Beyond the Classroom: Miya Menscher (CFA’28)

Music major interned at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center as a teaching assistant and theater technology assistant, putting on musicals and workshops

BU College of Fine Arts BA music major Miya Menscher with vibrant pink, layered hair sits in front of a bright blue background, smiling warmly at the camera. They are wearing a black turtleneck sweater, accessorized with layered silver necklaces, one featuring a heart-shaped pendant. They also wear dangling earrings, adding to their stylish look.
Music

Taking on a multi-faceted role: My internship at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center

In CFA’s Beyond the Classroom Series, music, theatre, and visual arts students at BU share their professional work experiences. These Terriers express how the resources at BU prepared them for success beyond the classroom.

January 30, 2025
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Beyond the Classroom: Miya Menscher (CFA’28)

New Jersey native Miya Menscher (CFA’28) learned a thing or two (or three) as an intern for the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, a leading arts complex host to concerts, musicals, and symphony orchestra performances.

1) Teaching art and working with children is rewarding.

2) There’s power in learning new skills aside from your major.

3) Diving into an international opportunity made it easier for Miya to adapt to life as a college student in Boston.

Miya, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music through BU School of Music, was a teaching assistant and theater technology assistant, working closely with a musical theater summer camp for children and teens held by the company Shanghai Fresh Prime Limited at the performing arts venue.

Miya shares with CFA her experience working with the students in preparation for their final show, getting a sense of what it’s like to work in the production and technology side of theater, and how this role continues to inspire her into incorporating more forms of media into the music she makes.

Q&A

WITH MIYA MENSCHER (CFA’28)

CFA: Tell us about your different roles as an intern at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center.

Miya: I took on a couple of roles such as a teaching assistant and a theater technology assistant. I worked with a children’s musical theater group called Serious Play Musical Theater. They host week-long workshops for kids where they learn excerpts of choreography and songs from mainstream and original musicals all in English, and by the end of the week each class works together to put on a show for the public.

During the week I mostly watched over the kids, helping them read their scripts in English and coaching them on intonation and how to project their voices clearly.

During the dress rehearsals and the final show, I worked closely in the booth with the show controls team. I helped the stage manager with lighting cues and the monitor manager to record the performance, as well as aided the audio operator when there were issues with the kids’ mics and operated the Chinese-English subtitle monitors so the audience could understand the show better.

CFA: How did you learn about this internship opportunity, and what steps did you take to secure it?

Miya: My mother’s old classmate and her husband oversee the building operations for the Serious Play Musical Theater in the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. When I went to Shanghai, I met with them during a small reunion dinner. Her husband asked me a couple of questions about the type of work I was interested in doing within tech.

CFA: What are some of your most notable accomplishments from this experience?

Miya: I successfully put on two complete musicals across three nights and worked with two workshop classes who put on a shorter show with several excerpts of musicals.

A person with vibrant pink hair is seen from behind, holding a communication device while observing a control room filled with monitors, computers, and broadcasting equipment. Another individual with long dark hair is seated at a workstation, focused on the screens. A large display in the room shows text about a company being in the S&P 500 since 2018. The environment is dimly lit, illuminated primarily by the screens and equipment
A large monitor displays a multi-camera feed in a control room, showing various angles of an empty theater with rows of red seats and some additional video feeds showing children on stage. Below the screen, professional broadcasting and audio equipment, including a communication device labeled 'GUIDER,' is stacked on a black case. The dimly lit environment is filled with screens, buttons, and controls, reflecting a professional production setup.
A view from a control booth looking out onto a theater stage where a small group of people is gathered under bright spotlights. The stage is illuminated with cool-toned lighting, while the foreground is darker, showing a reflection of the booth’s ceiling and equipment on the glass window. A mounted camera is visible hanging from the ceiling, capturing the scene below.
A close-up of a television broadcast monitor displaying a person – Miya Menscher - with short, red hair wearing a black turtleneck and silver necklaces. There is text 'CNBC 4' visible on the screen. The broadcast monitor includes colorful audio level indicators and a split-screen effect showing part of a Nasdaq billboard with the text 'and everywhere in between.’
A dimly lit theater view from the back of the audience, looking down at a stage illuminated by a deep blue backdrop. A drum set, microphones, and other musical instruments are set up on stage, ready for a performance. A camera in the foreground is capturing the scene, with its small screen displaying the same stage view. A few audience members are seated, waiting for the event to begin.

CFA: Did any resources at CFA or BU help you prepare for success?

Miya: Since I worked on the internship before I came to BU, it kind of worked backwards for me. I was sort of thrown into it with no lengthy training process or time to acclimate to Shanghai once I got there, and coming to BU and experiencing college and being away from home for a long time just on my own was a very similar experience. It allowed me to skip taking a lot of time to get used to things in Boston and I felt a lot more comfortable just exploring and wandering the city just as I did in Shanghai.

CFA: In what ways did your coursework from CFA connect with this internship?

Miya: My FA100 class connected in the way that during my time in Shanghai, I got to work with technology and media that I wouldn’t normally work with in my major and the class also gave me a chance to meet and connect with people outside my major and see the cool work they do.

CFA: How do you think this career opportunity will help you prepare for work beyond BU?

Miya: I’ve worked tech recording, doing sound, and lighting, for several shows, musicals, and even my own podcast, but they were all relatively in a controlled school environment. This internship showed a more realistic view of what it’s actually like to work in a theater behind the scenes: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

CFA: What did you learn about yourself?

Miya: I learned that I can adapt to new environments quite well. Most of my time working there I was living by myself with a relative who worked in Shanghai. I had to figure out a whole new metro system and readjust to my surroundings quickly so I could actually get to work and not have any breakdowns trying to get around the subway.

CFA: Any advice for current CFA students beginning this type of process?

Miya: I say just go for it! Do the things you want to do even if you have just a slight interest in them. My major at BU doesn’t necessarily correlate with the work I did during the internship, but I nonetheless really enjoyed it and am interested in combining the two to work with music technology.

CFA: What’s next for you, Miya?

Miya: I want to keep going with music and incorporate more forms of media and technology into it. I currently write and record my own music and am trying my hand at filming videos for it too. I’m really excited to see where this journey leads me and I hope others follow along for the ride!

Miya Menscher with short, wavy hair sits on a stool onstage, playing a blue electric guitar and singing into a microphone. They are wearing a cozy, patterned sweater and white pants, with one foot playfully resting on the stool’s rung. The stage lighting creates a gradient backdrop, transitioning from deep purple at the bottom to warm orange at the top, adding a dramatic and artistic effect to the scene.
Go for it! Do the things you want to do even if you have just a slight interest in them. My major at BU doesn’t necessarily correlate with the work I did during this internship, but I nonetheless really enjoyed it and am interested in combining the two to work with music technology.

-Miya Menscher (CFA’28)

CAREER & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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