Audrey A McGee

My mother coined this phrase sometime when I was in high school. We were driving to my great-grandmother’s birthday party, an event with relatives that I didn’t see often. Like most teenagers, I had a tendency to be unwilling, or just nervous, to engage. And then, in an encouragement to make conversation, Mom dropped this perfect piece of wisdom:

Life is too short to be awkward.

I’ve quoted it to myself a million times since then.

And I’m quoting it to you now. Because, as an arts intern, it’s quite possibly your primary job to be making connections. Whatever your role is, wherever you want to be in the future, relationships are absolutely crucial to develop in your time with the company.

Before you start your internship, write down a list of goals of what you want to do in your time there. I had a pretty ridiculous and long list, because I was slightly unsure of what my role entailed. I remember it included a line like:

-Make connections with 25 theatre professionals

Because I wanted my goals to be definable and achievable. To be honest, I don’t know how many people I made “connections” with — what does that mean? Connections on LinkedIn? Coffee dates?

But here’s something that I was able to do, knowing that life was too short to be awkward. When I was on book during tech rehearsals (meaning I called out the lines in case an actor needed it), I met one of our regular actors, someone who shows up nearly every season. No particular connection or friendship formed, but I had introduced myself. A few months later, I saw him in the grocery store. Obviously, he’s not going to recognize the intern who sat in a dark corner for three days. Instead of letting him walk by, I called out his name, sort of questioningly. He stopped — I explained who I was, said hi, asked how he was doing. He was incredibly friendly and polite, and I found out he was headed to rehearsal.

Will he remember me next time we meet in the grocery store? Probably not. Will he remember me next time we meet on a set? Possibly.

This sort of thing happens all the time in theatre. It’s all about making connections and forming friendships. Everyone knows everyone, and once you know someone, you can reach out with a question or request. Use every possible moments to find those touch points with people.

I met an actress when I was subbing for an assistant stage manager. I heard her talking about another show and realized I’d seen her before, and loved her onstage! I mentioned it to her and we started chatting. When she saw me in a dark corner on the next show, she did wave to me!

The other thing I’ll recommend to arts interns — specifically the theatre ones — is to keep hold of your programs. I collect mine in a folder that is full to bursting at this point. Partially for keepsake reasons, and partially to look up people’s names after the fact, to draw connections between shows, to be this guy:

It’s a great way of seeing the interconnected community around you, and to have a sort of physical way to see your mutual connections and who you can ask to be introduced to.

The world is full of people willing to say hi, and your career just might skyrocket because of it. Besides —

Life is really too short to be awkward.