Jonah Easley and his mother often watched the “Today” show when he was young. He said she “was ecstatic” when he earned a one-day internship for the show’s filming in Williamsburg in mid-May. He was excited, too.
“I immediately started joyfully running around my house,” he said of his reaction after reading the good news in an email.
He was carrying on so much his mother thought something was wrong.
Easley, who just finished his first year at Virginia Peninsula Community College, is working on an associate degree in liberal arts but wants to study theater at a four-year university. David Garrett, theater manager at VPCC, received an email from one of the show’s producers looking for interns. Garrett suggested Easley apply. Easley was one of eight selected out of about 500 applicants.
“I was really surprised because what’s the chance I actually get selected?” he said.
Easley has no desire to be in the spotlight. He prefers working behind the scenes, which is exactly what he did for the “3rd Hour of Today” on May 15. The production crew was in town for two days, but the first day was spent setting up. The second day was when the show was aired live from Colonial Williamsburg. A few interns worked both days, but Easley worked just the second.
He showed up at about 3 a.m. to start setting up security checkpoints. Then it was making sure props were in the right spot. Part of the show involved taste-testing, so tables had to be set up. Tablecloths had to be placed. Floral arrangements had to be displayed. The food had to be covered.
“I was one of the people who got to serve them their food for taste-testing,” he said.
The hosts, Al Roker and Dylan Dreyer, were joined by comedian Patton Oswalt, an alum of the College of William & Mary. Part of the activities was a pancake stacking contest, followed by taste-testing. After all, Williamsburg is called “The Pancake Capital of the World” because of its numerous pancake restaurants.
Easley and the other interns had to make the pancakes look appetizing.
“We’re putting the pancakes that don’t look too great underneath and then piling the good ones up toward the camera and making sure the cherries were glistening in the sun,” he said.
He enjoyed that part of the day.
“It was really cool learning more about that side of the field because I come from the lighting and sound side of things,” he said.
He has been involved in light and sound production since the fifth grade, starting as a member of the technical crew with the show choir at Poquoson High School. He was a member of the show choir from his freshman through senior years and helped with choreography. He graduated from Poquoson High School in 2025.
Easley didn’t know any of the other interns, but they built a bond and are in touch almost daily through a group chat. It was a long day on set, about 10 hours, but he enjoyed every minute of it.
“I don’t think there was a part that I did not like,” he said. “The entire thing was a huge learning experience. I was the only one who is going into more of the production side who got an internship. It was a blast.”
Even with his background, he was surprised at how much work goes on behind the scenes.
“But in everything, it is all about teamwork and communication,” he said.
In fall 2025, he interned with the Virginia Theatre Association. In recent months, he has worked with Tabb High School on its spring musical and on Centerstage Academy’s production of “Moana Jr.” He is the technical liaison for VPCC’s production of “The Gondoliers,” which runs July 23-26 at the Dr. Mary T. Christian Theatre.
“I do want to go to a four-year school for technical theater,” he said, noting he is looking into Shenandoah University, Christopher Newport University and Virginia Union University. “My hope is to go to a larger theater and become a technical liaison or go into a tech manager role.”
