Through Montgomery County Community College's Cultural Affairs Office, a department under the Academic Affairs Arts and Humanities Division, students recently had the unique opportunity to work as interns and observe the production of the International Association of Blacks in Dance’s (IABD) 32nd Annual International Conference and Festival of Blacks in Dance, which came to Philadelphia in January 2020.

Through the Cultural Affairs Internship Program, Theater  majors Justin Davis, Lillian Doty, Bobbie Garcia-Lipscomb and Sam Sanangelo, Sound Recording and Music Technology majors Jessica Blaney, Brett Mitchell and Eli Taylor and Music and SRT major Hayden Foreman, worked as interns, observing and assisting with the production of the festival.

The International Association of Blacks in Dance works to promote and inspire dance by people of African ancestry or origin. The Association provides opportunities for artists in advocacy, education, networking and performance. The four-day Conference and Festival brings together Black Dance professionals, artists, managers, historians, choreographers and many others to share ideas, cultures and experiences.

The experience began with a visit to the Merriam Theater where the students learned how they would be assisting with the festival.  The students met with Milton T. Tatum Jr., the Lighting Designer and Technical Director for Dallas Black Dance Theater and the stage manager for the festival, as well as the Merriam Theater’s House Sound Engineer and Production Manager Eric Hagenbarth. Hagenbarth shared his experience with the students speaking about his work with Cameron Mackintosh and his time as a Broadway stage manager.

While in the city, the students also toured the Wilma Theater. Chris Nelson, Production Manager for the Wilma Theater, showed the students the backstage area and audio systems and shared some of the theater’s production process.

Cultural Affairs Program Coordinator Iain Campbell accompanied the students into the city for their orientation at the beginning of the week. Campbell expressed the importance of providing these opportunities for students.

“The benefit for the students is to see the practical application of the hands-on experience they have received in the internship program combined with what they have studied in classwork in their field of study,” he said. “They are meeting technicians, theatre managers, audio specialists, and performers who are making a living doing the things that these students wish to do in their careers.”

Over the course of the week, the students were able to observe the production and help where needed in the execution of the 60-company showcase dance festival. The students attended and observed one or two days of set-up, rehearsals, and performances.  The students worked in areas of their particular interests, such as stage management, light and audio, and they shadowed the festival workers to gain on-the-job experience in their potential fields.

The students experienced practical situations that related to their courses. Foreman was able to watch as members of the Local 8 group of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), ran a sound board with laptops hooked up to the mixing consoles and with another laptop connected to the amps.  Foreman was impressed by the work of the engineers and by the student workers who set up the equipment.

“Their attention to detail on the audio set-up made the job of the engineer seem to go really smooth,” he said.

The students also were able to forge important connections with the crew of the festival. Garcia-Lipscomb was eager to take advantage of the opportunity and volunteered all seven days of the Festival.  Seeing her dedication, Tatum invited her and Davis to participate in the production of a dance festival in Maryland in April.

MCCC’s Cultural Affairs interns work with professional staff to present artistic work throughout the season and to act as event managers/tech support to rental clients. Throughout the season, interns learn about stagecraft, stage management, event planning practices and front-of-house operations. Interns work with a small cohort of other MCCC students and interface with Grammy award-winning musicians, trained comedians, and many other artists from around the world through MCCC’s Lively Arts Series.