Our Marketing Intern has taken it upon herself to make sure that you, our friends and patrons, get to know our staff a little bit more over the summer. This is the second blog post in her Staff Spotlight Series.
This week's Staff Spotlight is Madeline Dummerth, our Education Coordinator. She studied Scenic and Lighting Design at Shenandoah University and has worked at theaters in the DC area before finding her home at Virginia Stage. Her current projects include Black Light Puppet Theatre with Eggleston services (check out the blog series she wrote here) and VSC's Summer Camp at The Governor's School for the Arts (another blog post!). Madeline joined the VSC team in September, 2014, and has recently completed her certificate in Nonprofit Management through TCC's Academy for Nonprofit Excellence. Yay Madeline!
Marketing Intern: If you could have lunch anywhere in Downtown Norfolk, where would you go?
Madeline Dummerth: Oh, I would definitely have lunch at Field Guide. I love their bean bowls. They have good food, and booze smoothies. I just love them. They have amazing food.
MI: I do love me some Field Guide. What is your favorite thing about VSC as a company?
MD: Our Education Department has all these great new initiatives. We’ve grown from charging fees for our programs to creating free, accessible theatre programs for all of Hampton Roads.
MI: If you could have lunch with any person, dead or alive, famous or not famous, who would you choose?
MD: George Washington. Because he’s a badass. And I think he has, well, had, a beautiful mind, and I’d love to pick his brain. Plus, his house is gorgeous. So we’d have lunch at his house, on the porch, overlooking the Potomac.
MI: Sounds like a great day! What initially drew you to VSC, and how has the company changed since then?
MD: It was, and still is, the only professional theatre company in the area! I had been out of the theatre world for a number of years, and I wanted to get back into it. I started in group sales in the box office, and now I’m in education. I particularly enjoy the Girl Scout programs, which I find really rewarding.
MI: What show in season thirty eight are you the most excited about?
MD: I think I’m the most excited about The Wiz. And Streetcar [Named Desire]. I really do like that show. I’m really excited to see it in the newly renovated Wells Theatre. And I can’t wait to see the set!
MI: How does arts education benefit those who aren’t looking to pursue the arts as a career?
MD: Oh, my gosh let me count the ways! It teaches them to be public speakers, how to be comfortable in large groups of people, and how to interact with humans in every day life. We’re doing writing prompts in our camp. It just helps with creativity. Like with Hamilton, theatre gets people excited about things. If people can get excited about the [American] Revolution because of theatre, they can get excited about anything. It just helps with storytelling.
MI: Well, thanks so much, Madeline. I've got a lot of exciting Staff Spotlight posts planned for this summer, so keep checking our blog!