Stephen Schwartz, the composer and lyricist of "Wicked," Taye Diggs, an actor in the Broadway musical "Rent," and Casey Nicholaw, a Broadway director and the choreographer of "The Book of Mormon," all have a unique experience in common an internship at the New London Barn Playhouse. This summer, several Dartmouth students and alumni are calling the New London Barn Playhouse home and hope to follow in these famous artists' footsteps.
The New London Barn, which is the oldest continuously-operating summer stock theater in New Hampshire, provides aspiring actors with intense hands-on experience and interaction with professional actors. The acting company is composed of student interns and professionals and works at a break-neck pace, producing eight productions over 14 weeks of the summer, according to company manager and director of publicity Amanda Sheehan GR'13.
Shaheen said that the New London Barn's the summer schedule is a "down-and-dirty process" that intensively trains student interns in theater.
The theater's summer line-up has featured productions from "Hair" to "Oklahoma," and the majority have included student interns in the cast, she said.
The New London Barn has a special relationship with Dartmouth because theater professor Carol Dunne is also the New London Barn's artistic director. Sheehan and three Dartmouth-affiliated student interns at the New London Barn said that they became involved with the theater due to Dunne's recruitment efforts.
Sheehan said that Dunne is especially interested in bringing people from outside of New London to the Barn Playhouse and making connections with other communities, including Dartmouth.
The company usually includes at least a couple of Dartmouth-affiliated members, according to Sheehan.
Acting interns Max Samuels '15 and Amber Dewey '12 said that Dunne encouraged them to pursue internships at the New London Barn when they worked with her during the spring 2012 production of "Hairspray" at Dartmouth.
All four Dartmouth students working at the Barn this summer Samuels, Dewey, Sheehan and acting intern and box office associate Julian Flamer '12 said they are hoping to pursue acting careers.
Despite their mutual interest in theater, the students come from diverse academic backgrounds at the College. Dewey majored in German, Flamer majored in government, Samuels will declare a double Chinese and theater major and Shaheen is studying the oral history of theater in Boston for a graduate degree.
"Before the Barn, I was quite unsure as to what I wanted to do next," Flamer said. "But with my experience coming to a close, the Barn has given me the experience and desire to move forward with acting and pursue it as my career."
Samuels said that acting at the New London Barn has allowed him to continue to study acting outside of the classroom. Due to the day-long work schedule and quick pace of productions, interns must learn lines quickly, he said.
"This is a theater dedicated to jump-starting the careers of young performers," Samuels said. "We can continue our learning experience here."
Dewey said that the New London Barn provides a valuable learning experience for those hoping to pursue professional acting. Acting interns rotate through duties including lights, props and costumes to gain a well-rounded understanding of the work behind a production, she said.
"It teaches you that you have to be on top of everything," Dewey said.
In addition to the acting education gained from performing in so many plays, student interns work with professional actors and establish connections in the field, according to Sheehan. Samuels said he finds working with professionals to be "quite humbling," but said the experience also gives him a reason to push himself to new heights in his acting career.
The New London Barn has 16 acting interns this summer from universities and conservatory schools all over the country. Acting internships are competitive because thousands of students apply, Shaheen said.
The musical "Hair" will be running at the New London Barn until Aug. 19.
