NYS Theatre InstituteProgram Testimonials: Former NYSTI InternsStatement: Status of NYSTI's Budget | Program Testimonials: Educators Dear Patricia, I was an intern in the fall of '04 and I've heard everything that is going on. I can't believe it. If there is anything I can do or people I can write specifically to please let me know. I signed the petition and want to post here what I wrote just so you can see and be reassured of the experiences that young people receive with your company. Thank you for providing so many opportunities for everyone. This company truly amazes me. "The experience I received by going through this intern program was indescribable. The talent and enrichment this company provides for the public is incredible. I can’t tell you how many times I went on a field trip with my school district (Ichabod Crane Central Schools) to see shows with this amazing company. I saw one of my first shows at this theatre, a show that they wrote themselves, and it was from this inspiring experience that drove me to a career in theatre. That in itself should speak volumes, that the work they do at this theatre literally has the ability to touch and change peoples lives. The show if you’re curious was A Tale Of Cinderella and is one of my favorites to this day. As a junior in high school my school took a field trip to go see Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday. The acting in this show moved me to immeasurable amounts, so much so that when I left I was saying to myself “That… is why I want to do theatre.” My senior year in high school I had the opportunity to intern with this theatre. As an intern I had the rare experience to go on tour with this same show. The very show I was in awe of the year before. I went on tour. An experience that most don’t receive until after they’ve graduated College. This was a huge deal for me. It was here at this theatre that in High School I was able to work with a Broadway lighting designer and a Broadway Director, when I was in High School. An experience that most people never get to go through. I met wonderful inspirational people while working here that I admired, their talents inspired me to work harder and to go after the things I really wanted because I could achieve them. I received support and encouragement from all of the actors I worked with. I would gladly go through my experience a million times over and if I were a millionaire you bet my money would be going to this theatre and others just like it that are going through the same thing. I think it is terrible that they are getting rid of arts programs in schools as well. Right now I'm in Vero Beach, FL with the Riverside Theatre and I do outreach every week more than twice a week going to local schools that no longer have theatre or arts classes and I bring the arts to them. Kids NEED the arts and the experience it brings. It can provide an outlet for many who can not, or have not learned to express themselves, or for many coming from a troubled background and just need other kids to interact with. The arts allows them to use their imagination and to live through it. Your imagination …something you tend to loose sight of as an adult. Along with the opportunities this company brings for children in the summer, the New York State Theatre Institute, like I mentioned before, provides a wonderful program for students in their senior year of high school that are looking to go into theatre, to intern with them and essentially try out and further their knowledge in what it is they are looking to do. Aside from that this theatre creates new works and mounts them for the public to see. New works. Do you know how rare that is to even have someone writing shows anymore? Let alone having someone to support your work and let you put it up? The arts thrive in all aspects through this company through the opportunities and the experiences it provides. The community can only begin to understand what it is that this company does by going to see their shows. To loose the New York State Theatre Institute would be a huge loss to the youth and to the community. You’d be depriving many the cultural enrichment they need and deserve." Thank you again for everything you have done for me, and I hope to be able to work with you again in the future.
My first NYSTI show was "The Tale of Cinderella" in 1995, I was five years old. For several years my family had a subscription because it is the only affordable theatre in the area. My senior year of High School, I decided to do their Internship. Now that I look back on it, I consider it to be one of the best experiences of my life. It gave me the confidence I needed to know that I would succeed in theatre. While I was there I faced some tough challenges but looked at them as an opportunity to better myself and learn new skills. Any company member, guest artist, director, composer or anyone else who works there is willing to share their knowledge with you. You can't find that anywhere else. My first day of college I walked into my acting class and it turned out that my professor had just worked at NYSTI with me. He knew exactly who I was. Now, he is the person I go to if I am having an sorts of problems. I would not have been able to do that if NYSTI hadn't introduced us first. I go back to NYSTI every time I am home from college, no matter how short the trip may be I still find the time. They are a family to me, one who could never be replaced.
I have spent the last decade of my life affiliated with the New York State Theatre Institute in some respect. I have spent countless summers at the summer programs, numerous Saturdays at Theatre Arts school, and have performed in several shows and even spent my senior year of high school as an intern. NYSTI has virtually changed my life and was the driving force behind my choice to go in to theatre for a lifetime career. NYSTI is a second home and means a lot to me. I would be devastated if it were torn apart and left dead to only remain alive in my memories.
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