Ask the Intern: Esther Won at Lincoln Center

Working in Lincoln Center’s Artistic Programming Department, a Media, Culture, and Communication undergraduate provides hospitality to performers backstage.

Esther Won stands in front of a Lincoln Center stage — Photo by Tracey Friedman

Esther Won hopes to work in the performing arts, behind the scenes on Broadway or at a dance company like the American Ballet Theatre. “There are a lot of departments and roles that interest me—curation, marketing and design, stage management, event production, and general administration,” she says.

A summer internship at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts has given her an opportunity to connect with leading professionals in each of those areas, and offered a preview of the demands of a career in artistic programming. “I’ve had enlightening conversations with people in fields I hope to break into,” Esther says, including the company’s director of marketing and a curator who offered insights about booking artists and tailoring shows for broad audience appeal. And then there are the fellow interns in other departments: “It’s been really special to build relationships with the next generation of arts and culture leaders,” she adds.

A statue inside a fountain at Lincoln Center — Photo courtesy of Esther Won

Esther is a rising senior at NYU Steinhardt, majoring in Media, Culture, and Communication with a minor in the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology (which includes courses at Stern, Steinhardt, and Tisch). She plans to graduate early this fall.

The NYU News team visited Esther at Lincoln Center for more of her stories from backstage.

THE GIG: I’m an artistic programming intern for Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City, a two-month long festival offering hundreds of free and choose-what-you-pay performances to the public. The Artistic Programming Department oversees the planning and execution of that, down to the smallest details. I support line producers and artist services colleagues on show days by providing hospitality to the performers and artists. I check them in, show them to our green rooms and dressing rooms, set up hospitality and fulfill their rider requests, help with on-site coordination and event tasks, and ensure they have a seamless experience at Lincoln Center from the moment they arrive until when they leave. I also complete other ad-hoc projects like designing badges for our festival performers, handling VIP ticketing for artist guests and the press, creating gift bags, and managing stock inventory.

Esther Won stands in front of a disco ball at Lincoln Center — Photo by Tracey Friedman

USHERED IN: When I’m not at my internship, I work as an usher at Jazz at Lincoln Center, one of Lincoln Center’s resident organizations. That experience has given me some foundational knowledge about front- and back-of-house operations, and I’ve used it as a stepping stone to further understand the overall functioning of a performing arts center and what it means to support performers and performances from start to finish. It’s what made me curious about what else Lincoln Center had to offer and inspired me to look into arts administration.

My advice to other students wanting to break into the performing arts industry is to consider what you really want to do and are interested in. Is it production? Stage management? Front of house? Events and operations? Or maybe it’s other work that supports the show from behind the scenes, like marketing or financing and fundraising. If you’re not sure, start small and get some form of exposure to whichever aspects excite you the most. Let yourself explore and be flexible. It’s okay to end up not liking something, but every opportunity is useful.

A Summer for the City stage at night, lit up in blue lights — Photo courtesy of Esther Won

LUNCH BREAK: You’ll find me either in an empty conference room or in one of our green rooms backstage. Show days can be incredibly hectic and overwhelming, so I like to be alone and have a moment of quiet to myself before I jump back in again.

LEVELING UP: This internship has helped me become more well-rounded when it comes to both hard and soft skills. I’ve gained experience in digital design using Photoshop and the Adobe Creative Suite and have also improved my communication and customer service skills by working with performers, guests, and everyone behind the scenes. Toward the end of my internship, I'll be acting as a mock Artist Services lead to advance one of our Silent Discos. That means I’ll be the sole person in charge of pre-show prep—including scheduling and overseeing artist arrivals, coordinating meals, and issuing friends and family tickets—as well as day-of show run. I’m looking forward to building my confidence, self-assurance, and overall professionalism by working with artists more directly.

BEST PERK: Many of our shows are free, but being able to watch from backstage is different—the excitement, nerves, and hustle from the performers is palpable in a way that you don’t usually get to experience as an audience member. When I do want to be part of the crowd, I’m also able to get staff tickets for myself and any guests, like for any of our choose-what-you-pay festival performances. Free meals during show calls are a huge plus as well!

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