Saint Michael's College student Matthew Fitzgerald of Annapolis scores internship with professional theater

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Saint Michael's College student Matthew Fitzgerald working this summer as a sound tech for the professional Saint Michael's Playhouse.

COLCHESTER, VT (06/16/2011)(readMedia)-- Matthew Fitzgerald, a senior English major at Saint Michael's College, is spending his summer producing sound at Saint Michael's Playhouse, a seasonal regional theater owned and operated by Saint Michael's College under contract with Actor's Equity Association.

Mr. Fitzgerald landed a sound internship with Playhouse, which he says means "making the scenes seen by the audience more realistic."

"I produce sound cues. That means if someone on stage is supposed to pick up a telephone, I need to make sure it rings," Fitzgerald said.

The son of Jeffrey and Linda Fitzgerald of Annapolis, Fitzgerald graduated from Broadneck Senior High School before coming to Saint Michael's College in Burlington, Vermont. Fitzgerald, who is also a freelance DJ, said he is excited to be learning new sound techniques, including both audio software and hardware. He values his opportunity to work alongside professional actors and technicians from around the world.

Learning from the pros

"I'm personally working with the music composer for the show, Joel Abbot, who has worked two seasons with the Playhouse, and has written or designed sound for five productions with the company," Fitzgerald said.

"It's quite the sprint," says Fitzgerald about the pace of the work. "It's a large scale, professional production that moves at a much faster pace than anything we do during the school year." Playhouse internships are highly competitive and very valuable.

Playhouse background

Founded in 1947, Saint Michael's Playhouse features talent from Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theaters nationwide and attracts approximately 16,000 theatergoers each season. An auxiliary enterprise of Saint Michael's College, the Playhouse is Greater Burlington's only actors' Equity resident theater company and operates under contract with Actors' Equity Association in New York City. At the same time, Saint Michael's College students have the opportunity to learn from the pros through internships in technical theater, costuming, lighting, set construction, publicity, and occasionally, on-stage roles.

Learn What Matters at Saint Michael's College, The Edmundite Catholic liberal arts college, www.smcvt.edu. Saint Michael's provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead successful, purposeful lives that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's College is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top 10 college towns. Saint Michael's is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nations Best 373 Colleges, and is included in the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings.