A new program at Princeton University is offering New Jersey high school graduates hands-on training for technical theater jobs. The Princeton Production Workforce Training (PPWT) program, launched by the Lewis Center for the Arts, is a four-week summer intensive that aims to prepare participants for entry-level stagehand positions in local theaters.
The first cohort included four fellows: Aven Rivas, Noni Burke, Toast Jenkins, and Alexandria Chery. They received instruction in wiring, sound mixing, lighting setup, and other essential skills under the guidance of program director Tess James and staff members Kay Richardson and Matt Pilsner. Ryan Gonzales ’26 also contributed as an audio engineer through a summer internship.
“We can support our community by training and hiring local students to fill our local, high-paying, interesting jobs,” said James. “We teach wiring, entry-level sound mixing, how to hang and focus lights, how to hang speakers, how to mic performers and basic programming on a lighting console.”
James noted that when she joined Princeton in 2019 as a lecturer in theater, many technicians were brought in from outside the area due to a lack of local talent. She began developing PPWT in 2023 based on her experience with similar programs in New York City.
The PPWT program pays fellows for their training hours and provides meals through Campus Dining. Participants receive travel stipends and toolkits containing essential equipment. Support comes from several university departments including the Lewis Center for the Arts, Department of Music, Trenton Arts at Princeton (TAP), Program in Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES), and University Services.
“First, you have to remove barrier-to-entry points. How do you make it possible for somebody to do this training around life, around their school schedule, around other jobs, around everything else?” James said. “We thought a lot about this and strategized how to make it work for them and possible for us.”
Training takes place at facilities such as Wallace Theater—a black box space with industry-standard equipment—and includes visits to McCarter Theatre Center and Richardson Auditorium where fellows learn about stage machinery and acoustics.
“It’s a win-win,” said James.
Daily activities combine workshops on lighting or sound with workforce readiness sessions covering resume writing and interviewing skills. Fellows also participate in mock interviews conducted by professionals from McCarter Theatre Center, Lewis Center leadership—including executive director Marion Friedman Young—and others.
“I now know that an interview can be more of a conversation and less of an interrogation,” said Chery.
Three participants are graduates of Trenton Central High School; one graduated from Creative Arts High School in Camden. The program reached applicants through partnerships with ProCES leaders Tania Boster and Tara Carr-Lemke as well as Felicia Brown at Trenton Central High School.
Rivas credited PPWT with building her confidence: “Seeing how passionate and skilled the professionals around me were made me want to dive in fully.” Chery observed that ongoing learning is central to technical theater work: “Everyone in this industry is constantly learning — about new technology, new spaces.” Burke plans to use her new skills during college studies at Jackson State University before pursuing professional opportunities after graduation.
Jenkins added: “I feel confident that I could send in my resume and if I got accepted I could do the job.”
Graduates will be eligible for entry-level roles at venues like Lewis Center for the Arts itself as well as McCarter Theatre Center or Passage Theatre Company. There are also potential pathways into film or television production—such as opportunities expected from Netflix’s planned production facility at Fort Monmouth—which recently began construction https://www.nj.com/news/2024/05/netflix-breaks-ground-on-845m-nj-studio-will-be-largest-in-north-america.html .
James hopes future cohorts will include more fellows along with veterans or formerly incarcerated residents seeking job training. Plans are underway to expand into wardrobe skills using resources available at the Lewis Center costume shop.
