Turning Tables
During her summer internship at WYPR in Baltimore, Andrea Clarke 鈥�14 used her experience as a waitress to ask questions rarely asked, and to reveal stories rarely heard.
Here鈥檚 the thing about being a waitress or waiter or bartender鈥攁 鈥渟erver鈥� in restaurant industry parlance: It鈥檚 seriously hard work that often goes unappreciated. Andrea Clarke 鈥�14 knows this first-hand; she鈥檚 spent several summers working in server roles at various Baltimore establishments, from Applebee鈥檚 and Greene Turtle to an airport Hilton. When she was asked to come up with a story idea for her summer internship at WYPR in Baltimore, she thought about all the people she鈥檚 met who make a living by waiting on customers.
鈥淪ome of my best life lessons I learned in the weeds, whether from a very rude co-worker or a very supportive manager. So it was great to give a voice and show appreciation for these people who usually aren鈥檛 given a second glance,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he idea for my story came from personal experience, but also a reverence for blue-collar, unglamorous work. And it turned out my guess was correct: There is a lot of talent hidden in these often mundane jobs.鈥�
Clarke, an English major with a minor in drama, sought the internship at WYPR (88.1 FM) because she thought radio would combine her interests in performance and storytelling. She obtained funding through the Douglass Cater Society of Junior Fellows and spent three months at the station, shadowing producers, transcribing interviews, and learning the ropes of non-profit radio. (A Nina Houghton Fund grant also enabled her to intern at 98 Rock, a for-profit station, for part of the summer. Alisha Knight, who is an associate professor of English and the department鈥檚 internship coordinator, worked closely with Clarke to arrange both internships and supervised her projects so she could earn academic credit.)
Aaron Henkin, co-creator and producer of WYPR鈥檚 The Signal, a weekly program focused on Maryland鈥檚 arts and culture, asked her to come up with a story idea. 鈥淲e decided that my strongest and most engaging story was about the waiters and waitresses in Baltimore City and what it was really like. I would be answering the question, who is really serving you?鈥�
Clarke interviewed six people from a diverse group of restaurants. 鈥淭he response was amazing and quite honestly humbling,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 had people crying, laughing, telling me things that happened.鈥�
In one of the most moving stories, a waiter (whose rich Greek accent and wonderful descriptions give you goosebumps) recounts how on a busy Saturday night the phone rang, and his sister was on the other end, telling him that their mother had just died. His voice grows husky as he describes being so stricken that he crushed a glass in his hand. Then, because he was the host, he headed for the door to greet customers. 鈥淚 had to smile at them,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ecause I could not reveal to them what was going on within me.鈥�
In another story, a waitress tells of six thoroughly drunk out-of-towners who decided to take every ketchup bottle in the place and squirt the contents on themselves, the booths, the floors, other customers, the windows. 鈥淭here was ketchup everywhere,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut they did give me a sixty-dollar tip.鈥�
Clarke learned how to set up and use audio recording gear, then learned the software to edit five hours of interviews down to eight minutes of story. 鈥淚t was challenging because I became so invested in these people, I wanted everything to be heard,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey placed a lot of trust in me. I felt a lot of pressure, but it was good pressure. I knew I had a great story on my hands.鈥�