Actress Aubrey Plaza studied Parks and Recreation co-star Amy Poehler in HS

Playing the intern on a Thursday night NBC sitcom is not a bad gig for a young actor. Look at B.J. Novak, the young man who plays “Ryan” on “The Office.” He was literally unknown when he joined the show and quickly became a strong character onscreen and off, writing at least 10 episodes and producing 33.

So what can we expect from Aubrey Plaza, who plays April the Intern on “Parks and Recreation”?

Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, strives to be a positive influence on young April, not quite realizing that April is already smarter and savvier than Leslie may ever be.

Okay, maybe she’s not that smart.

Plaza brings some pretty strong credentials to the role of an intern, including graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and several years of improv and sketch comedy experience at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater–you might know them for producing Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris. She also appeared in the Adam Sandler film Funny People, alongside her “Parks and Recreation” co-star Aziz Ansari.