College of Performing Arts (CoPA) senior Rin Mizumoto is a Theatre Technology major with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is currently the Technical Theater Intern at the Musco Center for the Arts, but before that she sharpened her technical skills by interning with Upstaging, Inc. over the summer. Read about Rin’s summer internship experience below!

 

closeup of moving spotlight fixture

A moving spotlight fixture.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern for a touring production company, Upstaging, Inc., as a lighting technician. Since this company works with large touring shows around the world, I got the chance to work with many lighting technicians preparing for and loading out shows that I would love to work for in the future! Specifically, I assisted the crew chief by building trusses; cleaning, updating, hanging, cabling, and testing lights; looming cables; and organizing lighting equipment. The work environment was very fast-paced due to the constant flow of shows on the tour. From this particular experience, I learned the importance of working in a large team with efficiency. Also, I learned that working professionals use the same basic tech skills we learn here at Chapman. This inspired me to practice these skills so that I can apply this intuitive knowledge when working on larger productions.

I got this internship by being proactive and seeking advice from connections that I had made in the past three years. I would advise CoPA students to take advantage of their position now and get as much help as they can from professionals who work in the field they want to work in! As students, we should never be afraid of seeking help and suggestions from professionals.

 

College of Performing Arts Career Resources

Chapman University and CoPA offer comprehensive personalized career services for students and alumni. CoPA students not only enjoy access to university-wide career services with Career and Professional Development but also program- and industry-specific support with their CoPA College Career Advisor.