When I first signed up to study abroad in Northampton England, I immediately had the idea to do an international internship to go towards my Arts Management major. I was mostly interested in finding a theatre due to my thorough experience in this art after spending 10 years in performing and technical areas. After countless hours searching on the internet, I was led to contact the Royal and Derngate Theatres and thus offered an internship position.

Upon my arrival, I started work at this very unique theatre as an intern to the marketing department and education department. This experience has truly let me use my skills that I have learned in previous Arts Management classes while developing new skills that I can only learn in an office environment, like the all important task of unj-amming the photocopier. Also the unique theatre environment has allowed me the experience of working in a more traditional non-profit theatre and a commercial theatre. The two theatres are managed together and host everything from the world premiere production of Paradise Lost in dramatic form to Broadway and West End tours like Grease and Taboo.

Along with valuable practical skills like writing press releases and copy for brochures, I have gained important communication and verbal skills. Despite England and the United States having the same official language, we truly do not speak the same language. Mostly I encountered accent barriers for instance mistaking 'donut' for 'doornut', yet the staff had a great humor and was patient and worked with me on understanding different enunciations and slangs.

In my time at working at the Royal and Derngate Theatre, I have come to appreciate all the effort and enthusiasm that must be put into marketing a show. Hours are spent researching productions and even more hours are spent contacting press, sending out direct mail, and dispatching posters in strategic locations around town. The people of the marketing department have been great teachers and examples of how to properly and effectively market a show. I have been privileged to intern at the theatre at a moment in time when the theatre is gaining national press coverage and preparing to undergo a major renovation in both theatre spaces. I am thankful for being able to contribute my talents if only for a small amount of time to this wonderful theatre group that is on the path to becoming a national fixture in the world of British theatre.