Ever wonder what it’s like to work behind-the-scenes on a Broadway production? Eugenio Saenz Flores got to do just that when he interned with Aurora Productions in New York, NY, through IA&A’s Cultural Exchange Programs. We recently caught up with Eugenio in Vancouver, Canada, where he is now working as a technical director at the Arts Club Theatre Company.
Looking back, what are your thoughts about your experience at Aurora Productions?
Aurora Productions was by far one of the best times I have had since my career started. Finishing school and moving to New York to work with them was a dream come true. Suddenly I was not on only one but over half a dozen Broadway theatres. Throughout my time there we worked in over a dozen Broadway shows, a couple off-Broadway and some national tours. Suddenly I was sitting in an empty theatre a few seats away from Woody Allen as we both watched a run of the play he had written. I believe that what I learned as an intern at Aurora Productions were lessons I could not have learned in any classroom and eventually opened many doors to let me be where I am now.
What projects are you working on now in Vancouver?
I am currently one of the three Technical Directors at the Arts Club Theatre Company, Canada’s largest western theatre company. I am overseeing our largest venue, the Stanley Stage, where we produce everything from a two-hander play to a full on musical productions. I am also in charge of the regional tours.
What are some of the differences, if any, in working in New York City versus in Vancouver?
I think one of the biggest difference from working in Vancouver, rather than New York, other than the budgets (and tourists), is that in New York I was able to work on shows that later got produced all over North America and sometimes the world. For instance here at the Arts Club, they have produced a handful of plays that I was able to work on Broadway.
What advice would you have for someone who is starting a J-1 program?
Transitioning from school life to work life can be scary, but with an internship program it allows you to slowly transition to a full time working mode while still being trained and slowly be given more responsibility. At least for me I feel my internship program advanced my career a couple of years just by interning a couple of months.
What does cultural exchange mean to you?
People within the same city think, act and do things differently, no try leaving your country. Having the chance to go intern elsewhere allows us to see how other people think, work and live. This ultimately improves how we see the world and how we do things. Opportunities like this not only broaden our perspective of the world, it also allows us to share our culture and way of doing things to other people. It is always a two way street, we will gain out of a cultural exchange as much as we are willing to give.