Savannah Kurtz, a sophomore Theatre (Directing and Management) major in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, has accepted a summer internship at the prestigious Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, Ct.
“When I got the phone call from the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center offering me a position as a stage management intern this summer, I was in the middle of loading props into Kimball Hall for ‘Candide,’” Kurtz said. “I literally could not stop smiling. It was literally like being asked to prom by that cute guy in your math class that you assumed thought you were invisible. I am very excited to spend my summer at the O’Neill Center.”
The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center is the country’s preeminent organization dedicated to the development of new works and new voices for American theater. It has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and to more than 2,500 emerging artists. Scores of projects developed at the O’Neill have gone on to full production at other theaters around the world, including Broadway, Off-Broadway and major regional theaters. Founded in 1964, the O’Neill is the recipient of two Tony Awards, in 2010 for Regional Theatre, and in 1979 for Theatrical Excellence.
Interns work alongside industry professionals in the National Puppetry Conference, National Musical Theater Conference, National Playwrights Conference and the Cabaret & Performance Conference.
The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center recently announced the appointment of Grammy and two-time Emmy Award winner John McDaniel as artistic director of the Cabaret and Performance Conference. Kurtz will work alongside McDaniel throughout her internship.
“I will be working with the stage management team at The O’Neill on the many conferences held there throughout the summer, but mainly the National Playwrights Conference and the Cabaret and Performance Conference,” Kurtz said.
Originally from El Dorado, Ark., Kurtz has worked on many Carson School productions, including “Killer Joe,” “The Three Musketeers” and “Agravio,” and was the assistant stage manager for “Candide.”