Adrian Ortiz

Blog #11

Interning at the Denver Center For the Performing Arts has been one of the most rewarding and incredible experiences in my journey as an aspiring actor, performer, creative artist, and entrepreneur. I have gotten the privilege to work amongst creative professionals. I have been a part of set building and production. I have learned about the world of technical theatre through trial and a lot of hard work. I learned about the upkeep of theatre buildings and the constant movement of material. Getting to watch shows at the Denver Center for The Performing arts like The 12, and One Night in Miami was certainly a benefit of my internship. I was able to immerse myself in fine theatre. Another benefit of interning at the Denver Center for The Performing Arts was getting to attend classes in acting and performance for free. During my internship I received The Lewis Meyer junior scholarship which allowed me to attend classes based on my commitment to theatre. I took part in Legally Blonde The Musical and Master Class with Allison Watrous, spring and winter sessions. My long standing relationship with the Denver Center for The Performing Arts has now allowed me to take more classes this summer. Bringing Back the Arts has been a major stepping stone in my evolution as an artist.

Blog #9

Being able to work in the theatre industry at the Denver center for the performing arts has allowed me to learn about what it is like to be in day to day setting of a working theatre. I have gotten to to work with many professionals at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts such as teaching artist Jessica Austgen. I am especially inspired by Jessica because of her versatility as a performance artist as well as her creativity in teaching. Jessica’s attitude in the work place is very admirable because she is very professional but always brings positivity and fun. Although I have known Jessica for a number of years I have gotten to know her much more as her intern. In addition to being her intern Jessica has also inspired me as an actor and has taught me most of my improvisational skills. Jessica directed the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Teen company show Legally Blonde and 1984 The Musical (It’s Not What You Think).
Jessica has played a large role in my own artistic journey because of her direction in theatrical work and personal advice. In addition to Jessica Austgen I am also very by history behind my work cite. Walking through the 3rd floor of the Denver Center For the Performing arts which used to be the National Theatre Conservatory inspires me to cot one to do theatre after graduating high school as a career.

Blog #8

Creating art for yourself and working in creative fields is different in many ways but also similar in many ways. When making art, whether it be physical visual art such as a paintings or drawing, or sculpture and so on, it is like taking your creativity and putting it into a medium. Another way of creating art includes performance art. It is the same idea of creativity but often while using existing material such as plays and lyrics. The difference between creating art for personal use and creating art for your job is knowing how to apply your knowledge of art and using your artistic process to make art in given circumstances. The art that you make for yourself may often be very different than the art you do for others. As an actor, it is my goal to meet the vision of the playwright in which I am performing. As a slam poet I am expressing myself through performance and creative writing to my own standards. In the industry of stage craft people are constantly trying to meet the visions of designers, directors, and technical directors. A large part of being in the theatre industry is working collaboratively with others to meet a similar goal. Working in a creative industry has taught me to appreciate every one in the work force like the crew. I’ve learned the importance of knowing the difference between work and personal and the integrity of your work in both a creative business and personal work.

 

Blog #7

Working at the DCPA for over a month, I have gotten to know a large part of the staff such as the Education Department staff and the front desk staff. Although my internship is in the education center I have gotten the privilege to meet some of the people from other departments. I have to say that I am very lucky to be working with such nice people. Everyone has treated me exceptionally respectful and professional. The fact that I have been a student at the Denver Center for many years, has helped me feel comfortable in my work place. I get to work closely with two of my internship sponsors during the weekends for their classes. I benefit from this because we get to build an intricate teacher-student relationship. If one day, in my career I have the privilege to have an intern, I would treat them exactly how I am treated now. I would want to give back to the youth of artist much like my sponsors give to me. When I think of my future I am very inspired by the people I work for. I wish to be as talented and professional as them. One of my biggest aspirations is to get paid for what I love to do, theatre.

 

Weeks Six: Mar 9

Although I have a variety of tasks and responsibilities, my main contribution to my internship is a lot of handy work as well as collaborative work with my co workers. As of now, our most important duties are working on Legally Blonde. Preparing for the upcoming production included painting the platforms and adding fabric to them. Another things was making labels for the costumes in the dressing rooms. I feel very proud of my work because I have done work on both sides of the spectrum. I am an actor in the show which as been a lot of fun, as well as contributing to the technical side of things. Watching the show come together has definitely been one of my biggest accomplishments so far.

Week Five: Mar 2

It is our ninth week interning at the DCPA through Bringing Back the Arts. I’m excited to continue because these first few weeks have been incredible. Staring in 7th grade I began taking acting classes at the DCPA and began to build a network with teaching artists who I frequently saw in and out of school and other venues. Building professional relationships with my internship sponsors has been different and I have been able to get to know them better. This time around instead of being solely the student I am also contributing to the institute. So far I have been meeting way more people than I had known before. I’m very lucky to be around such positive, well educated, and over all good people. I know that all of these people want to see me do good and want to help me in my career path. I think that the most that I will get out of this internship is strong connections that will hopefully last a lifetime. Something that I can do to improve my experience is to step out of my comfort zone a bit more and ask questions, and be eager to learn as much as I can. For example instead of just doing what I am assigned, I may want to stay a bit longer and make more conversations with staff members. Also, when I am stuck and don’t know what to do next I shall ask someone who I don’t normally communicate with as much. Although I think I’m doing a good job for the most part, there is always room for improvement. My hope is to be a memorable intern in order to build a strong connection wi the Denver Center.

Week Four: Feb 24

As an education intern at the Denver Center for the Performing arts some of my duties include organization of the props department and costumes department. The props and costumes departments are used year round for their productions. Both are in a current disorganized state so we definitely have out work cut out for us. Cleaning and organizing these departments are benefitting to the staff because it will make it easier for them to check out and use props and costumes. Another one of our duties includes pulling costumes for the current production, Legally Blonde. We basically look for anything that may be suitable for the show and put it in an assigned rack. Being a part of the production team for Legally Blonde has also allowed us to make some props that will be used in both rehearsal and the actual show. As an actor in the show it is very cool to get to be on both sides of the theatrical spectrum. Some of the props that we have made include a bridal card and an envelope from Harvard. Aside from production related tasks, we also are responsible for reading and pulling monologues that are suitable for young adults in kids. These copies will be used for coaching by the DCPA educating artist. My favorite part about my internship is going in and having different tasks everyday, one day we are doing heavy lifting, another we are mailing and copying documents. Learning the various skills that are involved in the artistic industry is exciting.

Week Three: Feb 16

During intern training we learned the importance of work behavior and actions. I have found that the offices of the DCPA have a certain etiquette as most places do. Fortunately it is a very easy going and fun environment. In regards to my own actions as an education intern I have received large amount of praise from every staff member about my actions. Everyone is very grateful for the things that I do. Beginning this internship I have gained a lot of responsibility. The duties that Have been assigned are expected to be done. My actions affect my sponsors becuase they inform the staff that I will complete my duties. In the previous week I talked about my responsibility of organizing the props department. If I don’t get that done I will be held responsible for them and make my sponsors look bad and in return not be a reliable intern. Last week I also talked about how I contributed to my work site. I certainly think that I am positively contributing to my work space because I am getting work done that affects the entire staff. They are very grateful for the work I do. One of the most important duties that I had was making props for the current show, legally blonde. I was responsible for making a bridal card for Elle Woods that would be used in the actual show. The actions of my co-workers affect me I case they need something from me such as a new duty. I am looking forward to getting more responsibilities and getting them done!

Week Two: Feb 2

This week at the DCPA I was tremendously busy. I am very impressed with my work ethic and determined attitude. My main accplishment this week was working in the props department in organizing and taking some inventory. I’m beginning to connect the duties that I do with “real life”. For example learning organization is important to my education and career pathway becuase staying on top of things is crucial to the marketing strategies of an artist as well as an excellent quality of a student. I often have trouble staying organized with my studies and tend to fall behind on school work. Somtimes staying organized in other ways helps being more well rounded. I felt accomplished with the work that I did because the props were a big mess due to the heavy use during shows all year. I loved that fact that everyone was so impressed with how much we did becuase it was actually going to benefit them in their future and current productions. For example, staff members will now have an easier time looking for necessary props and will know to put them away when they’re done with them. A large part of the the issue was people leaving their props in the wrong place. I’m hopeful that we can make an impact at the Denver Center Education when we are done and be welcomed back. Although it was a hardship to get the work done, I definitely know that it was worth it because I learned a lot and put in work.

Week One: Jan 26

This week I continued learning and exploring more in the theatre as well as the offices of the DCPA. One of my favorite parts of the week was finding out new things about the theatre space such as lighting pieces, curtains, catwalks, trap doors, etc. another interesting thing I did this past week was learn how to use a copy machine. I was asked to photo copy a few books for one of my sponsors. As a long term project, one of my intern duties is to organize the props and costume departments. Becuase of the large sizes of both, I have only gotten about half way through the props. However It is satisfying to be able to organize theatre related items. I think that it is important to be able to aknowledge the fact that in many artistic industries you must put in a lot of labor work to be able to work your way up to the actual artistic work. A big part of the theatre industry is networking. Meeting and making connections with people who are active in the industry is almost as important as being talented. This week I met a woman who is a coordinator for the DCPA and holds an important title at the Denver Center Education, we talked about what I was doing as an intern and discussed my duties. She told me that she hopes to see me around more often and hopefully join them in the summer as a Teacher assistant my favorite part of this week was becoming more familiar with my work space.