Final Post

Dear Future Intern at Riot Act,

Congratulations! You have landed yourself in an internship right in the center of Washington DC's entertainment industry. Riot Act is DC's first Comedy Theater and that means there is always a million things going on and even more things to get accomplished. Here are my tips to making the most of your internship:

• Take initiative. On my first day, I was completely overwhelmed by all the new people and their openness to my ideas. I was used to being told what to do and completing it. At Riot Act, they trust you. If they hired you, that means that you are cable and they don't want to waste your time. I was put on the team that worked with social media and Riot Act's online presence. I was put in charge of writing and sending out Riot Act's social media press release and I quickly learned that online, a picture grabs attention a lot fast then a page of words.

• Don't be afraid to fail. The first event Riot Act hosted with an outside company, we experienced a ton of issues. This was the first time we had to collaborate with people outside our staff and while the event was not a disaster, there were small details that were overlooked. Who was in charge greeting people as the entered? Where is the best place to serve food without overcrowding? What the incentive for people at this even to come back to Riot Act and see a comedy show? We ended the event with a meeting where we listed what was to happen next time we hosted an even, and the next time we did, it ran a lot smoother. Everything is a learning experience.

• Traditional PR should never be forgotten, but it is not the only tool. I spent many days simply walking into hotels and business's introducing Riot Act. Most people were receptive to this kind of commitment. A press release can do wonders, but people remember a friendly face over a nicely worded emails. We established connections just by making it through the door and handing out free passes to invite people to experience Riot Act first hand. It's refreshing to know that what you are marketing is worth while. Once Riot Act got people to come once, it was almost a guarantee they would come back because of their great experience.

• Don't be afraid of busy work. Riot Act has a small staff. There were mornings I spent answering phones and making calls. There is no way to avoid this in a staff this small. Through this I learned how better to deal with people when they are upset or angry. When in PR, dealing with people is a must. It's so easy to do when everyone is happy, but it is a skill to learn on how to effectively deal with people who are unhappy.

• Have fun! Riot Act was amazing because they always invited me to shows and events. The best way to learn is through experience, so if you have the time, do any event you can, even if it is just as a participant (and not as an intern). I got to learn how much time and detail it takes for every show that happens at Riot Act. I was also able to market this events online and on American University's campus. It was like a backstage pass for event planning and marketing, but it is only there if you want it. Take it. Learn from it. Enjoy it.

Get ready for one hell of a semester. You'll be great. Step one was landing the internship, so the rest is just being open to new experiences.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I would be happy to talk about Riot Act all day.

Sincerely,

Jordan Van Clief

Making Connections

As the semester winds down, I am forced to look into my future plans. While I have greatly enjoyed every minute of interning for Riot Act, I will not be able to work with them next semester due to my schedule. Regardless, I will maintain contact with them because of the wonderful team I worked with and because they can help me when I graduate.

Even though I have decided I probably would be happiest at a PR Agency, it doesn't make my connection to Riot Act any less important. I know that if they ever have a lead or a contact, they will let me know. They also worked fairly close with me, and if and when I need a reference, they are the first people I will call.

Maintaining connections takes work. I will stay in contact by email, but I also plan on dropping by Riot Act at least once a month: to catch a show, get lunch, or simply say hello. Life moves fast and people come in and out of that building everyday. It is my job as the intern to make the effort, not the other way around. My thank you card was only the beginning of the appreciation I plan on showing the people at Riot Act.

Whatever does happen in my future, I want to be able to thank Riot Act for preparing me for what lies ahead.

So, thank you Riot Act. It's been wonderful.

Thanksgiving Break

As I returned to my internship after a wonderful 5 days off, which I was lucky enough to spend at home at my family, I quickly learned that most people who worked at Riot Act got a glorious 24 hours off.

In the world of a new business, especially a business in the entertainment industry, days off are few and far between. Riot Act had a comedian performing the Friday after Thanksgiving and had to promote that comic all week to help ticket sales. As a small business, everyone was working around the clock just to be able to take the holiday off.

It's just a reminder that when I graduate in May, I will no longer be a student with allocated time off. PR waits for no one, and that's what is so exciting about the job. Luckily Riot Act has avoided any major crisis's, but that doesn't mean there isn't always work to be done.

Up this week is another event on Thursday for Yelp and another comic to promote for the weekend. I am well rested and ready to hit the ground running.

Social Media

Riot Act has utilized social media of all forms, besides being a presence on Facebook and Twitter, they have created deals on Groupon and Living Social (and other website based deals). It has been a huge success. Thousand upon thousands of these deals have sold and phones have been ringing of the hook.

This is a great way for Riot Act to get know. The goal is to get people here, and once they see a show, or drink at our bar, they won't need more incentive to return. Lure in with good marketing, but make sure the product is worth the price.

As an intern I have been helping funneling the plethora of phone calls that have been coming in recently. It is hard to remember "The Customer is Always Right"when answering the same question over and over again, but it is extremely important to not only be nice but inviting. Riot Act wants to be known for great customer service; friendly, patient, helpful. Part of this training is knowing the area. Know where to park, know directions to the club, know good places to eat before the show, and good bars to go to after the show. If Riot Act can become a one stop destination, it makes the night easier on our patrons and they can enjoy themselves.

Riot Act is serve with a smile, mixed in with helpful advice and endearing tips.

Coffee Time

Coffee time is bonding time. It's a small moment in the day to breathe, take second, and enjoy a warm beverage. Caffeine is the drug that surges through Riot Act day in and day out. With nights that can run as late as 5:00am and with an opening time of 10:00am everyday, coffee (or tea) is a much needed commodity in the office.

As an intern, I manage much more reasonable hours then the rest of the office, but I am a little java junkie myself. So my new goal is anytime I go to get coffee, offer to get coffee for those in my office.

It shows that I am taking a small initiative, and that I care. It is a simple act that can help me stand out or at least keep my managers awake through the end of the day.

It is always good to keep looking for minor things that can set interns ahead of the curve. Interns these days are smart, and are all groomed and bred from fancy colleges. This means, that work wise, they can all be on an even playing field - especially if the intern tasks are more mundane. To stand out (in a good way!), it might take some creative thinking. My way to stand out - caffeine.

Soon they will start associating the coffee rush with my presence, and never want to let me go. Just kidding, but they will definitely appreciate the thought.

It's Okay if This Isn't It

I love my internship. I love the people I work with. I love the responsibilities they give me, but 11 weeks in I  realize that this probably isn't what I want to do after graduation.

And that's okay.

It's not PR I don't love, it's working for one company. It can get a little stale. I think I would happier at a PR agency with more clients and a higher demand of PR activity.

For Riot Act, every weekend we have a new comic. They are usually performing Thursday - Saturday, but at some point of a lot of the PR for each comic can become cut and paste. Each comic has there own style and certainly there own target audience, but generally it is fairly similar. This is not a bad thing, I just realized this is not my thing.

Doing PR for one company, or one specific non-profit means you get become specialized, and increase relationships with partners. It give you the opportunity to work long-term techniques and take risks if the audience is already stable.

On the other hand, PR agencies work with numerous clients at once, a person can become specialized in one area of PR - social media, grass root campaigns etc. 

Even though my internship is not exactly what I want to do in the future, it has given me an incredible amount of experience - not to mention it's been a blast! That's the point of internships. I'm happy I was able to discover this while in school, while I only promised a five month commitment instead of a two-year one. This will help me narrow my job pool when I graduate, and for that, I couldn't be more grateful.

If At First You Don't Succeed

Last week Riot Act had one of it's first rentals. A group of young professionals had rented out the show room for lunch and paid for a comic to entertain them while they eat. It was on a weekday afternoon, which is normally not a profitable time for a comedy club, so this was a great way for a little extra profit.

Needless to say, it was a little rocky. We had over 200 young professionals, all very eager to explore Riot Act, but all very hungary. Unfortunately, without thinking of the congestion, we had set up our show room with one buffet line. This was the issue.

As the intern, I helped the everyone set up the room, and then greeted people as they entered. It was about 20 minutes into greeting that I noticed people were leaving especially fast. I met to talk to my manager to discover that the line to get food was winding all around the room. People were getting fed up with waiting and decided that they could get their food elsewhere.

At the time, there was very little we could do. We apologized to the young professionals and promised there would be enough food for them. We couldn't offer refunds, since they hadn't actually paid us. We just tried to be as friendly and receptive as possible and handed out Buy One Get One tickets for our comedy shows.

This showed me, that even big companies make mistakes. This was not an event that was thrown together last minute, but it was one small detail that was not thought through and it threw the whole even off. Next time we will obviously have two, or even three, buffet lines. Until then, we will just learn from our mistakes and hope we don't offend anyone enough for them not to give us a second chance.