Week #4, Getting to Know Your Colleagues (Post 2)

Hey All,

I just finished my 4^th week at CONAN and it has been so fun and such a great learning experience.  As I have mentioned before I am a production intern so I really get to engage with every department of the show, which is great since I am interested in so many different areas of production. 

So far the most mentorship I have received is from my fellow interns, which includes the spring and fall interns who have been training all the summer newbies. They really showed me the ropes including which staff members arrive first to the office, where to seek work when you have downtime, and how to approach staff members when you want career advice.  One of my fellow interns, who just left the show, was very good at this and he approached many staff members including producers and writers asking them if he could set up a 15 minute meeting to pick their brain.  My boss also mentioned that he would be able to help us set up meetings with staff members this summer so we can get some mentorship in an area we are interested in. 

There is also a lot of informal internship that takes place at the show.  Each day at rehearsal we get to watch Conan practice his monologue, test out skits, air remotes, etc.  Before rehearsal one day the Stage Manager, Steve, let us ask him some questions.  He told us about how he started out working for a small production company and gave some advice about what kind of experiences you should have if you are interested in working as a stage manager. He suggested working at a theatre company in order to grasp all of theatre jargon like where upstage is.  

Also, I was fortunate to meet with my Michigan mentor, Brittany, last week over dinner.  She was so helpful and answered so many of my questions about the entertainment industry that I could never learn from reading a textbook.   Among other things, she eased my anxiety about not knowing exactly what I wanted to do in television and ensured me to pursue anything that interested me.  She also offered to help me solve any problems I might face at work, such as how to approach my boss, what to do when I find myself sitting around, etc.  I look forward to meeting with her again in the next couple of weeks!

Well that’s all for now.  Below I included a picture of me sitting at Conan’s desk in which I was a stand-in so the stage manager could test the lighting. 

-Kathleen