The Third Rail Mentorship Program is a training intensive designed to give emerging theatre artists an artistic home for a season of hands-on experience in the day-to-day life of a professional repertory theatre. We welcome our Mentees into the fold by providing free training, compensated positions, and other professional growth opportunities. The program begins in September and continues through June.
Mentees work alongside Third Rail Company Members in both the rehearsal room and the administrative offices, gaining experience in all aspects of creating, producing, financing, and marketing a show.
Who are are looking for:
Ambitious, talented, disciplined, and diverse emerging theatre artists. Candidates should be over 21 years of age and not currently enrolled in school.
You want to gain a broader sense of what it is to be an artist of the theatre and already excel in at least one area (acting, design, directing, writing, producing, or stage management). You want to experience what it is to be part of a company. You want an artistic home. You have excellent communication skills, and have an entrepreneurial spirit.
What we offer:
An opportunity to be part of a company within a company; to broaden your identity from actors, designers, stage managers, writers, and producers into comprehensive theatre artists. You will attend regular weekend “intensives” that delve into various methods of theatrical practice, such as collaboration/devised work, viewpoints, movement, improvisation, design, and the business of theatre. Mentees will study side-by side with Third Rail Company Members and some intensives will culminate with a presentation.
Mentees with the appropriate skill sets will be given opportunities to assist our professional stage managers, designers, directors, and producers as well as shadow actors in the company as they prepare a role.
Mentees are given opportunities to learn the business of producing theatre. They will be invited to learn and assist in all facets of Third Rail’s enterprise: season selection, marketing, sales, and development.
Each Mentee will be partnered with a Company Member for the duration of the program. Each Mentee will learn both the art and the business side of theatre one-on-one from a professional.
What we expect:
Engagement. Mentees are expected to be involved with and attend Third Rail programming and intensives scheduled 1-2 weekends of every month. You will be invited to attend company meetings.
Mentees will be responsible for coordination and production of our National Theatre Live programming, and front of house and box office for our Main Stage productions. Work hours for National Theatre Live, front of house and box office are paid. Work will be variable in terms of hourly commitment, but should average around 5-10 hours a week. It is possible to have a full-time job and be a Mentee. We encourage our Mentees to be actively seeking theatre work during their tenure, provided they can fulfill their duties to the company.
For more information about the program or future opportunities to join the Mentorship Company, please contact Kelsea Ashenbrenner, kelsea@thirdrailrep.org.
Meet the 2024 Mentorship Company
Paige Rose Cabral (they/them) is originally from a small farming town in Northern California and moved to Portland amidst the pandemic to pursue acting and performance at Lewis and Clark College. There they dove in head first and heart open to anything and everything performance, ranging from choral singing, acting, devising, writing, and directing. Paige considers themselves a director with big dreams who enjoys showcasing the grandiosities of life in their work. They recently worked with PETE as an assistant stage manager for Cardiac Organ and they have directed works ranging from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to Waitress: The Musical for their senior thesis project. In their free time, Paige is often found making an absolute mess in the kitchen or at their crafts table. They are excited to be jumping into the Third Rail Company this season!!
Anya Jones (they/them) is a theater artist originally from Seattle, WA. Primarily an actor, with experience in costume design, they are drawn to heightened and immersive works which push the limits of conventional theater. Anya graduated from Willamette University’s theater program in May, and is so excited to begin their artistic life in Portland. Recent credits include Theatre 33 and Willamette University Theatre. They are thrilled to be a part of the Third Rail Community!
Christa Knickerbocker is an actor and theatre artist who has been passionate about theatre since the first time she stepped onstage at the age of five. She graduated from Western Washington University in 2020, where she received her bachelor’s degree in theatre. She has been living in Portland for the past two years, and she’s excited to join the mentorship program at Third Rail. She looks forward to collaborating with fellow artists and contributing to the local community.
Laila Mottaghi is a first-generation Iranian American writer, actor, and poet. She graduated from Portland State University in 2019 with a degree in International Studies, Theatre, and the Persian language. Laila was last seen in LES Shakespeare Co’s production of “Bee” as Nassar. She has a passion for new works and loves to watch them come to life from the gritty edited rewritten pages to the stage. Beyond writing and acting, she has experience as a stage manager and assistant director. Laila is excited to be apart of Third Rail’s Mentorship Program to refine her skills and connect with other local Portland theatre artists.
Kate Perri (KP) (she/her, they/them) is a theatre maker, facilitator, and educator from Portland, OR. Kate uses song, music, comedy, poetry, improvisation, memory, grief, and The Body to create work that inspires connection and liberation. She has two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Portland State University and was an Artist in Residency with From the Ground Up in 2019 and 2023. She loves summer camp, Halloween, her friends and chosen family, befriending animals, and sweet treats. KP believes in the power of the collective and that a better world is possible.
Mia Shu (she/her) is a transracial and transnational adoptee from China. She considers herself primarily an actor and occasionally a stage manager. Originally from Eugene, OR, she has been based in Portland for the past six years, where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and a BS in Biology from the University of Portland (UP). At UP, she worked on seven different productions, both on stage and off, and developed a love for contemporary and new works. As an artist, she is passionate about increasing the Asian American canon and creating more opportunities for BIPOC voices in art and media. She is an avid foodie and nerd and is honored to be given the opportunity to be surrounded by so many incredible artists as part of this cohort.
Meg Schenk (they/them) is a born and raised Portlander and playwright inclined toward the darkly funny, deeply personal, queer in both senses of the word, and all things overlapping. Their plays have been seen at the University of Oregon, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, and the Fertile Ground Festival. As a nonprofit fundraising professional, they have worked at theaters in California, Chicago, New York, and Portland before landing at Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon.
Skylar Vayda (she/her) is an aspiring director and actor based in the lovely city of Portland OR. She graduated Cum Laude from Lewis & Clark College this spring with degrees in Theatre and Media Studies, and is excited to be entering the Portland theatre scene! The directing work they are most proud of include her senior thesis play, Misery, adapted from the Stephen King novel, and a cutting from Joseph Wilde’s Cuddles. She also assistant directed Lewis & Clark’s mainstage production of Henry IV Part I and acted in a number of projects over the last several years including playing Friar Lawrence in Romeo & Juliet. She is very excited to be part of the Third Rail Mentorship program in order to finally learn about the gritty underbelly of the theatre business they don’t teach you in school: the accounting!
