ATTN Theatre Artists: Come to Intern Happy Hour: Know Your Rights and Share Your Stories!
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Dedunu Sylvia
Aug 1, 2013, 2:26:24 PM8/1/13
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Hello everyone!
I am an organizer with a grassroots collective called Intern Labor Rights. Our work focuses primarily on:
- Advocating for all interns to be paid--so that no one should be denied access to possible career/networking opportunities
- Holding employers and universities accountable for providing a constructive educational and supervisory environment
- Raising awareness about intern rights (currently, interns
I am also a performing artist, and recognize that within much of the organizations I have worked with in the past, internships were crucial to "getting experience" and/or "in the door". While I understand the important of gaining potentially valuable experience, I felt exploited at many of these places, finding that my tasks did not align with the job description and/or not receiving adequate educational/supervisory support. At some point, I simply couldn't afford unpaid internships. That's when I knew I couldn't stay silent.
Now, I am here asking fellow theatre artists and organizations--especially those working in the line of "artivism"--to speak out about it. I know many of us work in organizations that have unpaid internships, because it is difficult to get funding as mostly non-profits...but I hope you can still join us in discussing alternative ways to support aspiring theatre artists of all sorts! For me, how can those of us who identify with struggling communities get opportunities to learn tools in "artivism", if we can't afford to work for free?
Currently, we are working on hosting a panel in the near future about this issue, so stay tuned for more info on it! As for now, on August 15th, at 6:00pm, we will be holding an Intern Happy Hour at Brad's. Join us for a casual get together of getting to know past, current, and future interns, so that we can share stories, strategies for support and organizing, and learn more about intern rights!
Please spread the word to fellow theatre artists, performers, performance collectives, organizers, students, educators, and/or anyone else you think might be interested! And respond to our Facebook event if you can attend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
In solidarity,
Dedunu Sylvia
Intern Labor Rights
P.S. Though it is called "happy hour", Brad's invites folks of all ages to join (it is just a play on words that we used!).
I am an organizer with a grassroots collective called Intern Labor Rights. Our work focuses primarily on:
- Advocating for all interns to be paid--so that no one should be denied access to possible career/networking opportunities
- Holding employers and universities accountable for providing a constructive educational and supervisory environment
- Raising awareness about intern rights (currently, interns
I am also a performing artist, and recognize that within much of the organizations I have worked with in the past, internships were crucial to "getting experience" and/or "in the door". While I understand the important of gaining potentially valuable experience, I felt exploited at many of these places, finding that my tasks did not align with the job description and/or not receiving adequate educational/supervisory support. At some point, I simply couldn't afford unpaid internships. That's when I knew I couldn't stay silent.
Now, I am here asking fellow theatre artists and organizations--especially those working in the line of "artivism"--to speak out about it. I know many of us work in organizations that have unpaid internships, because it is difficult to get funding as mostly non-profits...but I hope you can still join us in discussing alternative ways to support aspiring theatre artists of all sorts! For me, how can those of us who identify with struggling communities get opportunities to learn tools in "artivism", if we can't afford to work for free?
Currently, we are working on hosting a panel in the near future about this issue, so stay tuned for more info on it! As for now, on August 15th, at 6:00pm, we will be holding an Intern Happy Hour at Brad's. Join us for a casual get together of getting to know past, current, and future interns, so that we can share stories, strategies for support and organizing, and learn more about intern rights!
Please spread the word to fellow theatre artists, performers, performance collectives, organizers, students, educators, and/or anyone else you think might be interested! And respond to our Facebook event if you can attend! Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
In solidarity,
Dedunu Sylvia
Intern Labor Rights
P.S. Though it is called "happy hour", Brad's invites folks of all ages to join (it is just a play on words that we used!).
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