After living at Haverford for three years, Kira Loretto '09 is immersing herself in nearby Philadelphia thanks to an internship with Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe.
The rising senior works for this festival's Communications Manager and is responsible for editing the festival's official guide (something of a moving target, given the event's site and scope), providing information with regards to the venues, times and descriptions of shows, and proofreading.
Loretto says that every day of the internship presents a new challenge, whether it's a looming deadline, collaborating with artists to present descriptions of their work, or creating advertisements for the shows despite the lack of formulated stage concepts, as the festival is still more than two months away. To add to the hectic pace, the festival runs for more than two weeks, between August 29 and September 13, and takes place all over the city rather than in a single location. Loretto seems to relish this challenge, and enjoys the way in which this internship has exposed her to Philadelphia. Taking the train to work every morning, the senior makes her way by walking from the station through Historic Philadelphia, passing by Betsy Ross' house each day. Doing so has allowed her to discover“something new everyday,” including boutiques, parks—what she describes as special little corners of the city. She loves seeing“the modern convenience of culture right next to the history of the country.” And these discoveries occur before Loretto has even begun work.
The Festival has a history of employing Haverford students. Loretto heard about the internship from Liz Turner '08, who is now Assistant to the Programming Director Pia Agrawal '05, and four other Fords are currently associated with the Festival. Loretto applied for the internship in late February through the humanities center, a process that included being selected from the general pool of applicants to continue the application process, an interview, and submitting writing samples. Taking this internship marks another step towards the senior's goal of ultimately working in communications or public relations after graduation. The task of“effectively getting the word out and spreading your message” is an appealing one to Loretto, and so her work with Philly Fringe seems like a perfect fit.“I definitely wanted to become more aware of the arts in Philly,” she adds.
In working with the Philly Festival, Loretto is a part of one of the edgiest and most provocative art scenes in the city. In her opinion, the art presented in the festival is all about“blurring boundaries,” modifying old ideas and“keeping them fresh… artists take a lot of risks.”
There are two parts to the festival: the Live Arts, which includes“envelope-pushing performance art,” and the Philly Fringe, which contains more than 200 musical and theatrical acts, including Haverford's very own Sex Piano. While any band may perform as part of the Philly Fringe, the Live Arts requires an invitation to perform. Reflecting on her work for the Philly Fringe, the economics major notes,“I have more of an appreciation for the fringe.” This part of the festival“gives all these nameless artists a chance—their 15 minutes.” However, every show is a step into the unknown, as Loretto warns:“You don't really know what you're going to get at a show, but it's a risk you have to take.”
Proximity to such cutting-edge work has given her a renewed appreciation of the arts, though it is a field she has been involved in for awhile. She is director and member of the Outskirts, a Haverford College a capella group, and participates in the theater program. This internship, however, provides Loretto with the opportunity to do more than simply partake in the arts—she is helping to spread the word and invite others to participate.
