Winter 2006
The Minneapolis Arts Scene
Photo by Everett Kubala
When Katie Rose McLaughlin graduated from high school in Medina, Minnesota, she wanted the big time—so she traveled to New York to join the New School, a school associated with the Joffrey School of Ballet and enrolled in the Joffrey/New School BFA Program. Her home-state school, the University of Minnesota, would have to wait for a few years.
When her two-year program ended, McLaughlin applied to five different undergraduate programs, ultimately choosing the U’s College of Liberal Arts, where she is a dance major in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. What she found was that the big time was right in her back yard.
“I love Minneapolis,” McLaughlin says, “Minneapolis has so much art and theater and dance.” And that world was wide open to her as a U student.
Although she is technically a dancer, McLaughlin sought to take full advantage of the opportunities that Minneapolis’ arts scene has to offer, and she auditioned for an acting role at the Theatre de la Jeune Lune, a Minneapolis theater company. She was selected for an ensemble role in the play “The Ballroom.”
But acting just whetted her appetite for a broader role in theater. While performing, McLaughlin realized that she wanted to learn more about how a theatrical show is put together. So when she heard that the theater was looking for an assistant stage manager, she jumped at the opportunity.
Photo by Everett Kubala
In this internship role, McLaughlin climbed a steep learning curve very quickly. When she arrived, she knew almost nothing about theater. But working directly with highly experienced theatrical professionals gave her the boost she needed.
“I sat with the director and the stage manager,” McLaughlin recalls, “the two most important people in the show.” From them she learned about lines, props, lighting, film and the overall production of the performance.
Although the internship was unpaid, McLaughlin received an Internship Grant from the Career and Community Learning Center (CCLC), a College of Liberal Arts (CLA) department that aids students with employment opportunities during college and after graduation. Without this grant, McLaughlin says she wouldn’t have been able to spend her non-academic time interning in the arts world.
Money is always hard to come by when beginning a career in the arts, she stresses: “Arts internships are never paid.” As a result, many budding artists work at multiple part-time jobs, often in bartending and serving, because those jobs offer flexible schedules that allow them to attend auditions. Instead of waiting tables, McLaughlin now teaches ballet to students at dance studios in Prior Lake and Northfield.
McLaughlin plans to graduate in the spring (2006) and, in preparation, she’s been working on her senior show—the final requirement for undergraduate students in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. She has found one more perk of interning at the Theatre de la Jeune Lune: “I get to use the theater for my senior show,” she says.
*Claire Joseph, too, is a CLA student, double majoring in English and journalism. If you know a CLA student, faculty, staff, or recent graduate with a story to tell, contact Claire at: josep130@umn.edu.