Studio 58 grad lands internship at local theatre company
Green Thumb Theatre takes on Bronwyn Carradine despite not often offering internships
Reported by Lisa Tanh
Langara Studio 58 2016 alumnus, Bronwyn Carradine, has landed an internship with a Vancouver theatre company for young audiences.
Founded in 1975, Green Thumb Theatre focuses on creating and producing plays that explore social issues relevant to the lives of children, youth and young adults. Some of these issues include bullying, mental illness, self-esteem, immigration and racism. Each year, they perform for more than 125,000 children and tour across Canada, the U.S. and sometimes abroad. Green Thumb Theatre has seven full-time employees and Carradine is currently their only intern.
Carradine worked with artistic director during final year at Studio 58
Artistic director at Green Thumb Theatre, Patrick McDonald, first got to know Carradine while he directed The Crowd by George F. Walker at Studio 58 that she stage managed.
“We have only had a handful of interns over the years,” McDonald said. “I found Bronwyn smart, curious and an ideal candidate to learn the inner workings of a professional theatre company.”
Carradine credits her success to Langara’s Studio 58 program.
“Everything that Studio 58 puts out is high-caliber and they expect that from their graduates. I’d say 70 per cent of working actors and artists in Vancouver are from Studio 58,” Carradine said.
Using internship to learn about different aspects of theatre
At Green Thumb Theatre, Carradine is learning how to write plays, direct shows and run a theatre company. Currently, she is writing Blink, a show geared to high school students about a boxer dealing with his anger and masculinity, and assistant directing The Code, a show also geared to high school students about friendships, relationships and the weight of one’s words in the age of social media.
“It is our belief that Bronwyn will be one of the next wave of cultural leaders,” McDonald said.
“There’s nothing that I don’t want to learn because I think to be a good writer and director, you have to learn how everything works,” Carradine said. “[It’s like] how a well-oiled machine works.”
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