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Photos courtesy of Purple Rose Theatre Co.
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From left, Erin K. Snyder, Maggie Meyer, Kelly A. Vieau, Chelsea Compton, Joshua Roth, Matt W. Hollerbach, Stacey Livingston and (foreground) Samuel Blake.
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The building at 137 Park St. has played host to countless groups of talented actors and actresses over the years, but more recently, the Purple Rose has begun to take on a different kind of theatrical talent.
Waiting in the wings and working behind the scenes is a group of apprentices who participate in the theater's 12-month intensive training program to learn just what it takes to put on a show.
This year's group of apprentices is an eclectic mix of aspiring actors, directors and stage managers, and their new job has them doing everything from finding props to fetching coffee.
But beyond the busywork, the Purple Rose is known for having one of the best, most rigorous apprentice programs in the nation.
All apprentices have hands-on opportunities to work in house management, sound and light design, set building, box office duty and stage management.
Just that short list of skills offered by the theater is something that most people looking for a career in the industry would do just about anything to have -- even if it means brewing a fresh pot of coffee once in a while.
Every year, the Purple Rose receives between 50 and 100 applications for only eight apprentice positions.
Though a love of theater and a background in acting are certainly good reasons to apply for the popular program, said apprentice chief Quintessa Gallinat, Purple Rose publicity and programs manager, that's not all it takes to score a spot in the program.
Gallinat said the most important thing she looks for in a potential apprentice is someone who's willing to work hard and make a serious commitment to the business of theater.
"The demands are grueling and the hours are pretty intense," Gallinat said. "So we want people who are looking to learn as much as they can about as many different aspects of the theater as possible."
Working 80 hours a week is the norm for most Purple Rose apprentices and the chance of going weeks at a time without a day off is almost a guaranteed certainty.
According to Erin Snyder, one of this year's apprentices, the marathon work schedule is something for which she was prepared even before the apprenticeship began.
"They told us when we started, 'If you're dating someone now, you won't be by the end of your job,'" Snyder said. "At first I thought that was never going to happen. It definitely does."
Despite the grueling hours, the 23-year-old Otterbein College graduate said the program has given her a greater appreciation for the ins and outs of everything that goes into a production.
The aspiring stage manager also said the apprenticeship has given her an opportunity to pursue her passion rather than just read about it in the classroom.
"It's something that you really can't learn in school; you just have to learn by doing," Snyder said.
As an assistant to the stage manager, her favorite position so far, Snyder said she got a chance to help run rehearsal, find props and mend costumes.
And that type of experience is exactly the case for every apprentice. During their year of work at the theater, each apprentice is expected to spend four to five weeks working with a different staff member on a particular aspect of the production.
Part of that work involves set construction, which requires a lot of heavy lifting and a little carpentry work.
Though some of the apprentices joked that they had spent more time on a stage than they ever had around a set of power tools, Matt Hollerbach, a 23-year old apprentice and recent University of Michigan graduate, said his time in the theater's woodshop has been some of the most rewarding since he began.
"To me it means I'm going to leave here with a useful skill," Hollerbach said.
Like most in the group, Snyder and Hollerbach are fresh out of college and on their way to landing that first big break, but that scenario isn't the case for all Purple Rose apprentices.
Stacey Livingston, 32, was vice president of a graphic design firm in Traverse City before she began the apprentice program.
Though theater has always been her first love, Livingston said she decided during college that she needed a "real job" before she started acting.
Though she lives in Marshall with her husband and commutes two hours a day for the apprentice program, Livingston said she isn't doing it for the $300 a week salary.
"I decided it's not too late to become what you want to be," Livingston said.
That same sentiment applies to 30-year-old Kelly Vieau, who worked in the restaurant business for nine years before entering the apprentice program six months ago.
Like Livingston and the other apprentices, Vieau said she had always felt a close connection to theater.
Though hers is also a career that didn't begin immediately after college, Vieau's upbeat attitude seemed to mirror that of every apprentice working at the Purple Rose.
"I love it here," Vieau said. "Some of the days are absolutely crazy and hectic and long, but most of the time I just stop and think about the fact that I'm working at one of the most amazing theaters in the country."
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