Summer Interns Express Their Creativity at the Actors’ Shakespeare Project

This summer, more than 2,000 Boston Public Schools (BPS) students obtained jobs through the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC) and its partner employers. Interns worked in diverse fields from tech and finance to healthcare and construction.

While Boston is known for these industries, the city is also home to a vibrant and thriving arts culture. To give students the opportunity to work in arts organizations, the PIC partners with EdVestors, which organizes the Bloomberg Arts Internship (BAI) with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The BAI program combines internship placements in arts and culture organizations across the city with professional development and cultural enrichment opportunities.

Antigone Brendel-Luliano and Ariel Phillips’ internship at the Actors’ Shakespeare Project (ASP) allowed them to express their creativity, with both young artists taking on significant roles in ASP’s Summer Youth Intensive project, a re-envisioning of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Two days a week, they also participated in cohort-wide activities – community-building meetings, executive coaching, peer mentoring, and college and postsecondary readiness workshops, among other activities on Mondays and in-person visits to arts and culture institutions on Fridays.

During production, Antigone was responsible for many of the show’s aesthetics, including costume design, makeup, and props, while also supporting the film crew.

“I started with color schemes for everyone. I thought a lot of color-coding, so immediately, I envisioned the vibe for each character’s costume, especially for the two leads. The masks, which I made by hand, also had a similar feel,” they explained when asked about their creative process.

Antigone is planning to major in film, minor in theater or creative writing in college, so this internship gave them practical skills and learnings as they pursue a career in film and theatre production.

“This experience has been really great, and I’d say it’s set a precedent of what I can have in a workplace,” said Antigone. “I’ve learned a lot from working with a bigger group of folks, all of whom are doing different things all the time and dealing with the controlled chaos of that. Being able to see my work on camera has also been so exciting and rewarding!”

Similar to Antigone’s experience, this internship gave Ariel the chance to express her creativity as she developed the choreography for some of the play’s key scenes.

“I want to have a career in dance and broadway. I started taking dance classes when I was 10, but I’ve been a dancer for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I used to play dress-up and dance around the house,” recalled Ariel.

More than just applying her skills and passion for dance, Ariel says her time at ASP has helped her grow as a leader.

“I learned a lot about leadership throughout this summer. They didn’t even know me when I first walked in here, but they trusted me to put on choreography. They were supportive and encouraging,” Ariel explains. “Being 16 and teaching people who are older than me was a great experience. Learning to take up the role I was given and knowing that I can do this, I can lead people! It was so nice to know that people had my back.”

Though their summer internship has ended, Antigone has already made plans to continue working with ASP through BAI’s pilot program for paid school year internships.

“It’s a lot of fun, so I’ll be coming back! I love the people here, and ASP has really become like a family to me,” said Antigone.

Thank you to EdVestors and ASP, and thank you to Bloomberg Philanthropies for their continued support of BAI Boston. Together, they have provided BPS high school students with jobs and career exploration opportunities in the arts, supporting our students’ career goals and Boston’s future workforce.

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