My Summer at Opera Philadelphia

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April Zhang ('26), an Architecture and Design double major, was a Marketing and Digital Content Intern at Opera Philadelphia this past summer. This internship was supported through the Summer Humanities Internship Program.

I was drawn to Opera Philadelphia because of my interests in performing arts, specifically theater and classical music, and the Opera was the perfect blend of the two. I'm also a Design major, so I hoped to gain some design experience making digital content for the company. I'd attended live performances before but had close to no knowledge about how performing arts organizations were actually run. With Opera Philadelphia, I learned how an arts company makes decisions, promotes events, handles ticket sales, divides its budget, connects with the city, and much more. Overall, I learned just what work needs to be done to keep the shows running and the company thriving. The entire theater industry is struggling right now, and it was interesting to see how spending decisions are made, how announcements are handled, and how the company prepares to bounce back. Additionally, I learned how to gather and organize content for big publications, maintain a professional social media presence, and create engaging content for print, website, and social media, as well as how to use various industry software.

My relationship with my supervisors and the rest of the office was pretty laid back. Opera Philadelphia has a relaxed company culture which I appreciated. I especially enjoyed projects that were more collaborative between my supervisor and me, such as making creative TikToks to promote shows. I had the opportunity to connect with other Opera Philadelphia staff and professionals associated with the Opera. I was able to talk to Artistic staff about the theater design career path, as well as visit the scene shop and see set construction up close. I also met with the graphic designers Opera Philadelphia outsources, and I learned how their small design business works as well as how other design jobs work. I appreciated being able to explore all sides of the company even though I was in the marketing department.

What surprised me the most about my experience was how spontaneous some of my work was. This was a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed all the opportunities to engage with Opera Philadelphia outside of the office, and I saw the company's connection with the city in person. I visited the scene shop and took promotional photos and videos, visited the print shop to see how our materials are printed, accompanied our composer in residence to an interview at a radio station, and also helped set up and table for community events. Through these experiences, I've become more adaptable and open. I had fun working with many different sides of the company, and I now genuinely see internships and career opportunities as chances to try out different industries and experience different company cultures, rather than something a college student has to do. - April Zhang

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