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Each year hundreds of students come to New York City in hopes of furthering their careers with an internship in the theatre industry. In June of 2000, Lesley-Anne Stone was one of those interns and founded what is now the Theatre Intern Group whose mission is to create social and professional development opportunities for interns, enabling them to build contacts with their peers immediately upon starting work in the theatre community.
"I craved to know more about the business side of the Broadway industry," said Stone. "I simply wanted to gain insight as to what was happening in other offices on a daily basis. I was eager to know if my intern experience was similar to others, and I wanted to meet people who were passionate about having a career in the New York theatre community."
To satisfy this craving, Lesley-Anne faxed an invitation to every office listed in the Theatrical Index, inviting interns to meet at a restaurant in Times Square to chat about work, aspirations and what they were learning. Over 20 interns came to the first meeting, and the group was born.
During the next few summers, Lesley-Anne managed the group which met every two to three weeks during the summer months. The group continued to grow and eventually included members from almost every theatre office in the industry. Theatre professionals began to take notice and supported the group by hosting events, providing tickets to shows, and attending meetings as panelists.
In the summer of 2004, Lesley-Anne, together with former group member Liz Jurist, felt the group should move to another level and operate year round. Both knew first hand the significant role the program had played in their careers, and felt it should continue to be available to future interns.
In January of 2005, the group found a permanent home with the American Theatre Wing, where it will continue to serve theatre interns for generations to come.
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