July is usually a weird month for me. It’s the midpoint of summer, so I’m basically ready to go back to school, but I also love the quintessential summer things that all seem to happen in July. My friends and I take trips to a local amusement park, to the pool and downtown to explore the fun parts of my hometown, Pittsburgh.

This summer, I’m doing things a little differently. I spent the first few weeks of summer at home, but right now I’m in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I’m spending most of July interning with The Performing Arts Project during their Summer Intensive. It’s a three week camp for young performers (high school and college age) taught by people who actually work in the many different facets of the industry.

The students take classes in dancing, acting and singing; I mainly do a lot of office work, but I also get to sit in on some of the master classes with the guest faculty members. It’s a great opportunity and I’ve already gotten to do so much and work with a lot of cool people.

I’m really learning a lot about what it means to work in production from the people that know how to do it and do it well. It’s a lot of work, but the experience I’m gaining is something that I’ll hopefully use in the future. This internship is really reinforcing my goals of working in the performing arts industry. I’m having a lot of fun here at TPAP and I’m excited to see how the next few weeks are going to go.

I’m also excited for the fall semester to begin. I’m ready to see all my friends, especially those whom I haven’t seen since winter break last year. I’m excited to start work again in the Edge office and to hang out in the Schuster Theatre. I think it’ll be interesting to revisit everywhere I used to hang out after spending a semester away.

It’s been (and hopefully will continue to be) a great summer! I hope to see some of you on campus in just a few weeks!

Talk to you soon,

Sarah