I interviewed for an unpaid internship at the Cherry Lane Theatre this afternoon. I met with this woman Faye who seemed pretty cool and pretty into making me get the most out of this internship. Of course, the first thing she asked me, before the obligatory ice-breaker phase of the interview, was about my availability. In fact, at least half the interview was devoted to my schedule, which I found a little presumptuous. Not for nothing, of course, but considering how my previous job left me with relatively open-ended work hours, I might have been taken a bit aback by Faye's emphasis on scheduling and implied insistence that I stick to the schedule we'd set up. I guess it's a non-profit organization, so you really can't complain when they don't have any money to pay you, but come on, folks, most people like something in exchange for their labor. You get what you paid for. With these internships, the theatre gets a lot more than they paid for, so I don't think they can really complain when one of their indentured employees shows up a bit late for work. If it's that important to always have someone on duty, just hire an extra unpaid intern or two. It's not like the budget can't handle it.

Anyway, the interview was miserable. I guess I'm still not quite in the zone after getting terminated at the other theatre, and I said some things that were a bit asinine and some things that were a little too honest for a job interview. Then I had to balance out the scales with a couple of white lies. Mostly, I guess I was just disengaged by all the talk about my schedule.

Aside from the obsession with sticking to a schedule and the not getting paid parts of the job, it actually seems like something I'd want to do for a few months. I would be working with the production department, sitting in on rehearsals and working with the people who are actually creating the play on-stage. I'd also be helping the tech department during shows, and working with the development department, grant-writing and marketing and website-updating in the down time. I'm just not sure about the whole thing. Part of it, I know deep in my bones, is my natural anxiety whenever I have the opportunity to start something new. But there really are practical concerns. It's about time I grow up and get a full time job where I can support myself, not to mention the damn student loan people who are demanding their money back. I have until Monday to decide, but I don't think I'm gonna accept the internship. I'm just trying not to be so hasty in making my final decision.