My Internship with Mark

It was a snowy day in January when I arrived at the studios of Mark Summers Casting Agency in London.  I was an undergraduate drama student from Ithaca College in upstate New York, studying stage management with a minor in dance.  It was my junior (third) year of college, and I had just arrived in England to begin my internship.  The cold weather contrasted sharply with the warmth with which I was greeted by Mark and his associate director, Louise.  From that first day—when we had to reschedule a casting for an Audi commercial because of the bad weather—both Mark and Louise made me feel an integral and valued member of their team.

Mark’s passion and drive for the work he does was infectious.  He recognized that my theatre background, stage management experience and computer skills would be valuable assets to his company, and in turn, he and Louise were determined to make sure I would have plenty of hands-on experience in order to understand the workings of one of Europe’s leading dance and casting agencies.  Working alongside Mark and Louise, I learned what is takes to run a company that provides excellent service to its clients, whether it is helping to sell a product, to make a music video, to produce a concert or to make a feature film that has potential for an Oscar.

The workday—I use this term loosely because it was fun—began at 10 in the morning, and we were on the go until early—sometimes late—evening.  I learned the business from the start to the end of a project, from writing briefs for casting jobs based upon storyboards provided by producers and directors, to booking dancers/actors/models for casting, and ensuring the smooth running of auditions.  I went on shoots, and even had an opportunity to be an extra in one!  Knowing how much I enjoy working behind the scenes, Mark arranged for me to serve as a third assistant to the director of a Ford commercial he had cast.  The Mark Summers agency is a global company.  So one of my tasks was to upload video footage of shoots in London to online webcasting sites for private online viewing, say, by directors in Los Angeles or producers in Tokyo.  One of many highlights of my internship was working with Natricia Bernard, a leading choreographer who Mark hired to help lead and teach dancers for a music video.

Bio of blogger:

Hannah Dorfman earned her B.A. in Drama in 2010.  She has worked as substitute Stage Manager for the Tony award-winning Broadway production, Anything Goes A Revival.  Other Broadway credits include Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, and Brief Encounter.  She is currently serving as Assistant Stage Manager for the Broadway show, Fela! The Musical, which is on tour in

Published Feb 03, 2012