Just a few weeks ago, I got offered the amazing opportunity
to work with VH1 as a talent intern and have had the pleasure of working on
their latest show, Best Week Ever.
Some of my duties working in the talent department are researching new talent
that may be fit for upcoming projects/ shows in addition to my main
responsibility of making sure the talent coming in each day to film Best Week Ever is happy and that they
are taken care of during their time at our offices.
The talent who are on Best
Week Ever are comedians who have had a substantial following and buzz
locally in the New York area, and for some, this is their first time on television.
Just as I was nervous to be starting my first week on a shoot for a major
television network, so were some of the talent I was coming in to assist. Most
of the comedians who came in to film I was familiar with because I had either
seen them on TV from the previous season of Best
Week Ever, or I had seen perform live at comedy clubs. The idea of
interacting with these comedians was very exciting, even if they aren’t
considered “celebrities” just yet.
Not knowing what to expect from them, I greeted each person
coming in to shoot as if I knew who they were and tried to be as personable as
possible in order to make them feel comfortable in the short time they have
from make-up to on set. Some of the talent had been doing this for weeks before
and it was obvious they were comfortable making requests and knew their way
around, but for the talent who had not filmed before it was interesting to see
just how lost they really were in the whole process. None of them knew this was
my first time on the shoot and that I had no idea of what was going on ether,
but I made it a point to be confident in the way I interacted with them and if
I had been doing this for a long time. I knew that if I didn’t seem confident
that the newer talent wouldn’t feel as confident either, and that was very
important to their performance. Just the simple gesture of handing them a
bottle of water while they wait in the green room or make sure they have their
script to go over in make-up can go a long way.
The good thing I’ve noticed about working with comedians in
particular, is that they have all been very down to earth and I have not had to
deal with any “egos”. As the show continues to film, I look forward to getting
to know the talent much better and forming some great working relationships
with them. I want to be someone they can rely on during the run of the show who
helped make their experience enjoyable, and after the show, someone they
remember not just as that intern.
-Alyssa
Hello Alyssa, I truly enjoyed this posting. I think it's great that you're already getting yourself in the industry and putting your skills to practice. I haven't had the opportunity to intern yet, but I'm hoping for a similar experience like the one you've had. I also liked how you made hyper links to the VH1 site and the Best Week Ever page. This was very useful for me as I had never heard of this show before. And yes, comedians seem to be some of the most down to earth people to work with!
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