Literary Internship
Literary apprentices and interns assist in the daily operations of the Artistic Department. The Literary Apprentice is instrumental in the administrative needs of Steppenwolf’s literary office. Duties include dramaturgical research and blogs, attendance in artistic meetings, script coverage, logging script submissions, facilitating in-house readings, script copying, editing and compiling articles, and as needed, assisting members in the Artistic Department including the Artistic Producers. While there is some opportunity for limited rehearsal and workshop room exposure, this is a primarily administrative position with the opportunity to learn the inner workings of an artistic office.
Dates & Hours
Internship: June 3, 2019 – August 30, 2019, unpaid
Apprenticeship: September 3, 2019 – May 29, 2020, pays minimum wage
28 hours/week
Position is Supervised By
Director of New Play Development
Who Should Apply For This Position
Applicants interested in learning about the day-to-day functions of a Literary Office in a large institution should apply. While directors and playwrights have had successful and fulfilling apprenticeships, this program is specifically designed to expose the participant to the administrative operation of a literary department.
A successful candidate will be an expressive writer, a curious and critical thinker, and have some familiarity with the new play world as well as the American canon. In order to function in the office environment, an applicant should also demonstrate experience with Outlook and Microsoft Office. A minimum of one year work experience after graduation–not necessarily in theatre—is preferred.
Alumni For This Position Include
- Meghan Beals McCarthy, Artistic Director, Chicago Dramatists, Chicago IL
- Whitney Dibo, Director of Creative Development and Acquisitions, The Weinstein Company
- Jenni Page-White, Literary Manager, Actors Theater of Lousiville
- Kat Zukaitis, Literary Associate, South Coast Repertory Theatre
Application Requirements
- Cover Letter Addressing the Following:
- Why you want to work in this department at Steppenwolf
- What skills and experiences you bring to this department
- What you hope to learn from this internship or apprenticeship
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- Two Letters of Recommendation
- Artistic Statement
- Prompt - The Literary Apprenticeship and Internship is an administrative position. Though the majority of your time will be spent on office work, you will occasionally be asked to respond to plays you’ve seen and scripts you’ve read. In your statement, please answer the following two questions: What kind of theatre excites you and why? In what ways are your aesthetic values in conversation with the work on the stages of Steppenwolf Theatre?
The cover letter, resume, and two letters of recommendation should be submitted as one PDF titled "lastname_firstname.pdf" (i.e. letts_tracy.pdf). The Artistic Statement should be submitted as its own PDF titled "lastname_artistic" (i.e. letts_artistic)."