Administrative intern Rebecka interviews fellow intern Anna about her experience at ITA.
Anna Kruger, ITA Administrative Intern
Rebecka Ibarra, ITA Administrative Intern
Rebecka: Can you talk a little bit about your background before becoming an intern at the Institute?
Anna: I was a musical theater student at Ball State University, which is located in Muncie, Indiana but I just recently switched to theatre education because COVID made me shift my perspective on how I wanted to use my career and the rest of my life. I wanted to switch from a performance-based theatre to a more educational side of theatre and I just felt that would be better for me in order to feel like I’m making a difference. That’s why I was interested in ITA. My whole life I had done theatre in a performance way, so I was really looking for an opportunity to see drama in a more therapeutic, educational setting, because I have only ever done theatre to perform. So, I was really excited to learn about ITA with its drama therapy modality and with being a musical theater student, I’m also interested in music therapy and art therapy. It really all relates to what I have been studying in college and it was the perfect opportunity for me to get experience in the professional world, outside of the classroom.
Rebecka: Awesome, how have those clinical sessions been?
Anna: They’ve been very interesting. I actually am observing Adrianna- and she went to the same high school as me so it’s been really fun to see her journey because I remember knowing her in high school. It’s been really interesting to be kind of the fly on the wall in the music therapy sessions and seeing how much goes into it, how much work there is behind the scenes. I’ve been able to work on the technical side and help Adrianna with playing music and showing some slides. I also get to have supervision time with Amanda, where I get to ask her questions that I’m curious about, or just talk about music therapy, or creative arts therapy in general and that’s been very beneficial.
Rebecka: How has your internship shaped what you think of as a career goal for yourself?
Anna: That’s a great question. It’s definitely reassured me in my decision to switch majors, especially seeing the music therapy sessions that I’ve been able to watch. I’m just very excited to start my career as a theatre educator because it’s just so cool to witness the change in a client and in my case, a student. I think that will be very powerful, just being able to embed my knowledge in someone in order to make their personal lives happier, or more exciting or more enriched. I think that’s a very cool opportunity so I’m feeling very confident in my decision to switch majors and I’m very grateful for this internship for doing that.
Rebecka: On that note, how have the arts impacted you?
Anna: The arts have impacted me immensely. Specifically, theatre has been something that I have been involved in since I was in kindergarten. I think it has made me a more thoughtful person just by reading about and portraying other people’s stories. I think theater has made me more accepting because the theatre community is very, most typically, a very accepting place. People are encouraged to be themselves and just not hold back, which I think is a great opportunity because often in school, we are told to, be quiet and be like, put in a little box. I think theater allows people to get out of that box. It’s also taught me to express myself and to trust myself because often projects or performances, in the beginning of the rehearsal process can seem… not the best [laughs] But it just taught me to, like trust the process because in the end, it’s often a beautiful result and all the hard work pays off.
Rebecka: If you could choose someone at ITA your life coach who would it be and why?
Anna: It would be Julie. I love her personality. She’s so fun and encouraging. She also is very on top of everything, so I think she would help me stay on my tasks. She’s just very organized but a very fun-loving person so I would love to have her as my life coach for that reason.
Rebecka: Closing question: what is your go to song when you need to dance?
Anna: Hmm that’s a good question. The first one that came to mind is Rain by Ben Platt. I do love Ben Platt. He’s the perfect mix of pop and musical theater. I also love Mr. Blue Sky!