|
Crash course
in daytime drama and real life
Hundreds of students
serve internships each year to gain career experience and get a
feel for the working world. This is a first-person account senior
journalism major Sara Groves wrote during her internship in New
York City from January to March.
 |
| Sara
Groves |
Last quarter, I lived
in a world of midterms, final projects and group presentations.
This quarter, my contemporaries include long-lost twins, amnesiacs
and folks who come back from the dead.
I’m spending winter quarter interning with Procter & Gamble
Productions in New York City, where I work for “As the World
Turns” and “Guiding Light” in casting and publicity.
A soap opera set is fast-paced because five new episodes are
taped each week. That means there are new parts to be cast —
from extras to lead roles — every day. I’ve assisted with
the auditions of dozens of 2-year-old twins and hundreds of actors
applying for a single role.
The ambitious taping schedule, constantly evolving cast and half-dozen
magazines dedicated solely to soap operas keep the publicity department
on task, too. Requests can come from reporters with media outlets
ranging from a Pittsburgh newspaper profiling an actor from its
region to the TV show “Extra,” which planned a story on
Julianne Moore and inquired about her early days on “As the
World Turns.” I’ve been able to attend a Soap Opera Digest
photo shoot, respond to charities’ requests for autographed
scripts and photos and write news releases about cast members.
One thing I love is the air of excitement. At orientation, the important
element surprise plays in TV today was stressed. I was told I would
be seeing and hearing things that would need to be kept secret —
unless I wanted to find myself on a plane back to Ohio.
Each day truly is unique, and sometimes a little crazy. For
instance, one day I was assigned to play with 2-year-old twins to
determine if they were comfortable enough away from Mom and Dad
to start acting careers. Perhaps that was good preparation for spring
quarter in Athens and the world that awaits after I graduate in
June!
Sara Groves is chief of Ohio University Media Services’ student
news bureau this academic year.
|
