IMC's Chelsea Rein Gains Professional Experience Abroad in the London Theater Scene

Chelsea Rein’13, an IMC major with a minor in theater studies, interned at The Orange Tree Theatre, a distinguished theater in the round at its location of Richmond upon the Thames in London, England, during the spring of 2012. The Orange Tree Theatre is committed to making live theater accessible, produced to a consistently high standard. The theater specializes in bringing new and provocative plays to patrons while keeping its mission statement of performing work by new playwrights. The Orange Tree Theatre brings Shakespeare programs to children in Richmond, as well as to other local boroughs, and facilitates workshops for actors and drama students.

As in intern at the Orange Tree Theatre, Chelsea was assigned to assist the fundraising, literary and event planning departments. She reported to the office manager and casting director in the Orange Tree’s office where her tasks varied on a daily basis. Chelsea was responsible for organizing fundraising events, speaking to local businesses about being financial backers for programs and facilitating fundraising efforts. She also participated in Children Shakespeare workshops where she created documents for the instructors to use during the workshops.

Another part of Chelsea’s internship was to assist in editing and submitting script reports. New playwrights would send scripts to the theater where Chelsea would read them and decide if they were appropriate for the Orange Tree to produce and perform. Once a script was deemed suitable, it would be passed along to the artistic director who would choose the final work to be performed in the theater’s upcoming seasons. Chelsea was able to access the artistic community during her internship, and she was able to meet working actors and directors in the London area.

Chelsea said, “I was able to learn much from my internship in London, not only the internship experience itself but also the experience of having an internship abroad. I was able to pursue my passions of both IMC and theater and apply those to bringing more patrons into the theater to enjoy new works. I loved interning in London, and I look forward to the future when I can possibly work overseas again.”

For more information on the Orange Tree Theatre, log onto http://www.orangetreetheatre.co.uk/

Contributed by Chelsea Rein.