Name: Deana Croog
Age: 18
Position (what do you do here?): Deana is the Casting Intern. She helps Artistic Director Sean Harris cast upcoming shows and plans to assist him when he attends casting calls in New York City in July. Deana also makes audition notices and posts them on casting websites while organizing and categorizing incoming resumes and headshots.
School: Just finished her first year at Umass Amherst
Major/Field of study: Right now, Deana is an English major with a film minor, but she is thinking of switching to a marketing major with a film minor… but this could easily change!
How did you hear about this job? One of Deana’s friends was actually planning on working at the Playhouse and she told Deana about it. Deana then explored Playhouse on Park’s website and decided to apply for the internship in casting - an area of theatre that she always found very exciting.
What do you like best about working at the Playhouse? “The people! They’re funny, creative welcoming and quirky!” Deana says. She also admits that it’s really nice to be back in a theatre - something she misses while she’s away at school.
Favorite play: This one took her a while to answer. Eventually, Deana decided it was a tie between Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, by Edward Albee, and A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen.
Really good theatre experience that you had: Directing Play it Again Sam, by Woody Allen, during her senior year in high school
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Either chocolate chip cookie dough with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (NOT Reese’s Pieces!!) or cake batter with marshmallow topping
Favorite West Hartford Locale/Activity: Another tie! Either The Quaker Diner (because “I love breakfast,” Deana says) or Elizabeth Park - a beautiful park right down the street from Deana’s house!
Marketing and Development
Name: Dan Deutsch
Age: 20
Position: Marketing and Development Intern. Dan compiles databases of addresses, phone numbers, and contact info for local schools and restaurants. These databases are useful for marketing of any kind (guerilla or otherwise) that needs to be taken care of. Dan was also in charge of gathering gift cards for the raffle at Act One, Playhouse on Park’s one-year anniversary fundraiser. You know he’s good at his job because he collected over $200 worth of gift cards from twelve different restaurants! Through his marketing work, he’s gotten to know some restaurant managers and owners personally, “which was cool,” Dan said. Dan also emails local theatre teachers about PoP and writes press releases for The Parkville Project, our next summer show. And, last but definitely not least, Dan has the very vital privilege of POSTERING! Dan can be seen on a daily basis driving around in his silver Subaru Forester or treading the sidewalks of Hartford and West Hartford, carrying stacks of posters of many sizes and shapes. No matter the weather, Dan earns his lunch every day by the sweat of his brow and the soles of his feet.
School: Clark University in Worcester, MA. He'll be a sophomore in the fall.
Major: As of yet, he’s undeclared, but he wants to be a Communications major with a theatre minor and possibly a music minor, too
How did you hear about this job? Dan emailed lots of arts-related organizations in the Greater Hartford area, looking for a way to get involved in theatre this summer. Of course, Mr. Harris suggested that Dan apply for a PoP Internship. Sean and Dan had a meeting over spring break, and Dan heard a little while later that he got the job!
What do you like best about working here? Getting involved in all aspects of theatre, as opposed to just the acting and backstage work he did in high school. During the interview, Dan and I came up with a metaphor for the various areas of theatre. We decided that theatre is like the human body: the actors on stage are the face and skin, the backstage workers are the skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory and nervous systems, and the marketing people are the oxygen (theatre can’t exist without funding and support!) Ten bucks if you can come up with a better metaphor than that.
Favorite play or musical: West Side Story
Really good theatre experience: Performing as Victor Velasco in Barefoot in the Park and as Manolo Costazuela in The Odd Couple: Female Version. Dan participated in these productions at Hall High School as a part of their superb theatre program.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Mint-chocolate chip! More specifically, “Haagen Dazs mint chip” kicks butt. Why, you may ask? No, not because it costs $6 per scoop, but because Haagen Dazs' mint ice cream is white, not green, which means the flavor is more genuine. That green glop with brown chunks in it? Not the real thing. And if Dan had to pick a favorite at Ben and Jerry’s, he would go with Phish Food and Coffee Toffee.
Favorite WH locale/Activity: “Besides Playhouse on Park, you mean?” Dan laughs. Blue Back Square on a good weather day is his second favorite West Hartford hangout.
Best lunch at PoP this summer: Any sandwich made at the deli counter at Hall’s Market
Worst lunch: Chicken Parmesan Flatbread Panini at Dunkin’ Donuts and an iced tea that was WAY too sweet
Favorite drink: The water bottle that he puts in the freezer when he gets to work. By lunch time, it's one big ice cube and beats the heat of his morning excursions.
Most recent kitchen adventure: Making crepes! Last Friday morning, Dan walked in with a cylinder of orange juice and a rectangular container with a homemade crepe in it. Dan explained to me how he cooked up his delicious breakfast of three different crepe varieties and proceeded to eat his Nutella-filled pastry with grace (until his plastic fork broke).
Next time: Interviews with more of our excellent interns and more photos of our fun-filled days at the Playhouse (it's more fun than camp!)
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