My time as a summer intern at MAT was a challenging, rewarding, and valuable experience. The schedule kept me quite busy, but throughout that time I was able to gain and refine many skills. As interns, our responsibilities included teaching children's theatre camps in communities across north-central Montana, and directing a musical with Havre's junior high and high school youth. I became a better teacher and team player through both experiences, and I gained skills as the vocal coach/director for the musical we produced. That was an excellent way for me to apply my skills from my music degree, and an enjoyable way to give back to the youth of Havre. I recommend this internship for anyone interested in being immersed into directing and children's theatre.
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Rory Everingham has been involved with MAT since she was a wee child. In fact, her first MAT experience was with KidsMAT in Snow White, the very show that they are performing this summer. Rory has experience in acting, tech, and directing. Rory says, "Performing arts have always been a part of my life. It is something I love doing and something I plan to do in the future. I want to share that love and joy with everyone else."
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Samantha Haan is from Lennox, SD and attends Rocky Mountain College in Billings. Samantha has several years of acting, stage combat, and stage management experience. She has participated in many productions at Lennox High School, Olde Towne Theatre, Rocky Mountain College, and Bililngs Studio Theatre.Samantha also constructs hand made puppets. Samantha says "Performing arts don't fit into my life, they are my life. I have always been a performer in my life and I love being able to work with new people to expand my experience."
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The Montana Actor’s Theatre holds a fantastic internship program. Through this, I encountered and augmented several skills that will serve me throughout my entire life and career. This has ultimately helped me in my preparation toward becoming an effective music educator. I am certain that future interns will benefit from this internship as much as I have in the years to come.
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My time as an intern was a challenging experience, but so much fun. I got to meet so many people from communities across the state, from parents, business owners and sponsors, to kids from all walks of life. It was truly a privilege to be able to work, and share my experience, with the kids. One of the biggest things I learned was to be flexible. Things didn't have to be perfect to be good. Each production we put on was amazing, because everyone worked hard, had fun, and came at it with enthusiasm. I had also never been on the production end, so working on getting posters out, talking to sponsors, and helping to organize community events allowed me to see some of the behind the scenes stuff that goes into every production that I hadn't really thought about. It was super fun to watch it all come together!
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Kira Mills is originally from Conrad, MT and recently graduated from the University of Montana with a degree in Theatre. Kira says "I'd love to be able to share what I've spent learning with other people, to give confidence to young actors just starting out and help them realize any love of theater they may have." In addition to acting in several shows in Conrad, Kira has experience in stage combat, singing, dancing, acting methods, and group building exercises. She worked with young children in AWANA for several years.
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Austin "Jimmy" Nelson found his love of theatre in 2014. He says that he wants to "help other young people discover the same love and grow their skills." His first role at Havre High was that of Jimmy, a dead body, and he has embraced the nickname. Jimmy performed in several Havre High productions, was a student director of a one act play, and played the role of Darry in last summer's Youth Production "The Outsiders," He brings a wealth of technical experience as well as working with children in VBS clubs for churches around the state.
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The summer I spent as an intern with MAT was definitely the best of my college career. This experience allowed me the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues, build something from scratch, and gain experience in leadership and education. The communication, decision-making, planning, and professional relationship skills that I developed during this time are helping me to be successful in my current position as music teacher in Arlee, MT. This experience helped to confirm that the path in life I had chosen was the correct one, and I couldn't be more grateful to MAT and all the people involved for helping to make it happen
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Working with MAT as an intern helped me build upon skills and work ethics I had been slacking on. It helped me learn better teamwork, leadership, time management, patience, and deepened my love for this company. Not to mention the lives I was able to touch in my time with the youth in the summer show and the kids in our KidsMAT camps. I’ve had some of those kids tell me that they found a love for theatre and a spark to continue in it because of their experiences at KidsMAT camps and/or the youth show. That I and the other interns helped them find a piece of themselves they didn’t know they needed. And over all, I think that is the most gratifying thing that I ever got from the internship.
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Being part of the MAT internship program was one of the best experiences I've had in my career. It pushed me to be the best artist and leader that I could be. Each week came with new challenges that pushed me to be a better artist and leader. However, even more important, working with the kids, who came from all different backgrounds and having their own challenges gave me a whole new appreciation for what theatre and art bring to a community.
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