BRUNSWICK

A s the 54th season at the Maine State Music Theatre reaches its mid-point, interns from all aspects of the MSMT experience are discovering the delight of living in the Brunswick area and working at MSMT.

Interns, apprentices and journeymen make up nearly half of the new staff members this year, and are an integral part of the MSMT community, according to Steven Peterson, executive director at MSMT.

They “are the backbone of the theater and all of us are bettered by their participation, passion and expertise,” Peterson said in an email.

Administrative interns and technical interns are “learning and advancing their training and education while working practically in our shops and offices,” Peterson said, while performance interns audition and perform in at least two of the four shows of the season.

Brunswick plays host to these impressive individuals for the summer season. They flock here from all over the United States — from California to Florida to upstate Maine and everywhere in between.

The interns hit the ground running as soon as they begin their internships, administrative intern Jessica Graham said.

“We are doing what we came to do — no one is asking us to make them coffee,” she said. “We are getting so much experience.”

“But it isn’t necessarily about the acting — making connections with other performers and directors is what makes this program so great,” Jonalyn Saxer, a performance intern from California, said during an interview.

Daniel Brumbaugh, of Orlando, Fla., said that this was a great opportunity for him to learn the tools of the trade.

“I’m in the process of changing my career path and this program is helping me narrow down where I want to go from here,” he said, as part of the technical interns and the stage operations.

“(MSMT) is a renowned theater,” Katie Steward of Massachusetts said. “But that isn’t what I love about this program — just the environment itself is infectious, in a good way.”

“It is so warming that the community is so supportive. We can really affect people with our art forms,” Emmeline Wood of Kansas said, talking of the Angel Program for interns.

The Angel Program, according to the MSMT intern guide, “are volunteers from the community who ‘adopt’ interns and performers for the season.”

Wood further explained that these “Angels” often drive the interns to the grocery store, do their laundry, or bake cookies before performances.

Interns described the relationship between the company and community as overpowering. The MSMT administrative offices are located on Elm Street in the heart of downtown Brunswick, right off Maine Street.

“There are so many different things available to so many walks of life,” one intern from Brunswick, Md., said, referring to Maine Street Brunswick.

“It is a perfect locale,” Saxer said. “It is a small town but there are the necessities — like Starbucks and Target — that only take a few minutes to get to.”

Many of the interns agreed that favorite locales among Maine Street businesses include Cote’s Ice Cream, Bohemian Coffee House, The Gelato Fiasco, Morning Glory Natural Foods and other locally owned businesses.

“We go to these places so often, we get discounts,” performance intern Allie Pizzo said, specifically referring to the Kopper Kettle in Topsham.

When asked if the current interns planned to visit the Mid-coast region again after their internship, the entire group responded with a resounding, “Yes!”

“It’s like a family,” one intern said, “a big, slightly dysfunctional family.”