All five schools within the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts provide various internship opportunities for undergraduate students. According to students and faculty in the community, these jobs inspire connection and continuity at OU and beyond.
Mary Margaret Holt, dean of the College of Fine Arts, told OU Daily that the college works to guide students toward future opportunities. Holt said gaining experience within the college requires student initiative and support from faculty and staff.
“I get to watch (our students) for four years, and that’s such an honor. … It’s just a great pleasure to get to observe their development over time, and then, when possible and if needed, to help guide them into a future that may be productive for them,” Holt said. “One piece of advice I usually have for (students) is to just realize that the future may not be a straight road. … I hope they will be able to define their goals, but also to keep an open mind.”
Not every school in the college holds a senior showcase, which is an event for graduating students to perform in front of casting directors and talent agencies. However, Holt said that each school has an equivalent, depending on each field’s discipline.
“There are other substitute activities that take place in our other schools. For instance, (in) the School of Music, there are a number of music organization conferences and group meetings where students go and compete,” Holt said.
Four students across the college attested to the support they received at the university while pursuing careers.
Damerah Coleman, a senior ballet performance major, has been a marketing intern with OU Dance Alumni Association for two years. A large part of her role is to keep OU dance alums in contact with the university and its current students.
Coleman said the experience has allowed her to feel connected to the dance studio and the community around her.
“It’s really easy to just get lost in the day-to-day motion,” Coleman said. “Being able to have those connections and to see how other alums graduated and are able to obtain all of these different kinds of jobs. … It really helps seeing this is what I’m working for, and it’s possible.”
Coleman said that Michael Bearden, director of the School of Dance, encouraged her to pursue the student job.
“He helped me get that opportunity, which I’m very grateful for,” Coleman said. “The teachers at OU are like that. They help you in any kind of way. … They help you achieve those dreams.”
Holt said the college values this kind of mentorship through the college’s class format. She said the average student-to-faculty ratio is one faculty member to eight students.
“(Students) get a great deal of direct mentorship through faculty, to help guide them as they develop their artistic skills and as they develop their career goals,” Holt said.
Students are also encouraged to pursue opportunities outside of OU that will further their career goals, according to Holt.
“What we encourage our students in the performing areas to do is the summer before they’re going to graduate from OU, to seek out some companies or organizations … and determine whether those organizations have a summer program,” Holt said. “We try to help students identify opportunities that will be most appropriate to their goals and to their development in the artistic realm.”
Audrey Bickerstaff, an art history senior, had a summer internship at the Business Council for the Arts, based in Dallas. Through the position, she said she earned credit hours and gained valuable experience.
“It really allowed me to be able to think about how I can apply the knowledge that I’m learning in the classroom in the real world,” Bickerstaff said. “A lot of in-classroom learning is a lot of lectures and things like that, which are very important to have the base knowledge, … but I think (the internship) gives a really nice real-world application to what you’re learning.”
While Bickerstaff pursued work experience independent of the university, she said her instructors gave her the push she needed to accomplish her goals.
“(Instructors), even before I got my internship, do a really good job of giving you real-world, applicable knowledge,” Bickerstaff said.
Opportunities on-stage, off-campus
Students can also be exposed to fine arts opportunities across the Norman community. Just a few blocks from campus, Main Street is home to the oldest theater in the city.
The Sooner Theatre first opened its doors in 1929. Almost 100 years later, the theater offers paid internship opportunities to OU students. Jennifer Baker, the theater’s executive director, wrote in an email to OU Daily that working with young performers is one of the highlights of her job.
“We utilize students through the Work Study program, as well as contracted positions for various jobs at the theater and The Studio of The Sooner Theatre, our performing arts academy,” Baker wrote. “We hire instructors for dance, acting, production classes, front desk, lighting and sound design, tech and more.”
Megan Austin, a vocal music education senior, has served in various positions at Sooner Theatre.
“I came to OU because I knew that there was a great community theater in town that would give me lots of opportunities,” Austin said. “I asked if they needed any help.”
Austin started as a volunteer for the theater shows, controlling spotlights and helping set up microphones.
“I also was a child wrangler for their shows,” Austin said, jokingly. “At first, it was a volunteer position. After the spring of my freshman year, they offered me a paid position in the fall of my sophomore year.”
Now, Austin teaches beginner musical theater classes and serves as an assistant music director for junior musicals. She also leads a studio class, in which she teaches private vocal lessons to seven students, ages 8 through 16.
“It’s given me that hands-on teaching experiences with all different ages,” Austin said. “I’ve been able to take the skills I learned in the classroom and put them into real practice. I feel much more prepared for student teaching in the spring.”
Austin also said the connections she built through the position are invaluable to her. She expressed her appreciation for Baker and her work to amplify arts in the community.
“(Baker) has built an incredible community and a flourishing house for the arts in Norman,” Austin said. “It’s been really inspiring getting to learn from her and learn about her entrepreneurship.”
Baker wrote that while students work alongside the best staff, the experience they receive on the job is incredibly important.
“They get hands-on experience in productions, and running a non-profit,” Baker wrote. “If hired as instructors, they obviously get classroom experience and there’s really nothing better or more rewarding.”
Austin said some faculty and staff within OU’s School of Music encouraged Austin to pursue working with the local theater, marking a blend of support from faculty and her own individual initiative.
“Our professors are always encouraging us to take outside opportunities,” Austin said. “Norman is a very flourishing community within the arts and it’s super valuable if you seek out your own experiences.”
Recruiting the new generation
The positions students hold across the community are important for the future of the performing arts, Austin said, but some roles on campus demonstrate the immediate impact of students.
Granger Lusk, a senior acting major, has volunteered for three years as a drama student ambassador in the College of Fine Arts.
Since the drama conservatory only accepts around 16-20 students a year, the student recruitment team is essential to the college, Lusk said.
“(It’s) a student team that helps kind of build a bridge between potential students and current students,” Lusk said. “We do three on-campus audition dates every spring, and we are responsible for overseeing those, managing those, assisting with them and making sure that everybody’s in the right place when they need to be.”
Lusk said the team reached out to him in his freshman year.
“A lot of times they actually prefer the younger classmen to do it, because those students were just in that position, auditioning and things like that,” Lusk said.
Holt said the goal is to turn students into their own artistic advocates. For Lusk and other students in the School of Drama, this includes mock auditions and mock interviews.
Lusk said these experiences are essential. He and many of his peers are pursuing full-time, freelance acting jobs, which makes it hard to find applicable internships. He said that despite this, the university provides students with opportunities to continue to make connections with professionals.
“Our school does a senior showcase in the spring for seniors, and we are flown to Chicago,” Lusk said. “We have an in-person showcase in front of casting directors, talent agencies and management agencies.”
The blend of student opportunities, both academically and occupationally, allows fine arts students to feel heard.
“(The experience) has actually been really nice and rewarding,” Lusk said. “I feel like I have a voice.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza, Macey Thaxton and Thomas Pablo. Tori Pham, Hannah Lambert and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
