Pacific Conservatory Theatre seeks housing hosts for its summer internship program

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Toward the end of May, the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) in Santa Maria will welcome more than 70 technical theater interns from Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, and several other states across the country. 

This reception comes as part of PCPA’s yearly summer internship that offers people the chance to gain hands-on experience bringing productions to life onstage through costume design, scenic art, carpentry, prop creation, and more. According to Associate Production Manager Michael Brusasco, PCPA could not do all that it does without these interns, but each year, the cost of living on the Central Coast poses significant challenges for some of the people involved. 

“The thing that always happens is [the interns] are like, ‘Great, let’s do it. I’m so excited,’” Brusasco said. “Then, they go on to Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Zillow, all of the regulars, and they look at the rent, and their hearts drop. They say, ‘I don’t know how to do this. It is incredibly expensive.’”

In an attempt to support interns who cannot afford average rent prices in the Santa Maria Valley, PCPA developed an informal host housing network, where local residents provide short-term or long-term accommodations. Brusasco emphasized that he often tells interns that the most challenging part of the internship program is getting to the Central Coast. 

“It feels like an insurmountable task,” he said, “and the fact that so many of them achieve that task is a testament just to the quality of who we get.” 

The housing network relies on community members with guest rooms, additional housing units, or extra space to arrange plans and accommodations with incoming interns. Brusasco noted that there is a vetting process for interested community members and that he will help with initial introductions between hosts and interns, but it’s up to each individual intern “to be ambitious and proactive in advocating for themselves.” 

“At the end of the day, it is an agreement between the student intern and the host house,” he said. “I am always available if there are questions or issues, but the responsibility really is to encourage that professional relationship for the student or intern.”

Out of the more than 70 interns confirmed for the summer program, about 20 still need to secure housing as of April 21, according to Brusasco. He hopes to expand the informal housing network so every intern can make it to Santa Maria and join PCPA from May through August.

While the theater offers a scholarship for accepted interns to help with housing and daily costs, Brusasco explained that the typical cost of rent is more than half of the money that interns receive each month. Scenic Charge Artist Abby Hogan, who hires several interns to help with painting sets, said that inviting students to move here for the summer is “a big ask.”

“I’ve been talking to students across the country who really want to be here, but I have to really level with them and say, ‘If you’re coming all the way from Louisiana, I need to let you know that it’s very expensive to live here, and we can give you enough money to help you pay rent, but we can’t help you get here money-wise,’” she said. “So, the interns that do make it here, I’m so humbled and grateful that they really put their trust in us to have a great summer.”

This year, PCPA received more than 300 applications for its summer internship program, which is a 25 percent increase from the year before. When hiring interns, Brusasco said that they look for people who are curious, growth-oriented, and “not afraid of failure.”

“We sort of joke when a student or an intern leaves that we know we’ve succeeded because their departure means that we’re losing a valuable team member,” he said. 

In early May, year-long production management intern Haley Parker will depart from PCPA to be a production assistant at Des Moines Metro Opera in Iowa. During her time as an intern, Parker said that she learned what it takes to run a theater, helped put on shows, and felt like a valuable member of the production team.

“It’s felt like home,” she said. “It’s felt like a very happy, healthy place for me to be, and to be able to take that with me and give that to someone else one day or take that with me and figure out where I do and don’t want to be in my life.”

Hogan said that it would be “wonderful” for anyone with extra space to consider allowing a PCPA intern to stay with them, noting that the opportunity to work in a professional theater is extremely beneficial for people in an early stage of their career. 

“[The program] really helps students and interns to be able to make a bridge between their education and the professional world of live entertainment,” Hogan said.

Staff Writer Emma Montalbano can be reached at emontalbano@newtimesslo.com.

This article appears in Apr 24 – May 4, 2025.