A backstage pass
Observing stage and screen icon Julie Andrews was one of several thrills senior Mary Beatty experienced during her summer internship with Legacy Theatre in Branford, Connecticut. Andrews was on-site at the regional, nonprofit theater for several weeks in July, directing The Great American Mousical, a musical comedy based on a book the actress co-wrote with her daughter.
“Having the opportunity to be around Julie Andrews was amazing,” said Beatty, a leadership studies major from Guilford, Connecticut. “She’s an incredible force — so kind and funny.”
“Growing up, I took voice lessons and acted in school plays,” she continued. “I’ve always been interested in the entertainment industry, but it can be difficult to break into.” Working as a marketing and administrative intern at a small, professional theater was the perfect entrée to the field. The Jepson School of Leadership Studies awarded her a Burrus Fellowship to support her academically grounded internship.
Her previous work as an assistant house manager for the University of Richmond’s Modlin Center for the Arts and as a Jepson School student assistant responsible for creating Instagram reels helped her land the internship, Beatty said. During her internship, she promoted three of Legacy's four mainstage summer productions by creating a TikTok page, filming rehearsals and performances for use in TikTok reels, writing content for press releases and playbills, and assisting with fundraising and community-outreach events.
The experience gave her an insider’s perspective on the operations of a small, regional theater that attracts some topnotch Broadway talent. Beatty pointed out that Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Gattelli joined Andrews to work in-house on The Great American Mousical, while Broadway actress and Legacy Theatre development director Anne Runolfsson played the female lead. It was a heady environment for a college undergraduate.
Aside from her internship, Beatty received her first-ever professional theater contracts from Legacy this summer. Under one contract, she worked on Love Affair: A New Musical, a world-premiere musical based on the 1939 film An Affair to Remember about a couple who fall in love on a transatlantic sailing. “I was a professional stage dresser for the female lead played by Broadway actress Michelle Aravena,” she said. “The show is full of romance and dancing and has lots of heart.”
She received another professional contract to serve as an assistant director for Rising Stars, Legacy’s intensive one-week summer program for aspiring young actors, ages 7-16. “We rehearsed four musical numbers and a 15-minute play,” she said. “I loved watching the kids feel more comfortable as the week went on.”
She herself feels more comfortable and confident about working in the entertainment field as a result of her internship and contract work. “I appreciated the structure at Legacy and loved working so closely with my managers,” Beatty said. “I felt empowered and listened to.”
Back on campus, the senior continues to explore the entertainment industry. In her Leadership and Ethics class taught by Dr. Sam Director, she wrote a paper on the ethics of television and film casting practices. “What are the ethical issues associated with business success versus authentic representation?” she asked. “Casting Eddie Redmayne, a cisgender male, as the star in The Danish Girl, a movie about one of the first gender-affirming surgeries, ensured the movie’s financial success. But it was a controversial decision.”
Beatty said she may audition for the University’s spring musical and plans to stage-manage the play a friend is creating for his senior honors thesis. “After graduation,” she said, “I hope to work in a creative field.”