5/14/12 Internship

On May 14, 2012 I started my internship at the Theatre Historical Society of America, located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The Theatre Historical Society of America (THS) specialized in the preservation of theatres throughout America and deals with documents and artifacts pertaining to theatres. I will mostly be working on Mondays and Wednesdays, occasionally working on Fridays. On May 14 I worked from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM for a total of 7 hours. I will work until August at THS. Throughout the summer I will be working on archival work, research, odd jobs, and museum work while interning at THS.

A Model of a Theatre Built

On May 14 I spent about half of the day working on an exhibit on the transition from film to digital. The area of the exhibit I worked on was researching and writing for a display on carbon-arc lamplights and the gradual extinction of the skilled projectionist. I ended up writing two pages that were used for the exhibit. The exhibit I worked on was used for Museum Day on May 20, 2012, a citywide tour of museums done through the city of Elmhurst.

The Exhibit I worked on

The other half of the day I spent watching videos detailing the history of and problems that old theatres face in adapting to the modern world. I learned a lot about the efforts to remodel the Uptown Theater in Chicago and how unique and beautiful the theatre is. What I found interesting in my work for May 14 was the fact that old theatres can be remodeled or renovated in order to bring new life to city centers across the country.

An old projector on display at THS

The final activity I accomplished on May 14 was the organizing the projects that children do on Museum Day. Overall I loved my first day at THS and feel I will be gaining great experience and doing important work that helps to preserve historical landmarks.