Published: July 20, 2006 08:51 am            

2 Ashlanders receive prestigious theater internships

ASHLAND — Two Ashland natives have been accepted into a prestigious theater intership and are getting invaluable career experience this summer.

Kyle C. Hamilton, 22, a Morehead State University theater major, and Leigh Spencer Brown, 24, a recent graduate of Centre College in Danville, were two of 71 students chosen from 500 applicants to The Santa Fe Opera’s technical internship program.

It’s a sought-after program that’s made special this year, as the opera is marking its 50th anniversary.

The internship program was established in 1965. Interns, or apprentices, are assigned different responsibilities for the summer. On Aug. 13 and 20, the opera observes Apprentice Scenes, a night of fully-staged and costumed scenes from famous operas that feature the work of all apprentice singers and technicians.

Hamilton, a Boyd County High School graduate, is working in the properties department. He said he has been active in theater since he was 14, performing in shows at Ashland Community College.

This summer, working in props has included some carpentry work on every show, plus he’s “running” props on two shows: “Carmen” by Bizet and “Salome” by Strauss. Running props means he makes sure the right props are in the right position while the show is ongoing, catching and handing off props and putting them away after the show is done.

“I’ve already learned so much just from being here for a month,” he said.

His experience has had him on stage and behind the scenes, and Hamilton said that’s fine with him, as long as he remains involved in theater.

“I was actually going to be an English teacher in my first year of college, but I just wasn’t where I needed to be,” he said. “I just honestly want to be able to work in theater and support myself. I mean, I love it. It’s what I’ve done since I was 14. What else am I going to do with my life?”

Brown’s technical internship is in electrics. The daughter of Tim and Mary Beth Brown and a 2000 graduate of Paul G. Blazer High School, she make contacts to be placed in the internship during a South Eastern Theater Conference, which is sort of a job expo for actors and technicials in theater.

“I had always known about Santa Fe since I’ve been involved in theater,” she said. “The company was at the top of everyone’s list for places they’d like to intern.”

It’s such a great opportunity, Brown said she will enter graduate school at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville late this fall because her adviser told her it would be worth it to work at Santa Fe.

Brown said her job has been to execute the designs of the lighting experts working on each of the productions of the opera company, which includes making sure the correct lights are on at the right time, the colors are right and, in general, the audience can see the stage and the actors.

She said she was introducted to theater early by her mother who loves Shakespeare. She started working in the technical aspect of the theater in high school, even more so in college, and decided that’s where she belongs.

Although lighting design is a male-dominated field — she’ll be the first female to enter the graduate program this fall — five of the eight interns in the program in Santa Fe are female.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “I can’t believe how much I’ve learned in this short time.”

However, she said she does miss home.

“After two months in the desert, I miss the mountains and the trees,” she said.

The opera’s season runs through Aug. 26 and features 38 performances of five operas: “Carmen” by Bizet, “The Magic Flute” by Mozart, “Cinderella” by Massenet, “Salome” by Strauss and “The Tempest” by Ades.



LEE WARD can be reached at lward@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2661.

        

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