Summer interns advance ANW—and gain awesome professional skills!
By A Noise Within
June 15, 2015
It’s a win-win! Through our strong summer internship program, we further our commitment to education and professional development and enjoys the presence of talented interns seeking careers in arts management, education, and production. This summer’s interns form an exceptionally spirited group, as witnessed by their personality-laden self-written bios–and we’re thrilled to have them working with us here.
Maya Brattkus is interning this summer with the Education Department under Alicia Green. She’s taken classes and seen many shows at A Noise Within, and is constantly inspired by how theatre changes lives. She recently graduated from Westridge School for Girls and will start as an acting major at CalArts in the fall. Aside from acting, Maya helps socialize and rehabilitate feral cats (as a volunteer for the Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats) and enjoys caffeine and sleeping (though not all of the above at the same time, we hope). Maya sends much love to her cat, Siri.
Allison Kupfer is a management intern from Valencia, California who will enter her third year of the BFA Theatre Management program at The Theatre School at DePaul University in the fall. As general management intern, Allison will be assisting Michael Bateman, Managing Director, and getting a bird’s-eye view of how a regional theatre is run. Most recently, Allison has been employed by the Hollywood Bowl where she has served as a production assistant on the shows CHICAGO and Hair, and will be back this summer to work on Spamalot. Allison was formerly a producing intern at The Second City in Chicago, and is an active committee member of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of the Santa Clarita Valley. In her free time, Allison enjoys cuddling her puppy, binge watching Netflix, and eating peanut M&Ms.
Mac Larsen makes up one-third of a Noise Within’s hippest department: Marketing (no money exchanged hands for this endorsement). He’ll be a junior this fall at Occidental College, where he studies politics and writing, although he is known to occasionally dabble in Oxy’s music and theatre departments (especially under the aegis of former ANW interns). Born in Portland, OR, Mac was raised by parents with long careers in the theatre: his dad is a professor at the University of Portland (where he specializes in tech), and his mother is an actress and educator. Both suggested that he attend dentistry school and specialize in orthodontics; instead, he’s decided to spend his summer identifying new marketing partners, researching comparative branding efforts, making coffee (often), and wielding social media for A Noise Within.
Maura Lefèvre (accent is this publication’s editor, not hers—but she’s copacetic!) is delighted to be joining A Noise Within for the summer as the Education/Community Outreach Intern. She attended The Orange County High School of the Arts where she was a classical voice major, and recently graduated from SUNY Purchase as an Opera/Vocal Performance major. Roles at SUNY include Puck in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gretel in Hansel und Gretel, and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro.While at SUNY Purchase, she produced numerous concerts and worked in the music admission office. Maura has also been in many musicals and plays throughout Southern California. She has also been involved with many education programs including Camp Escapades through the Pediatric Therapeutic Network where she was a counselor. While at A Noise Within, Maura hopes to increase her skills as an educator and an administrator while also learning the ropes of a professional theatre company. She loves yoga, Jane Austen, and the Lakers (just kidding—she readily admits to not knowing anything about sports).
Dana Lundblad just graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a BA in Theatre Arts. There, she served as production assistant for the Theater Arts Department, a role she continues here at ANW. She is excited to learn more about ANW’s operations, and to work with and get to know the staff. Dana was drawn to ANW by the Company’s passion for classic works, and shares the belief that there valuable messages within those works that are still relevant in today’s culture. She looks forward to directing and producing and eventually having her own theater company. In her free time, Dana loves doing anything outdoors especially hiking), and going out on the town her friends. In the meantime, she would like to thank Sam Sintef for the opportunity to intern at ANW.
Lea Madda is a production office intern, working alongside Sam Sintef on projects that include backstage coordination and production logistics. She holds a BM in Vocal Performance from Boston University and is currently pursuing her MFA in Acting at UCLA. Born and raised in Sherman Oaks, Lea plans on staying in LA forever and ever, even though her parents recently retired to horrifyingly cold Chicago. (It’s too late for them now, she laughs.) Lea is interested in comedy of all kinds, mostly the good kind, and is interested in starting her own company that focuses on new comedic work. Lea is just now discovering the beauty of writing her own material, so prepare yourself to endure her new laugh-out-loud jokes, as well as the god-awful ones.
