Week 4: Carnivals and Facebook and 7-Eleven runs oh-my!

Hello, blog followers! Week 4 of my internship at CCT was full of mostly getting ready for a huge carnival event called BOING! that we held yesterday (why my post is a little delayed). But before I get into that, let’s discuss how CCT got its start. It was founded in 2005 by Jacqui Russell and Todd Leland out of the dire need for high-quality, professional children’s shows in the Chicago area. Our first production was A Year with Frog and Toad, which we’re actually slated to produce in this upcoming season! For almost 12 years, CCT performed shows in various other theatres around Chicago, never having its own space to call home. So, some huge growing pains were that the administrative staff was (and still is for the time being) located in a different location, and the performances and classes were scattered all around the city. It was difficult to keep everything in order since things could have been at one of many locations, and if something went awry, the people needed to fix the situation might have been in a different location. But, just this year, CCT bought an old police station from the city and transformed it into one, cohesive space for the theatre to live in for the rest of time. We are still in the transition process of moving things over, so the administrative staff is still in a different part of the city, but it’s already so much better for the staff, the actors, and most importantly, the kids.

So, what about this carnival, you ask? BOING! was the first-annual (of many to come hopefully) fundraiser for CCT, and we spent a lot of time planning for it this past week. It was an open house, activity based sort of deal, and my post for the whole 7 hours of the event was at the concession/merchandise stand. I learned how to use their system for transactions and got to interact with CCT families all day! Other events included a cookie combat competition, aerial arts showcases, a huge interactive game of chutes and ladders, mechanical mini golf, a 3D printer, a life-size game of croquet, and lots and lots of food from classic Chicago places, like the famous Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza. While the event was long, and on a Sunday, I really enjoyed seeing people having fun in the building and seeing my co-workers come together for a cause. Amidst all of this planning for BOING!, I continued my duties of scheduling Facebook and other social media posts, and performing the classic intern duties of running to the local 7-Eleven convenience store to get my boss various goodies.