August 21, 2015
The [Intern]al Perspective: A Final Reflection
As I continue to age, I’ve noticed that (as cliche as it sounds) time really does feel like it goes faster and faster. One minute you’re moving into your freshman dorm at college and the next minute you’re walking across the stage receiving an empty diploma holder that you eventually fill with the receipt of the last four years of your life.
I started this internship TEN WEEKS AGO and it amazes me that that amount of time has flown by so quickly and for that period I feel a mixture of major accomplishment, but also a sense of “Did I even do enough?” and I think we all feel that way about anything we accomplish, I’m sure I’ll feel this way too when I receive my Bachelor’s degree. And as I’m sitting here reflecting on my time interning with Cornerstone, I’m realizing just how temporary everything is. To me, that is both a beautiful and sometimes disappointing reality of life. For two-and-a-half months I have had this wonderful opportunity to work for and learn a great deal from this company that has been impacting people’s lives for almost thirty years. While it has been a fulfilling journey, the temporary reality of it is setting in as I complete my time with them.
In a huge sense, this experience for me has been much like working on a production. Every theatrical experience is like a thumbprint and is sacred to those who are working together. When I am near the closing of a show, I like to take time to reflect on my experience and those that I have shared it with because the reality of the situation is that I will never perform this show again with this particular cast and crew, in these particular conditions, on this particular stage ever again and there is so much more appreciation for the experience at that point. As disheartening as that may sound, it actually forces me to really grasp onto the value of the production and what it has done to change me and teach me as an artist. I believe that is a perspective really worth adopting for life experiences.
Theatre life has taught me a whole lot, but I would say that the most important thing it continues to teach me is how to live in the moment, both on stage and off stage. I think we forget that quite often because we tend to be so consumed with the past or the future and are distracted from the magic that is usually happening right in front of our face. As I close out my time with Cornerstone, I am reminded of this more than ever, especially since I will be turning twenty one in a few days and entering my senior year of college in just a few weeks. I’m excited for what lies ahead and I am not entirely sure what to expect beyond the safety net of college life, but all I can do is prepare to embrace it all with open arms. Over the course of my internship I have learned more than logistical aspects of theatrical management and production. I have learned that things are always changing and sometimes there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop changes from happening, but the best way to deal with them is to continue the scene and live in the moment because, as always, the show must go on.
I want to openly thank the staff of Cornerstone Theater Company for hosting my internship, my supervisor James Cheeks III for teaching me a whole lot about communications in a theater company, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission for providing me with the opportunity to meet all these amazing people and learn from professionals how to do more of what I love. I would also like to thank the readers of this blog who have continued to be faithful over the course of my internship. It’s amazing to know that someone is out there listening to what I have to say. I hope to see you out in the real world someday.
Written by Joseph Reyes, Cornerstone’s Communications Intern. Joseph is studying Theatre Arts and Business Management at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA. This internship is made possible by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Summer Internship Program.
