Contemporary American Theater Festival interns, apprentices look forward to far-reaching benefits from experience
SHEPHERDSTOWN — Long after the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) has ended its monthlong season in July, its impact can still be seen, especially in how it influences the career trajectories of its interns and apprentices.
This past season, CATF employed a total of 37 interns and three apprentices. A total of 575 young professionals have now completed the festival’s internship and apprenticeship program, which has led to many of them successfully pursuing professional careers in theater.
“It’s a good start into the industry of professional theater,” said Shepherd University contemporary theater studies major Avery Copenhaver, who served as a box office intern this past season. “After college, I want to move near Maryland and the D.C. area to get my foot in the door in the theater industry there. I feel like this internship has given me a lot of experience that will help me get bigger industry jobs.”
The Martinsburg native mentioned one of CATF’s interns in its 2023 season had found that his internship helped him to get a job at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. That evidence of success was one of the reasons Copenhaver chose to return for a second internship in a different area of the festival this year, after serving as a front of house intern in July 2023. He said he is considering applying for another CATF internship next year, which will be the summer before his senior year.
For Emerson College stage and production management major Nathan Hernandez, the decision to apply to be a stage management intern at CATF was encouraged by a professor of his.
“The stage manager of the show I’m working with is actually my stage management professor at Emerson. She pulled me and a few of my friends from Emerson along here with her,” Hernandez said, of “Enough to Let the Light In” stage manager Deb Acquavella. “Deb has a list of people that have gotten their first professional jobs from internships here, as well as internships elsewhere. So I definitely believe this will help me with my career.”
Texas State University public relations major Gabriela Garcia first heard about CATF from a friend in theater. In spite of changing her own major from theater to public relations with a minor in theater, she decided to apply for a box office internship at CATF, with the thought that it could give her the skills and connections needed to work as a theater’s public relations manager.
“CATF is really well known,” Garcia said. “I know of some costume designers who have interned here and have then gone on to work for Juilliard.”
New York University theater performance major Pierce Elliott had a more one-on-one learning experience with his internship, as he was the sole person selected for a development internship under CATF Director of Development Vicki Willman.
“I’m interested in working in live theater in some capacity, so this has been really helpful to give me that back-end administrative experience,” Elliott said. “I feel prepared to handle a lot of things in the theater industry, because of how rigorous this is. Vicki has been really good about understanding that I don’t know everything, as well as teaching me and giving me things to do. I’ve definitely gained a lot from this experience!”