File puptcrit/puptcrit.0908, message 17


Date: Sun, 02 Aug 2009 21:37:08 -0400
From: Liz Evans <liz-AT-etherboy.com>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] use of interns


Paul,

I'm with Robert on this one.  We offer internships every summer and 
sometimes into the Fall and Winter months.  We are currently making
about a 1/2 of what we made last year, but my interns are still getting
a weekly stipend of $80 for gas and toll.  If they live close this means
they get lunch money.

I do not believe that it is O.K. to utilize students or new comers for
no money, even though our internships are almost exclusively about 
learning how to build and about performance work.

Resume credits don't pay for gas or lunch.

Not paying an intern is not common practice, that miss information is 
what allows the practice to be perpetuated.  If you do not pay anything, 
this is called a volunteer.  An intern signs a contract of commitment to 
work a job or project through to it's end, and there are repercussions 
for not full filling these contracts.  You can be blacklisted in an area 
of the country (and as small as our community is, that can range the 
entirety of the puppetry community) and in return for this commitment, 
the company provides a stipend and education to the intern to further 
their understanding of whatever industry.

Also, an intern should not be hired to slep coffee.  An intern exchanges 
their labor for being taught about a trade/craft/or profession. 
Slepping coffee could only be considered an internship at a restaurant, 
not in a Puppet CO.  If you are hiring an intern to slep coffee, you are 
doing an injustice to the intern and to the industry.

Robert is also correct about giving an intern credit.  I still give 
credit to an intern we had in 2003, who solved a major problem on our
signature show "Alice Through the Looking Glass".  We were having a 
terrible time figuring out a specific dress change (it was simply
taking to long and we needed an alternative way to make the look work).
Our intern Shaina came up with the perfect solution of Velcroing red 
emblems on the black gloves instead of changing into red gloves.

An apprentice does usually get paid, and they do usually get paid more
than and Intern's stipend, but if you don't want to pay, you need to
request volunteers and take the pit falls of doing so. Like, no contract 
and no dependability.

FYI, I even pay my volunteers gas money whenever possible.  It makes for
better loyalty to your company's needs when you get in a jam.

MHO is that not paying when you get paid for a job is bad business for 
any business.

Best,

Liz


K. Elizabeth Evans, President & Artistic Director
Renaissance Artist Puppet Company
http://www.RenArtPuppetCo.com
610-630-4259

Renaissance Artist Puppet Company's
mission is to promote excellence in puppetry as a
Theatrical art form and as an Educational tool by incorporating
historical and cultural diversity along with quality performance
techniques to tell our stories.
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