Being a La MaMa Llama: J. Mehr Kaur

Being a La MaMa Llama!

Our experiences of working as summer interns at La MaMa

Above: J. Mehr Kaur, Mary Fulham and Mollie Molumby

outside The Ellen Stewart Theatre

Hi there! Mehr, Mary and Mollie here!

We are three students interning at La MaMa this summer. We decided to nick-name ourselves the La MaMa Llamas as, just like this wooly camelid from South America, we too are cuddly, domesticated and we travel in packs. (We are also quite partial to rhymes and hope that La MaMa interns will be Llamas for years to come.)

Let us tell you a little about ourselves and what interning at La MaMa means to us!

J. Mehr Kaur:

I am going into my final year at Smith College in Northampton MA and am thrilled to be in the city. One of my favorite things about working at La MaMa is the Archive, right downstairs--decades on decades of some of the richest modern theatre history at my fingertips. At the beginning of my time working in the office I went on an archive tour with Ozzie Rodriguez, the director of the Archive, and learned more than I ever could have imagined about the roots of La MaMa and its tradition of genre-bending art. It was an inspiring and thought provoking visit. I also love that my internship has so many different pieces to it. In May I interned exclusively for the La MaMa Moves! dance festival, now in its 10th year. Working with artists like the Junk Ensemble and Yoshiko Chuma challenged me and kept me on the tips of my toes. “Other tasks as assigned” suddenly became my favorite part of the job.

On my first day, I was led into a jungle of gold string and was handed a drill and a little knife. After hours of drilling, cutting, tying, and untangling, I was extremely proud to have helped put together the set for Junk Ensemble’s piece, DUSK AHEAD.

To me, La MaMa means innovation in a safe place. I am grateful to work at an organization that is committed to helping both emerging and established artists to keep on doing what they do. As a young director/producer I feel like this is a place I can thrive.

Future interns: USE post it notes; we Llamas can't live without 'em. 

Keep an eye out for two more blogs chronicling the experiences of our summer interns, the La MaMa Llamas! If you are interested in applying for an internship at La MaMa send an e-mail with a resumé and cover letter to kate@lamama.org! Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.