Nothing short of magic

By Jeremy Behrens ‘10 - Theatre Performance and Secondary English Education major

Today, I was a pirate searching for the Land of the Lost Mirrors with a group of 2^nd and 3^rd graders. Last week? I was showing a kid how to throw the perfect right hook and make it look convincing. What I’ll be doing tomorrow depends on the imagination of a child.

That’s because this summer I’m working as an educational programs intern at the Seattle Children’s Theatre in Seattle, Washington. As a theatre performance and secondary English education major, working at the second largest children’s theater in America is by far the best way I could spend my summer vacation.

Each day, I get to work with some of the most enthusiastic students and professional theatre artists to do something that is nothing short of, well, magic. For me, I leave work each day craving the next time I’ll be able to step into a classroom with a group of young performers and just play.

As an education intern, my primary job is assisting the SCT teaching artists in various summer classes for the SCT Drama School. This summer, I have assisted some of the most talented theatre artists in everything from creating and performing in original stories with a group of 3 and 4 year olds all the way to seeing a group of teens find their own truths in a play through intensive scene work. Each day, I get to watch as students who think they are merely playing are actually honing working skills in fine arts. Helping to teach classes like stage makeup, Shakespeare, physical comedy, improvisation, acting for the camera, as well as a bunch of other art-focused camps, is where the biggest chunk of my time goes while working at SCT.

In addition to working in a theatre classroom, I’ve been able to work hands-on with one of the many shows in the SCT Drama School Summer Season. Working as a liaison for “A Midsummer Night’s Macbeth,” an original play written by an ACT staff member, I get to experience the magic of watching a youth theatre production come to life in all of its glory. Primarily taking on a production role in this 100% student performed production, I have been able to learn a few things about being a performer from some incredibly gifted student actors.

One of 16 interns at SCT, I have had the great opportunity to help create, teach, and collaborate on some one-of-a-kind theatre for children. I have been able to learn as an artist along with my students, taking a few workshops and classes along the way also. With this experience, SCT has opened up a whole new world of possibilities to the bright-eyed, overly ambitious theatre and education major in me - a world that brings both my passions together into one of the most fulfilling and inspiring ways possible.