Make The Connection

October 10, 2017 | By Cole Hatcher

Adriana Pamela Rodriguez ’18 spent her summer interning with Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre Company. After graduation, she hopes to move to Illinois and work in theatre sound design. (Photo courtesy of Adriana Pamela Rodriguez)

A Lookingglass into Her Future

OWU Student Completes Chicago Theatre Internship

Name: Adriana Pamela Rodriguez ’18
Majors: Theatre and English Literature
Minor: Women’s & Gender Studies
Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Experience

Internship, Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago 

Rodriguez worked as a summer intern at Lookingglass Theatre. Founded in 1988, Lookingglass is considered a nationwide leader in creating and presenting cutting-edge theatrical works and in sharing ensemble-based theatrical techniques with Chicago-area students and teachers. Professor Ed Kahn wrote Rodriguez’s letter of recommendation and traveled to Illinois to see the show she worked on. 

Lessons Learned

“In class, we learn a lot about the theory of how a professional theatre company works, and when we work on shows, we see this process, but it was incredible to see these things in action in real life. 

“My supervisor was incredibly informative and so happy to help me understand all the aspects of theatrical sound that I could possibly want to know about. 

“I plan to move to Chicago, where this internship was, and work in a company like Lookingglass, where there are these separate departments, with a sound designer who gets to create their design and see it come to fruition, which is what I aspire to do as a career. It was also incredible to see professional theatre employees who worked in theatre as a career full-time and seeing that was possible, as that is what I want to do. 

“I think hands-on internships like mine matter because they show students how the skills they learn on campus can be applied in a real-life professional setting. It’s an opportunity for us to see how valuable our learning can be, and it’s also an opportunity to bring new skills back to campus.” 

Why I Chose Ohio Wesleyan

“The financial aid package I received was unquestionably tremendous, and the diversity of majors attracted me because I could do more than one thing that I was interested in.” 

My Plans After Graduation

“In a perfect world, after graduating, I would move to Chicago and get a job or paid internship at a theatre company, working sound for them until I found design opportunities. I might also take music theory and composition classes to help with sound design.”