Indirect Routes

Megan Jay gave a TEDtalk that I’m about to make required viewing for every singer in the program. It’s about the importance of one’s 20’s, that it’s not a throwaway decade, and that – even if you’re not sure what you want to do – it’s the time to explore, to invest in yourself.

If you’re a 20-something – heck, even if you’re a mumblemumble-something – check it out.

I’ve come across two promising articles that have made hairline cracks in my craggy artistic administrator’s heart.

This one, touting the skills learned in MFA studies as much as those in MBA studies made me smile. Even if realistically it’s years away, it’s still a turn in an interesting and gratifying direction. (I’m imagining all those suits signing up for drawing class or piano lessons – that’s a picture I could learn to love!)

And this one, touting the benefits of creative leadership over authoritative leadership, speaks the truth. (I know, because I’m fortunate to work for and with an amazingly creative leader.)

Maybe I’m just picking and choosing articles that resonate with me, regarding creativity and the workplace, but even if that’s true there seem to be many more of those articles than there were even a year ago.

Change is, indeed, good.

You’re a college student. You’re enrolled in a performance degree program, but are having some second thoughts – maybe your audition season was sparse on returns, maybe you’re trying to reconcile the hours alone in a practice room with your naturally gregarious nature, maybe your soul is Turandot but your larynx is Despina.

Question: What to do?

Answer: Try something else on for size. If you’re interested in the inner workings of arts non-profits, it’s a great time to get an internship. (Ours just happens to be ranked by BusinessWeek and the Princeton Review. We’re kind of a big deal.)

Here’s the thing, though: internships aren’t easy to get, and the best ones are not actually easy at all.

Internships are competitive. There are lots of basic articles about polishing your application materials (no stream of consciousness, please make sure that your cover letter is addressed to the company to whom you’re sending the materials, know what we might find if we google your name, etc.) As someone who pours through stacks of applications every spring, I can tell you that having clean materials and a specific voice is really important.I can also tell you that we really want to know who you are, because we need to know that you’ll fit into our wonderfully quirky family. (It’s a double-edged sword in the best way – because if we’re irritating to you during a 20-minute skype interview? Well, it’sa gonna be a loooong summer. For everyone.)

(Oh, and did I mention that we could’ve used you yesterday, so go ahead and take 5 minutes to get settled in and then we’re off to the races.)

Once you land one, chances are quite good that we’ll ask you to do something more than get us coffee. (We drink enough of the stuff that it’s usually close-at-hand-at-all times.) Your job duties may fluctuate between moving chairs, negotiating schedules between multiple artistic teams, and getting gussied up to talk with a board member or a major donor, sometimes all in one day.Our interns are part of our team, with the responsibilities, the long hours, the too-tired-to-function-so-we-get-the-giggles camaraderie that occupy our busy summers. We’re here to help – heck, many of us started as interns ourselves – but we’re not here to do your job. We need you, and we count on you.

Ready to get your hands dirty? Ready to learn something new that will keep you in the arts (without having to get in the woodshed nearly as often)? Here are the positions that we have open. Friday is the deadline – proofread before you hit send!

Ticket Services

Planning and Initiatives

Accounting

Information Services

Wolf Trap Opera Company
Technical Theatre
Costuming
Scenic/Prop Painting
Stage Management
Admininistrative
Directing

Programming and Production

Communications and Marketing
Photography
Marketing
Ad Sales/Group Sales
Graphic Design
Web Communications
Creative Copywriting
PR
Multimedia

Development
Special Events
Major Gifts
Annual Fund

Education

How loud is your inner censor? Mine has a megaphone and an amplifier system that he can turn up at-will. It’s annoying, mostly because he tends to use it when I’m trying to generate ideas.

Here’s the thing: you can’t create and critique at the same time. We’ve all been onstage, singing a 4 minute tune, and become mentally obsessed with the flub/crack/phlegm at 00:30. If you can’t put the censor, the critic back in the box, the whole song is a wash: if you can, your audience might just forget about the incident at 00:30.

The best ideas come when you’re in the shower, on the subway, when your thinking is less ordered, more nebulous.

This post from the NYT corroborates my point from a totally different industry. While the article is mostly about interviewing and Mr. Leong’s insatiable curiosity, it hits on a key point:

 I think there’s one rule of thumb in creativity: when you’re brainstorming, you have to suspend disbelief. That’s a key ingredient. There’s time enough to challenge it and poke holes, but not at the time of generation.

Suspending disbelief. Playing the “Yes. And…” game. Ideate without worrying about the outcome.

I think there’s another word for all that – I think the word is play.

Get out there and play, my friends. Happy Friday!