion and commitment, and moving at 100mph all day. The rewards are unquantifiable and unparalleled. Here is a peek into a day in the life of an intern.
We're up at 7am, perhaps to catch part of the morning Community Class, or to begin right away with the busy work day. We spend our mornings writing grants and doing research, focusing stage lights, coordinating artist and student arrivals to the Pillow from all over the world, or helping folks place their ticket orders in the Box Office. At lunch, we eat inside the cozy Stone Dining Room, or outside on one of many picnic tables near the Pillow Rock--a time to get to know the artists performing that week, the staff outside our departments, and the students of The School. Either one-on-one or in a group Lunch n' Learn, we have the opportunity to hear from resident experts. It is a rare and wonderful opportunity to be surrounded by as many teachers as you want.
The afternoon moves quickly, with departmental or inter-departmental meetings, and perhaps a check-in with supervisors to talk about how the internship is going. Suddenly, it's evening. Hundreds of patrons seem to arrive in a moment, for the free Inside/Out performance series, a PillowTalk, or to see a ticketed performance. It is time to shift gears, change into stage "blacks" to run a show, hop into a golf cart to help people access the Pillow's campus, pass out programs, or find out what has brought our patrons to the Pillow that night.
Later, the buzz of the evening winds down as visitors settle into the Pub to talk about the performance they have just seen or head to their cars to return home for the night. We retreat: perhaps to the office to wind up the day's loose ends; maybe into the Archives to research an artist or a work of interest; or to one of many hang-out spots, to socialize with other interns, students, artists and compare notes on the day.
The experience is huge, at times overwhelming, and at times incomparably joyful. The cumulative result of each of these marathon days is a sense of how arts administration actually works, and further, the ability to trust in our own instincts--all in the same program that exposes us to more phenomenal art in one summer than most people have the opportunity to see in a lifetime. As the summer winds down, we prepare to take with us dear friendships made during only a few months, along with memories of golf cart parades, never-ending workdays, and inevitable summer silliness. Our new skills sets and ignited passions propel us forward, as we transition from the Pillow to the next great adventure.
Click here to read the next Pillow Pages article: Member Spotlight
by Avery Ucker, Development Intern, Institutional Support
At the Pillow, a fleet of 32 interns work in every facet of the Pillow, from Production to the Archives, supervised and supported by the professional staff. It is a job that demands enormous passion and commitment, and moving at 100mph all day. The rewards are unquantifiable and unparalleled. Here is a peek into a day in the life of an intern.
We're up at 7am, perhaps to catch part of the morning Community Class, or to begin right away with the busy work day. We spend our mornings writing grants and doing research, focusing stage lights, coordinating artist and student arrivals to the Pillow from all over the world, or helping folks place their ticket orders in the Box Office. At lunch, we eat inside the cozy Stone Dining Room, or outside on one of many picnic tables near the Pillow Rock--a time to get to know the artists performing that week, the staff outside our departments, and the students of The School. Either one-on-one or in a group Lunch n' Learn, we have the opportunity to hear from resident experts. It is a rare and wonderful opportunity to be surrounded by as many teachers as you want.
The afternoon moves quickly, with departmental or inter-departmental meetings, and perhaps a check-in with supervisors to talk about how the internship is going. Suddenly, it's evening. Hundreds of patrons seem to arrive in a moment, for the free Inside/Out performance series, a PillowTalk, or to see a ticketed performance. It is time to shift gears, change into stage "blacks" to run a show, hop into a golf cart to help people access the Pillow's campus, pass out programs, or find out what has brought our patrons to the Pillow that night.
Later, the buzz of the evening winds down as visitors settle into the Pub to talk about the performance they have just seen or head to their cars to return home for the night. We retreat: perhaps to the office to wind up the day's loose ends; maybe into the Archives to research an artist or a work of interest; or to one of many hang-out spots, to socialize with other interns, students, artists and compare notes on the day.
The experience is huge, at times overwhelming, and at times incomparably joyful. The cumulative result of each of these marathon days is a sense of how arts administration actually works, and further, the ability to trust in our own instincts--all in the same program that exposes us to more phenomenal art in one summer than most people have the opportunity to see in a lifetime. As the summer winds down, we prepare to take with us dear friendships made during only a few months, along with memories of golf cart parades, never-ending workdays, and inevitable summer silliness. Our new skills sets and ignited passions propel us forward, as we transition from the Pillow to the next great adventure.
Click here to read the next Pillow Pages article: Member Spotlight