As the summer comes to an end I look back at the past few months and am so excited about all that's happened. My experience at Opera New Jersey (ONJ) as Assistant to the Artistic Director was nothing less than exceptional. With my past experiences mainly in musical theatre, working in Opera was a different ball game. Nonetheless storytelling through music and the grand ole theater still proved to be a home away from home. My position allowed me to work in all the administrative fields at ONJ from administration and company management, to production, working alongside industry professionals from all over the country, including of course the neighboring Greater city of New York. Most of my time was spent in "the office" but I have a few sit-ins on Opera acting and vocal coachings with artists such as Ron Land and Stephanie Sundine. Our shows and rehearsals took place at the great award winning Regional Theatre known as the McCarter Theatre:
Our summer season consisted of several summer concert series in addition to two main stage opera's, The Barber of Seville and The Consul--which was directed by Michael Unger, director of Broadway's Original 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee--sidenote--one of my personal favorite musicals:
Simple tasks like sorting and filing headshots/resumes and preparing materials for directors/agents and showcases to more extended projects, like creating an Operations Manual for the company and an internal company website, I was happily busy.
Luckily, Artistic Director DJ Haugen became a good friend by the end of the summer and shared several little tips and tricks on running a business.
We even talked to each other on the phone when we're in the same room. (JK!) He's great! (I took a lot of the things I learned this summer and put them into Moonlit Wings Productions--which has successfully continued to grow, and with more opportunities than usual, in just a few months!).
As ONJ is located in Princeton, I had the chance to enjoy the beautiful university and its historic campus, much different than what I experienced in a busy city while at VCU in Richmond, VA. The location also allowed me to travel to NYC (via train!!) a quite a few times a month to audition for shows (Godspell on Broadway!), network, and catch up with friends from SpringBoardNYC and old friends from home who are now in the Big Apple.
While I got homesick every now and then, I was happy to share this experience with my awesome high-school friend, Samantha Figueira, and to make new friends. This summer embraced the old and new, the far and near, and the musical theatre and opera.
What a summer--blessed!
Our summer season consisted of several summer concert series in addition to two main stage opera's, The Barber of Seville and The Consul--which was directed by Michael Unger, director of Broadway's Original 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee--sidenote--one of my personal favorite musicals:
Luckily, Artistic Director DJ Haugen became a good friend by the end of the summer and shared several little tips and tricks on running a business.
As ONJ is located in Princeton, I had the chance to enjoy the beautiful university and its historic campus, much different than what I experienced in a busy city while at VCU in Richmond, VA. The location also allowed me to travel to NYC (via train!!) a quite a few times a month to audition for shows (Godspell on Broadway!), network, and catch up with friends from SpringBoardNYC and old friends from home who are now in the Big Apple.
While I got homesick every now and then, I was happy to share this experience with my awesome high-school friend, Samantha Figueira, and to make new friends. This summer embraced the old and new, the far and near, and the musical theatre and opera.
Photo of the amazing Lina Tetriani in "The Consul"
What a summer--blessed!
