Week Two

 Tuesday, June 4 

I won’t normally start my week on Tuesday, but this week Ireland had a bank holiday on Monday, so I didn’t start working at my internship on Tuesday. I’m glad that I had the extra time with my friends.  I didn’t have to be at my internship until 11, which was much later than my roommates. But I’ve been having trouble with my leap card, so I got up a little early to try to get that sorted out. The problem I’m having is that I can’t get a young adult card until I’m 19 (which is almost exactly halfway through the program), but I also can’t get a student card unless I verify three different ways that I’m a student (both through IES and Missouri State). It’s been confusing. After trying to sort that out, I was running early to work so I stopped for an iced chai, which once again turned out to be cinnamon milk.  

I had a good morning meeting everyone who was there at the Gaiety School of Acting (GSA) headquarters (HQ). Most everyone is still gone from the bank holiday, so I’m looking forward to meeting everyone else the next time I’m back there. Then, I head on over to the second location where we’re rehearsing. GSA has a grad play called The Oasis that opens in late June (on my birthday!), and I’m the assistant stage manager. It was about 35 minutes on the bus, and I had no problems getting there (thank goodness). I met our stage manager and jumped right into rehearsals. The cast and crew had already been there since nine a.m., so they were in the middle of rehearsing. I got my script and tried to follow along what was happening. It is such a fun show, and I’m so excited I get to work on it! This is my first time working on an original production.  

Once work ended, disaster struck. I got on the wrong bus. I got on the same bus that I had ridden to get there, but it wasn’t going the other direction. I rode for 15-20 minutes in the wrong direction before I realized my mistake and was able to get on another bus going the right way. My 35 minute commute turned into a 1 hour and 15 minute commute. Fortunately, I didn’t have my seminar that night, so I didn’t miss anything. That evening we had a small celebration for one of our friends’ birthdays. But because we had all just had our first day of work and a full week to come, we turned in relatively early. 

Wednesday, June 5 

Wednesday was a busy but overall uneventful day. I had early rehearsal and got there without a disaster on public transportation (finally!!). I had a very chill day at work, figuratively and literally. The building we are working in has heaters, but because the actors and director are working all their feet all day, they want the heater off. Personally, I felt like a popsicle all day. I will be layering for the rest of the week! I also didn’t have a whole lot of work to do, because the crew wasn’t expecting me until Wednesday. I worked on the props list for most of the day. The challenge is that there’s no Wi-Fi in the building, so I work on the stage manager’s hotspot. Whenever she turns it off or leaves the building for a minute I have to stop working. It’s always a good opportunity to focus back in on what is being rehearsed though. I’m enjoying being part of the rehearsal process, even though I’m just a fly on the wall. The process is similar so far to American theatre, but I'm noticing some aesthetic differences in performance between American and Irish theatres. I’ve only noticed this over a few days, but I'm interested to see if this theme continues. What I'm noticing is that the Irish theatrical pace is much faster than an American one. They speak faster and move through their movements, beats, and scenes faster. The actors also have a mix of dialects, so between that and the fast pace, if I didn’t have a script in front of me, I think I would be lost on what was happening sometimes. I’m planning on seeing lots of shows during my time here (some I know and some I don’t) so I'm interested to see if this difference is common throughout Irish theatres or just something I’m noticing here.  

We had our seminar in the evening. I didn’t know exactly what to expect from it, but it was a good time! Seamus is an engaging professor. He broke us up into groups of four or five that we’ll be in for the rest of the summer. These groups will give us an opportunity to talk to each other about what we’re experiencing in the workplace. I think I might find myself wishing that he would change the groups throughout the summer, but I understand why he’s keeping them the same. It’s important that we have the context of each other’s jobs and how the internship is progressing. We’ll be glad to have a group that understands what our whole internship process has looked like, not just one or two weeks. We got out relatively early so I took the opportunity to have a night in my bed watching T.V..  

Thursday, June 6 

On Thursday morning, I stopped by the GSA HQ to pick up a prop we needed printed for rehearsal that morning. Then I hopped on the bus to work. Another interesting part of the Irish workplace culture is a long lunch break. In the U.S., and especially at college, I’m used to an on-the-go lunch, if I even grab lunch at all. So, when I have an hour for lunch here, I don’t know what to do with myself!  

That afternoon, I found myself pondering the humor of working in the theatre full-time. The contrast between what I do compared to what some of the other interns are doing is stark. I spent my afternoon distressing a mop bucket, to make it look dirty, as if it had been used for years and years. With the power of sandpaper, sharpies, and shoe polish, I aged it 10 years in an hour. It was a good afternoon. I got to sit outside and listen to a podcast while working. I got off early, so I did some shopping and got ready to have dinner and go out with my friends. A big group of us went to our favorite club and had a good night together. 

Friday, June 7 

On Friday morning, I got to do something I’ve been looking forward to doing since February. Almost as soon as I committed to studying in Dublin, I stumbled upon a workshop to make my own silver ring. The whole process was a good time! We got to do almost the whole process ourselves, except for two parts that required some experience, which the instructors did for us. It only cost around 100 euros, which I thought was a solid price, for both the ring and the experience. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone interested! I found it on GetYouruGuide. I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area of Dublin the workshop was in. It was nice, and I hadn’t been there yet.  

I also had tickets to The Wizard of Oz, which was playing at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. I went with one of my roommates that night. It was incredible! They upgraded our seats for free, so we got to sit in the center orchestra. I’ve never seen the Wizard of Oz musical. But of course, as I’m studying technical theatre, the technical aspects are what I pay the most attention to when I’m watching a show. I won’t get too into it (I could talk about this for pages), but I loved all the creative decisions made. I’m looking forward to seeing more shows there! During my time here, they’re also showing Come from Away, Pretty Woman, and Wicked. I’ve seen Come from Away and Wicked before, so I’m interested to see if they’re different over here or more like how they are in America. 

Saturday, June 8 

Again, I slept in late on Saturday. But this week, I did make it to a few markets! I wasn’t very impressed by any of them though, so I’m planning on doing more research on where to go before I go, so I can make sure they have what I’m looking for. I’m hoping to get more jewelry, and fresh food. I’m also on the lookout for a leather jacket, but I think I’m going to have more luck at a thrift or vintage store than at a market.  

I visited a coffee shop to sit down and read for a bit, but I ran into a group that was in a production meeting for a play they’re working on writing. The project they are working on is involved in Theatre for the Oppressed. Their story is about people in Brazil. I enjoyed talking with them about their project. They’re in the very beginning stages of writing their work. If I was in Dublin for longer, I would’ve loved to help them out with it! But they’re hoping to start staging their show in September 2025, which is well after I’ll be back in the States. It was still a good conversation about theatre for oppressed people groups and how it can increase visibility and awareness of issues that audiences never would’ve known about. 

Sunday, June 9 

On Sunday, I was feeling especially tired, so I stopped at a coffee shop near my church for (of course) an iced chai. I hadn’t had breakfast, so I also got a “fairy cake.” It was just a cupcake, but I felt like I just had to get one. I ran into a friend I had made last week at church, so I walked with her to church and sat with her. She and her fiancé invited me to lunch afterwards, but I was feeling a little burnt out, so I told them I would love to join them next week. That evening, I went to get pho with one of my roommates at a spot right near our apartment. It was incredible! I will definitely be going back. Other than that, I spent the day resting and preparing for the week ahead.