A word from our interns.
Each month, the interns of Opera NexGen reflect on their experiences and opportunities. Let’s take a look at what they have to say:
First up, Ryu (our Administration Intern):
“This fifth month at Opera NexGen has been a great learning experience. In general, learning comes as a part of any job, but in an internship, learning is the biggest aspect to gain experience for entry into future positions. For January, I learned about the disability community and their experiences in opera from our Accessibility in Opera panel and met with our guest speaker Sara Billmann. With both experiences this month, I was able to take away many things that I had not known.
First, there were many points from our Accessibility in Opera panel I was able to take away and learn from. This discussion panel was great for gaining insight from the disabled community and how opera can make itself more inclusive for them. Many of the discussions that took place I have not considered, so this insight opened my eyes to how opera can hold inclusivity and diversity. The panellists described ways for the disabled community to be included in opera and in-depth how inclusion contributes to accessibility in opera.
Also this month, I was able to meet Sara Billmann as our guest speaker. At Opera NexGen, guest speakers are great opportunities for me to learn more about the opera and arts field. Ms. Billmann was an inspiring speaker and helped me learn about the administration of the arts and the effects of marketing in general. I intend to pursue a career in information technology, and I was able to gain an insight into certain applications used in the opera field and how these applications help arts organizations achieve their goals.
I’m glad that I was able to take away and learn this month. Opera NexGen provides us with many growth opportunities and this month has helped me grow in the knowledge of how we can make opera more accessible for the disabled community and an open mindset to the solutions to concerns that are held in opera. The webinar hosted helped me make connections to Opera NexGen and offered great points for how we, as an organization, can also cater and improve accessibility. Our guest speaker was also a great opportunity for learning about the marketing involved with opera and how technology plays a large factor in productions. I’m ambitious to see my upcoming tasks and experiences for February and hope to continue to grow as an Administration Intern.
-Ryu”
Next, let’s hear from our production intern, Shaurik.
“So far, the journey has been great, I have also been able to attend more meetings with guest speakers and look forward to the final presentations on all the projects worked. Overall, these events have been very interesting and informative, just something which was fun to learn, and the ingenuity within the team has been commendable especially for the manner in which the Night Trip and other projects had been handled. In terms of current tasks, I have been assigned to Andre, and he was very proactive with me, clarifying on doubts and questions I had, especially for the new project (which was unfortunately cancelled), Orfeo.
I have been assigned a set of tasks in terms of researching the play and analyzing the distinct factor of Gluck’s Orfeo, which I am excited for! I look forward to also joining more staff meetings along with also just working more with other team members on actual production elements, and feel that I could work with more responsibilities as well. Currently I feel well-informed about the deadlines and the general direction of the project where Andre helped lay out deadlines and realistic projections, along with also just setting February meetings to just check-in with me as well.
As per my focus, right now would be to continue joining in on various meetings and just contributing as much as possible before the internship is over, along with also just assisting production members, in general. Consequently, the experience so far has been great, especially for the new projects I get to work with, along with the upcoming presentation of all the tasks worked on, my director has also been helpful, clarifying my questions and doubts along with keeping me posted on new tasks.
Additionally, I look forward in learning new things about singing and theater from singer vocals to conducting rehearsals, that I feel has been touched on heavily especially with the insightful webinars and the rehearsals, where I got to just see actual production in-motion. I look forward to continue contributing to this company, and will stay tuned through Slack and Gmail.
-Shaurik Mukhopadhyay”
We’re so happy to be working with such eager, bright interns! Stay tuned to hear what they’ll be taking on next.
