‘I Would Love to Work in an Environment Like This One in the Future’

I chose to intern with the Crown Players at the Robinhood Faire because it was my best option to have hands-on experience relating to my field of study. There are not many internship opportunities for English majors that do not revolve around publishing, editing, or grant writing, so I am very excited to have received an opportunity to intern in an incredibly broad and fulfilling environment.

It is an area steeped with creativity from all angles of the process, involving many people with a distinct set of skills coming together for one common goal: giving patrons the most amazing, immersive, and interactive experience possible. The people are all enthusiastic and passionate about what they are doing, truly striving to make the best environment possible. They are also some of the friendliest people I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

There are bumps in the road (as there are in every creative process), but every week has taught me that when truly talented people come together for a common goal, many things are possible. It was slightly disorienting at first, since people I was working with had been working in these circles for years and I had zero experience, but they were happy to have a new perspective, and happy to teach me. I enjoy being a part of everything and helping wherever I can, so the opportunity to get involved in so many different aspects has been very fulfilling.

I hope to gain familiarity with all of the steps in the process of putting on a production, in addition to gaining insight on what makes an interactive experience work or not. There are so many distinct aspects of a production that one wouldn’t even consider as a patron, but that need to be handled for the best results. I would love to work in an environment like this one in the future.

‘It has been incredibly eye opening’

In between show days, it is important to communicate with the director, assistant director, and stage manager regarding the events of the previous week and when looking forward to future performances. This can be done through email and text quite easily, but during show days it is much more difficult, as there are a million moving parts. Trying to find any specific person while they are randomly moving throughout the fairground can be difficult.

It is important for effective communication before the day even begins to make sure everyone is on the same page. During the day, communication with the actors is done by word of mouth and messages left in the greenroom or through staff using walkie-talkies. Things must be done in the moment, and there is a bit of a chaotic energy to it, but everything is in an attempt to bring the story to life and facilitate what transpires during the day. It is also incredibly interesting to see how we communicate with patrons or with each other in front of patrons without them ever realizing something might be wrong or that something out of character is being discussed.

Other than the walkie-talkies used by staff, the most effective and interesting communication I have seen has come from certain keywords used to communicate from actor to actor while still talking character to character on the surface. The code is somewhat of a renfaire (renaissance fair) secret, but it has been incredibly eye opening to observe all of these things put into place to enable effective communication without breaking the immersion of our patrons.

Daniela Perez ’23, an English major, is completing an internship with the Crown Players at the Robinhood Faire as part of the University’s Bergami Summer Internship program.