Get Involved: Training & Learning Opportunities
We’re often asked, “Is it possible for me to be a part of HCO if I don’t sing, play an instrument, or have any prior experience?” The answer is a very simple and resounding yes!
Just as with our performance opportunities — from our low-pressure informal recitals in our Arts Season to the myriad roles in our Mainstage cast and chorus at variable levels of commitment and technical experience — we’ve created many “entry-level” opportunities to contribute to the rest of Harvard College Opera’s many operations without already being a member of our Board.
We would like to clarify one thing upfront: Harvard College Opera does not, has not ever, and will not ever run a “comp” process, including a “completion comp.” We see offering opportunities for growth, learning, and experience-building as an ongoing feature of our core operations and a principal component of our mission, so we are opposed to any unnecessary barriers to entry for passionate would-be contributors if we also have ample opportunities for them to be engaged as full and equal collaborators.
With these principles in mind, you can find below some of our “entry-level” opportunities in staff and production for the mainstage and in executing our full season and other Board projects. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at harvardcollegeopera@gmail.com if you’d like to contribute in some other way than the options below! Likewise, please make use of the many Resources outside of HCO offered by other organizations in the arts community at Harvard and beyond.
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The HCO Board of Operators is selected each spring by an interview process, but it is not uncommon for Board members to loop in other members of HCO or the general arts community on particular projects and tasks. As such, it is not necessary to already be on Board to assist in the carrying out of some Board activities. Typically, however, this is done on a task-by-task or event-by-event basis.
For those who would like to be involved in the carrying out of HCO activities broadly or for the long term, there is also the option to shadow a Board member. Shadowing in this case is exactly what it sounds like — you become an acting second to whichever Board member you shadow, learning all the aspects of their job, and taking on some of the lay tasks that would help in learning the bread and butter aspects of the position. This is, in essence, how current HCO President (and former Treasurer/Vice President of Finance) James Rose ’22/’23 first became involved with the company — that is, by shadowing then-HCO President (and former Treasurer) Camille Bélanger ’19 throughout his first-year fall and winter.
Formally, Board Shadows work like this: if you…
are a first- or second-year student,
are fully committed to applying to the HCO Board of Operators in the upcoming spring selection process,
are already involved formally in the HCO mainstage process, or another extensive and semester-long HCO project on a scale like that of ARTS FIRST…
Then you may “apply” to shadow a current Board member or team for the fall and winter.
To apply, or to request more information, please reach out to our Executive Board at harvardcollegeopera@gmail.com.
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If you have no (or very little) prior experience with any aspect of stage tech or with producing but want nonetheless to be a part of our mainstage process in some capacity, we offer associate roles for precisely this purpose. A vast amount of work and effort goes into each Harvard College Opera mainstage production, and an essential group of contributors are our production staff. Some of our senior staff and producers are experts who anticipate going on to professional careers in their field, but there are also many who first learned about their current role when they arrived to Harvard. However, no matter what their level of experience, all our production staff are both friendly and busy, and many would greatly appreciate an associate or trainee to help lighten the load.
Similar to an undergraduate summer internship in a field like finance, at first, being an associate producer or staff member might involve no more than shadowing your senior staff member/producer or perusing their work product, perhaps with some basic tasks sprinkled in as well as you learn the ropes. However, as you quickly learn what the role entails and rapidly gain efficiency in the routine tasks, you grow in capacity and come to take on more and more responsibility over the course of the production.
An associate position lasts from whatever time you begin (shortly after you express interest — usually the mid- or late fall) through to the end of the mainstage process in early February, but there is much room for flexibility, e.g., for a fall- or winter-only position, etc. These opportunities are intended primarily for students in their first or second year at Harvard, which provides enough time to become a fully independent senior staff member or producer for HCO productions in their later years. (Of course, there is no requirement to return to HCO, but both of HCO’s presidents for the 2022-2023 season initially began in these sorts of roles.)
If you have interest in becoming an associate staff member or associate producer, please reach out to our Technical Liaison at production.harvardcollegeopera@gmail.com. You do not need to have already developed preferences about which part of our production process to shadow to be able to express interest or request an associate position, but we will work to accommodate any such requests to the greatest extent possible.
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Note: the process for shadowing directors is not the same as for staff and producers. The Assistant Stage Director position is the core of our winter internship, and the process for becoming an Assistant Music Director is led by the senior Music Director and typically involves auditions.
Please Note: If you have interest in directing, you should also explore our capstone entry-level opportunity, the “How to Make Opera” J-Term Intensive Internship, available only to first- and second-years with no prior experience in directing opera. Its application opens in early fall and closes in late October.
