The DU Theatre Technical Internship Program (TTIP) is the University of Denver's 4D experience in action, built on the belief that students learn their craft best by doing it, not just studying it. TTIP engages students in paid positions building scenery for professional theatre companies across the Denver metro area, building big musicals, intimate plays, and full opera productions.
Technical theatre skills are real and in demand. Working from a designer's drawings, interns build the scenery, rigging, and automation that bring a set to life. They run wood tools, weld, solder, wire lighting and on-stage electronics, program control systems, and translate design plans into machine-ready code.
Then our interns take it to the stage. When a set is ready, students travel to the venue, install their work, and turn it over to the resident crew for the run. This internship is a full-circle education in how professional theatre gets made, one that sends students into the industry ready to work, fluent in the tools, vocabulary, and challenges of a real load-in.
Since 2024, TTIP students have built 32 professional productions, including twenty-four plays, four musicals, three operas and a comedy special for Amazon Video.
TTIP is excited to return for our sixth season building for/with Curious Theatre Company. Recent Curious projects include FURLOUGH’S PARADISE, BIRTHDAY CANDLES, BAD BOOKS, JOB, and EUREKA DAY.
Other recent partner companies include ParkerArts, Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company, St. Mary’s Academy, Denver Theatre Ensemble, Local Theatre Company, and Lamont Opera Theatre.
Through TTIP, DU Theatre students become experts in hands-on craftsmanship that draws on human critical thinking and creativity, skills no shortcut can replace. TTIP participants graduate career-ready, with professional credits, industry mentors, and the confidence that comes from having already done the work. At DU, you don't just study theatre. You build it.