Summer 2024 Company Management Intern
Chloe Hughlett (she/her) is a 2024 Company Management Intern. Chloe is from Kansas City, MO, where she grew up training in ballet pre-professionally. She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis, where she also minored in Dance. Chloe comes to the Pillow with a background in administration at professional ballet companies and schools and an events background producing independent music shows in St. Louis.
As a Company Management Intern this summer, my role handles a lot of different tasks– the Programming Department at Jacob’s Pillow is many things all at once. On paper, it’s logistics: booking travel, signing contracts, and distributing schedules. In practice, it also includes many odd jobs like restocking snacks, driving golf carts, and printing hundreds and hundreds of name tags for staff and visiting artists.
I grew up as a ballet dancer completely immersed in the culture of dance– being in the studio is all I ever wanted to do. Now, it’s my greatest pleasure to support dance from behind the scenes. At Jacob’s Pillow, I get to assist dance companies while they create and perform some of the best dance I’ve seen in my life.
The Royal Ballet performed during Week 2 of the Festival in both the Ted Shawn Theatre and the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage. I spent the week working with one of my favorite ballet companies in the world, and I enjoyed every second.
Monday
Mondays at the Pillow are quiet– most staff have the day off, but not me! We have to prepare for company arrivals. There are no shows, no patrons, and usually no artists. We welcome most companies on Tuesdays, but this week was anything but usual. It’s The Royal Ballet’s “takeover” week: the company will perform on both the Henry J. Leir Stage and in the Ted Shawn Theatre, unlike most weeks.
Outside of my office work (making name tags for campus visitors, sending welcome emails for companies arriving soon, combing contracts for important details), I spent the morning greeting two cars of staff and dancers with Holly Jones, Producing Director. The Royal Ballet’s production team was here to load their production equipment into the Ted Shawn Theatre, and a few dancers arrived early for physical therapy appointments. We tend to pick up lingo from companies as they come through– saying “physio” instead of “PT” was all the rage this week, as they call it in the U.K.
While today was technically an off day, there was still an optional company ballet class. All but four Royal Ballet dancers arrived to take class in the Perles Family Studio on the Pillow’s campus. We did a brief orientation, but they had to get straight to the studio. As I passed out name tags to the dancers, I finally got to meet an old friend of my sister’s who was here with the company. I always love finding ways to connect with my dancing days of the past.
Tuesday
Tuesday was the big arrival day! We had a “circle-up” in the Ted Shawn Theatre at 9:00am. This is where our Pillow Production and Programming teams and the touring company’s production team literally make a circle onstage, and we all introduce ourselves. It’s mostly for our team to meet the new company and vice versa, but it’s also good to see which interns are working which roles this week– Company Management Interns rotate between the different venues at the Pillow, and Production Interns swap venues and departments, such as lighting or sound. This week, I’m technically working on the outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, but since there’s only one company across both stages, we decided to split the work by dancers and musicians.
The full company arrived at noon, so I spent a few minutes beforehand planning my campus tour route. Dancers are usually interested in campus history, so I like to take them to the Archives at the end of their tour, which holds archival documents and photos from the Pillow’s 92 year history.
Then, I completed odd job number one of the week: driving to Pittsfield, MA to pick up signs for an upcoming installation. This week has been busy, so I enjoyed the peace and quiet by myself in the car.
Once I got back to campus, it was time for the Henry J. Leir Stage dress rehearsal. Programming staff took turns shuttling the dancers over to the outdoor stage in golf carts— or “buggies,” a term we picked up from our U.K visitors that week. After the dancers were settled at the stage, I sat in the audience to watch the run-through. These rehearsals are usually open to staff and interns, but we were all particularly excited about this one because every performance this week was sold out, meaning staff would not be able to see a performance. That might have been our only chance to see the show!
After that, we headed over to the Ted Shawn Theatre to see the dress rehearsal of the program for the indoor stage. The Royal Ballet had different repertoire for each stage, so I wanted to see both shows, especially the repertoire in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Diana and Actaeon and Manon are two of my favorite ballets, and it was amazing to get to see excerpts of both in the same night.
Wednesday
Wednesdays are when the campus energy really picks up. It’s opening night for both the indoor and outdoor stages, and we have our Director’s Welcome every week at the Pillow Rock. At the ceremonial ring of a bell, Pamela Tatge, Executive and Artistic Director, introduces each department and says a few words about the art we’ll see onstage this week. It’s a chance for staff to recognize the work we’ve done to keep the Festival going. It’s a quick 15 minute event, but it’s important— It’s one of the only times the whole staff gets to gather together in a week.
I had been over the moon excited about this week of shows for months, and it was an absolute dream to see it all come together at the Director’s Welcome.
This Pillow Pick was written by Chloe Hughlett and published on August 17, 2024.