Several Peck School of the Arts theatre students spent their summer gaining hands-on professional experience in woodsy Door County, a striking contrast to UWM’s urban campus in Wisconsin’s biggest city.
Senior Gabriel Rodriguez interned at Door Shakespeare, a professional theatre company that draws talent from across the country. He served as an acting production intern and teaching artist for Camp Will, a youth performance workshop.
“I started by coming out a week before the other cast members to help the stage management team and the producing manager to set up for the season,” Rodriguez said. “Just getting to engage with the community like that is really lovely.”
Rodriguez applied his PSOA training on stage and behind the scenes, building connections with cast members and helping bring high-quality productions to life.
“I think the most rewarding thing was connecting with the community,” he said. “I’ve been recognized when I’m out in public. It means a lot when I hear someone say ‘Oh, I saw you in that play and you were amazing.’ It always feels great to have connected with a person through your art.”
Junior Sanaa Harper spent her summer at Northern Sky Theater, a professional theatre company nestled in Peninsula State Park. She auditioned for the paid summer position after learning about the opportunity from PSOA professor and dialect coach Raeleen McMillion.
“I was nervous auditioning, but when I got more involved with the company, I started to recognize a lot of familiar faces, some of which are people who I knew as a kid that I got to reconnect with,” Harper said.
Harper balanced performing with backstage duties, from crew training and set building to quick changes and prop management.
“Besides being on stage, I also help run things off stage,” she said. “As an outdoor theatre, we need to quickly change a set. You have to flip a set, bring things on stage and off stage, handle props and quick changes, and so much more.”
Northern Sky Artistic Director Molly Rhode, impressed by PSOA students’ work in last fall’s Bright Star, collaborated with McMillion to identify candidates for the internship program. In addition to Harper, students Owen Foulds and Nathaniel Contreras also earned paid positions at Northern Sky this summer.
Rodriguez, Harper, and their peers returned to campus with valuable professional experience and new connections that will shape their theatre careers.
Payton Murphy ’27 (BFA Film)