Internship @ MOSAIC THEATRE (Week 3)

Hey there again,

So it's been three long weeks at the Mosaic Theater, but they have been so wonderful. I've truly learned so much and have been inspired to even one day maybe hold up my own theater company...maybe :).

This third week was great because my boss told me that I was doing an incredible job and they now started asking me about my acting experience and if I would ever be interested in acting for them. This is the opportunity of a lifetime as this exactly where I was hoping to go with this Internship.

So we spoke about me as an actress, what my talents are, where my strengths and weaknesses are, and what roles I would be interested in. Finally, I gave him my head-shots and resume and he put me on the list for the actors/actresses to be called to come in an audition. He explained that they hold a huge open audition first, so they can see all the options for actors/actresses before the season commences, then they host call backs during the season for different roles.

I'm so very excited to come audition for them and to be part of the one of their many great plays. A lot of people come to watch these plays, especially important directors, producers, writers, etc. This could maybe be my break...

Anyway, another exciting thing that happened this week was that I finally got to sit in and watch The Edge of Our Bodies, their 5th and last play of their 11th Season, starring Lexi Langs.

Watching this play was bittersweet to be honest. The play, set, context, is beyond incredible. It's a very tragic, emotional, and inspiring story. I definitely would recommend it to anyone who has time to watch the play, especially young women as it is a coming of age play. Lexi did such a GREAT job. She was spot on and even had me crying towards the end of the show, but I felt so jealous. Not in a bad way, I just know I could have played that part so brilliantly as well. I found myself really connecting with the character and the story. So in a way it's really good I got to watch the play and experience these emotions because it inspired me so much more to start getting myself out there because I could land roles like this if I push myself hard enough.

Besides these two events though, the week was good. A lot of filing and organizing had to take place. I also helped my boss, Jon, prepare for next season's promotions.

The thing about working for a theater is that your working in the name of art sort of. I've found myself talking about the plays to people back in Boca, encouraging them to come see the plays as it's such a wonderful emotional experience.

Working for Mosaic Theater truly is working for a bigger cause...

I love it.

Keep reading for more of my weeks at Mosaic Theater, and if you're around... COME SEE THE PLAY!! This weekend is our last weekend.

If interested, call for tickets or more information to:

(954) 57 STAGE

or go online to mosaictheatre.com


Happy Acting,
Gracias

    

Internship @ MOSAIC THEATRE (Week 2)

Hey!

So my second week at Mosaic Theatre was a lot more fun! I'm starting to get use to everything and since I now know most of the things I need to do and I've been properly trained, I've been given a lot more responsibilities this past week. They are trusting me with Box Office duties, Usher and House Manager duties, as well as office duties. Mondays' and Wednesdays' I handle the basic office duties of answering the phones, taking subscriptions and ticket orders, updating the systems and files on the computers, running the credit card payments, and preparing mailing packages for other companies and possible sponsors. These office duties, though seemingly easy, require a lot of organization and handling different responsibilities and the same time.

MULTITASKING! :)

I've therefore learned a lot about organizing myself and about the importance of having everything filed and on record. Everything requires to be kept on track and easily found. I now understand that for a Theatre company to run successfully, the administrative office must be prepared for everything. COPIES AND FILES ARE ESSENTIAL!! Plus, it's become extremely evident that a successful company runs on paper copies, not solely on computers as they run the risk of crashing.


Anyway, Thursdays' through Sundays' I run the Box Office and i'm House Manager. These two jobs require a lot of responsibility too, but more so, they require a lot of confidence and personality when dealing with customers who come to see the play and expect the theatre to be working as expected.

I deal with a lot of different people, especially elders who could tend to look down on me because of my age, but I personally think that with my organization, personality and maturity, I make them feel very welcomed and I'm able to answer all of their questions.

As the saying goes, "The customer is always right!". With this, I know that in the event of an unsatisfied customer, my boss instructed me to give them what they want, be polite, but to also remind them, for future events, about the policies of the company. I would have not really thought that that's the way to deal with a problem, but as my boss, Richard, has taught me, it keeps customers coming back.

Nevertheless, these are the main things I learned last week from my Internship and I can only wait and hope that next week I learn even more.

For now, I really am enjoying the experience.

Check in for more updates and posts…

Happy Acting,
Gracias

        

Internship @ MOSAIC THEATRE (Week 1)

Hey!
So, during this summer, I will be interning at a non-profit theatre company in Plantation, FL called MOSAIC THEATRE.


(HERE'S THE THEATRE'S WEBSITE)


http://www.mosaictheatre.com/


The theatre's Executive/Artistic Director, my boss, is Richard Jay Simon, and the Associate Director, my other boss, is Jon Saldivar; with the collaboration of a great casts and crews, both have turned Mosaic Theatre into one of the most entertaining and professional theatre company's in the state of Florida. So naturally, I was very nervous at first to join the team as I knew little of what I would be doing. I signed up for an acting internship, but I knew I would need to work my way up in the company and begin with the little jobs.

The office needed a third hand dealing with SUBSCRIBERS and TICKET RESERVATION CALLS, so they started me off with that. I learned to pick up the phones and fill out the information the customer would tell me over the phone, on the correct form. They also started me on helping organizing the chairs in the theatre and driving around Fort Lauderdale, with a list of locations, placing flyers in different businesses to help spread the word about their fifth and final show of the season, The Edge of Our Bodies, starring Lexi Langs.

Therefore, the first few days of the first week were overwhelming but nice as I had a lot to learn, and quick, but Richard and Jon were more than nice and happy to show me the ropes. Nevertheless, apparently I did a nice job those first few days and really impressed them when they asked to take over the nights shifts as BOX OFFICE for the duration of the play.
I obviously said yes as I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to get closer to the real deal.

For the rest of that first week, I attended the nights shifts and basically shadowed the current BOX OFFICE director, surprisingly Mrs. Simon, so that I could learn how to run it on my own.

I'm not gonna lie, it's a bit tough having to work during the night and have work everyday of the week and weekend, except tuesdays, but it's already starting to become such a great experience. As BOX OFFICE operator, I'm learning so much about the little things that people didn't know about running a theatre. I'm learning about the importance of starting the shows on time and the importance of dealing with customers and arranging their tickets and seats. I even learn about the ushers and how they help keep order in the theatre itself. I have to keep track of who's seats are who's, make sure they've paid and if not then charge them, make sure to inform them about future events and remembering to subscribe for the following season, making sure the paper work is filed correctly and goes through smoothly, and mainly working with crowds…of old people as well…who can't really hear much haha. It all requires a lot of patience I guess.

Working at a theatre is about organization, all with a greater cause… ART!! THE ART OF ACTING!!

I can successfully say that I really enjoyed my first week working at Mosaic Theatre.
Hopefully this following week 2 will have more positive things in store for me :).

I definitely recommend to all other aspiring actors/actress to Intern for a theatre company and learn about the backbone of the theatre and the play. Plus, you get to meet a lot of important people and isn't acting all about being in the right place at the right time? ;)


Happy Acting
Gracias

How to start off your acting career? (Step 5: Social Media)

Okei, so the last and final step in How to start off your acting career? is social media.
Basically, social media is you way of putting yourself out there so that others can hear more and more about you and get to know you as well. It's putting an image and personality on the name.

You will need to get accounts on all the major social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Blogger, etc. Careful! Make sure these accounts are mainly about you and as an actor/actress. If they're personal accounts, like a Facebook personal account, you might want to double check that there are no pictures, videos or posts that can damage your image. Best case scenario… make a different one for your acting career. Learn to separate your career from your life.

I, for example, have the following accounts…

 -  Twitter Account: http://twitter.com/#!/nmarquez20091

 -    Facebook Account: Natalia Márquez

 -    StumbleUpon: Posted my resume.

 -  Tumblr: http://natamarquez.tumblr.com/

So there we go! THERE'S YOUR 5 STEP BUSINESS PLAN TO STARTING OFF YOUR CAREER.

I hope you learned and got some great pointers. You are now 5 steps closer to that Oscar haha.

LOADS of more posts to come,






Happy Acting