A Day in the Life: Production Interns of the Past and Present
Production Manager Josh Shack sits with Production Interns from years past
From left to right: Sam, Gunna, Rachael, LeeAnne, Jenna, and Monica.
Here at Circus Smirkus, there is no small job. Building a show from the ground up in a three week time frame and taking it on the road for seven weeks in not an easy task, and takes much planning, organization, and hard work. No one job is more or less important than another, because if we were missing any one position, this operation would not work. We are all a cog in a wheel in the well-oiled, magical, creative machine that is Smirkus. One of these positions that captured the hearts of 5 staff members and kept them coming back to Smrikus summer after summer is the Production Intern position.
This year, there are 5 past Production Interns on staff:
- Samantha Setayesh, Tent Crew (Production Intern 2010)
- Gunna Bergsveinsdottir, Tour Administration & Concession Assistant (Production Intern 2012)
- Rachael Schmitt, Concessionaire (Production Intern 2013)
- LeeAnne Brown, Lighting Technician (Production Intern 2014)
- Jenna Raithel, Stage Manager and Assistant Head Concessionaire (Production Intern 2015)
- Monica Johnson, the current Production Intern
While on tour, some responsibilities of the Production Intern are making sure the Troupers check their props before every show, and fixing any props that may have been broken. During shows, the Production Intern calls entrance cues backstage during the show, so the Troupers know when to go on for their acts. The Production Intern learns things about all aspects of tech, such as sound, lighting, props, costumes, and set building.
A common theme that all of the production interns have is that they were all interested in theatre at one point or another. Sam, Rachael, and Jenna all went to school for Stage Management, LeeAnne and Monica both also went to school for theatre, and Gunna has worked in the entertainment world most of her life. This position attracts creative professionals who want to learn new skills. What each of these interns have mentioned is that circus is a whole different world than theatre.
One aspect of Circus Smirkus that may be different from a traditional theatre setting is the fact that it tours. LeeAnne says, “It is very different from working in a theater where you set it all up and you have a show that lasts a month or more, and then you tear it down and you don’t think about it again. Here, it is very important that we have a system in place so that we can set it up and tear it down multiple times during the two and a half months that we are on tour. That was definitely something I had never experienced before.” Monica remembers during pre-tour (the three week period spent in Greensboro, where the show comes to life), “the whole idea of constructing props that would last a very long time is not something I have had to work with before. Having props be used constantly everyday for basically two months is a whole different type of 
process.”
The skills these individuals learned from their time as a Production Intern at Circus Smirkus are easily applicable to other facets of their life. Rachael believes that problem solving was the most valuable thing she learned as a Production Intern. Jenna says she, “has a heightened sense of personal responsibility. At Smirkus, everything is held to a higher expectation, so if somebody is not doing their job, it is going to be noticed.” Gunna had a similar experience. “That hard work element, and that aspect of working together towards a common goal, and challenging myself…alot of that has stuck with me.”
When asked why they come back to Smirkus, they all had the same answer: the community. On tour, you live with the people you work with, so a community is formed quite quickly. Gunna mentioned “A lot of people return, so it is nice to be around that family again every year, but it is always fun to meet the new people and personalities that this line of work brings in.” LeeAnne smiles and lovingly says, “We all have our jobs, but we work as a family and take that family down the road with us and we get to share what we built with the audience of New England and beyond.”
To join the Circus Smirkus family on tour, you can get your 2017 Big Top Tour tickets here!