|
SENIOR ENTERS A NEW “STAGE” AS AN INTERN
AT A PHILADELPHIA-AREA THEATER COMPANY
Emily Taber ’07 has been in the spotlight—as
a high school student in Arlington, Mass., she appeared in several
plays. But she also discovered a talent for behind-the-scenes artistry
as a stage manager and set constructor for the school musicals.
Taber’s backstage background comes in handy
at People’s Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, Pa., where
she currently interns courtesy of the Hurford Humanities Center.
Each month, Taber dabbles in a different department at the 31-year-old
theater, which, unlike other area performance venues, runs shows
throughout the summer.
In June, Taber worked in production, assisting the
properties manager with finding and assembling props for People’s
Light’s current production of Larry Shue’s The Foreigner.
“I can point to specific things on the set,” she says,
“and think, ‘I’m responsible for that.’”
A pivotal scene, for instance, involves a bowl of apples, each with
a bite missing; Taber carved those apples out of foam.
She’s presently assigned to the education department,
helping out with the theater’s Summerstage program for children
in fourth through eighth grades. Taber is involved in staff training
and brainstorming lesson plans that follow this year’s theme
of “myths;” at the end of the summer, students will
write and perform the story of an original myth. Taber also sits
in on sample classes.
She’s impressed by the theater’s devotion
to education. “Twenty percent of its budget goes towards Summerstage
and the Family Series,” she says, “as well as Project
Discovery, which brings high school students to see shows.”
People’s Light also sends teachers to area schools that don’t
have drama or arts programs.
In August, Taber will join the dramaturgy office,
and will help the resident dramaturg prepare for the first two shows
of the 2006-2007 season: Molière’s The Imaginary
Invalid and Willy Holtzman’s Something You Did,
a new work about a woman jailed for a protest-related bombing in
the 1970s who comes up for parole. “The play examines the
role of radical ‘70s activism in today’s world,”
says Taber, who will draw up a timeline of events so the actors
can distinguish between flashbacks and present-day occurrences.
“This internship has been challenging because
I’ve never done anything like this before,” says Taber,
an English major with a Spanish minor who is considering various
career paths. “This experience has been rewarding, but a return
to the theater may be something I’ll save for later.”
— Brenna McBride
|
