Williamstown Theatre Festival Blog

More Fun with the Cast of TEN CENTS!

2011-08-19T11:43:00.000-04:00

The cast of TEN CENTS is at it again! They had so much fun making their last video, they wanted to make another. This time, an homage to Saturday Night Live. Without further ado, we present to you Malcolm Gets and the Ladies of the Berkshires!

You can see Malcolm and all these wonderful ladies in TEN CENTS A DANCE, running until August 28 on the Main Stage. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or in person here. We can't wait to see you there!

Changeover 2011 - TOUCH(ED) to YOU BETTER SIT DOWN

2011-08-18T11:45:00.000-04:00

Last night, YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE opened on the Nikos Stage, marking our final opening for the season. With our final opening comes our final Changeover video. Watch our crews work their magic on the Nikos and change the theatre from TOUCH(ED) to YOU BETTER SIT DOWN.

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN will run at the Nikos Stage until August 21. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or in person here. We hope to see you there!

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

As the season comes to a close, the sound department decided to help Company Manager Chris Minnick pack up his office.

Today's WTF Scoop - YOU BETTER SIT DOWN has begun and a TEN CENTS Love Affair?

2011-08-17T11:02:00.000-04:00

On the Nikos Stage, our final show of the season, YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: TALES FROM MY PARENTS DIVORCE began performances last night and will open tonight! We spoke to members of our audience last night to hear what they had to say about the show.

When we gave Lauren Molina the flipcam last week, she did more than just introduce us to some of the cast, she uncovered a scandal! Are you curious? Watch the video below to find out what's REALLY been happening backstage (no cast members were harmed in the making of this video).

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN will run at the Nikos Stage until August 21. TEN CENTS A DANCE will run at the Main Stage until August 28. Tickets for both can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or in person here. Don't miss out!

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN - One Week Only!

2011-08-16T11:19:00.000-04:00

Tonight, YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: TALES FROM MY PARENTS DIVORCE (our final show of the season!) begins performances at the Nikos Stage. Created by The Civilians, a New York-based theater company, which creates original work derived from investigations into the world beyond the theater, YOU BETTER SIT DOWN is a heartbreaking and hilarious play created from interviews between the cast and their parents. Take a look at this sneak preview!

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN will run at the Nikos Stage until August 21. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or in person here. Don't miss out on this innovative new work.

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

(LtoR) Emily Mattheson, Peter Albrink, Michael Shaw, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Matt Nuernberger and Claire Siebers in the 2011 Fellowship Play WHEN YOU'RE HERE, written by Sam Hunter and directed by Portia Krieger

Building a New World For a New Play: Spotlight On Design

2011-08-15T11:43:00.002-04:00

It is often said, and rightfully so, that future careers in the theatre are forged here at WTF, and the alums of the design departments are no exception to this rule. Take, for instance, set designer David Korins and lighting designer Ben Stanton of She Stoops to Conquer and A Doll’s House. Both started out as interns, moved their way up, and now enjoy illustrious careers both at the Festival and beyond.

Gabriel King and Jon Bass in The Comedy of Errors

Theatre artists are still being home-grown here today. Just two short weeks ago, a brand new play debuted as part of the Williamstown Workshop Department (which produces all Directing Intern and Directing Assistant projects). It was written by Jon Bass, a member of the Non-Equity acting corps who you may recognize as Dromio of Ephesus from this year’s Free Theatre production of The Comedy of Errors. Jon’s play, F***book (which was helmed by Directing Assistant Jason McDowell-Green) is the story of six twenty-somethings navigating the world of relationships, Furries, and midday margaritas In New York City, both on- and off-line.

A designer’s work is an exercise in both creativity and practicality. They must understand the piece and come up with effective (and often budget-conscious) ways to bring it to life. Collaborating with the other designers and the director, they must devise the best way to bring what’s on the page to the stage. When a new work is being done, with revisions and different elements added daily, the process provides even more unique challenges. We talked to one of the festival’s talented Scenic Design interns, Benson Knight, who provided the set for F***book. Here, he shares insight into his process as he worked on this brand new work.

How did you design for a script that is still undergoing changes?

Going into a project that is still under construction you have to know that a high level of adaptability is required. New pages are constantly being added and removed and it is your responsibility to keep up. Luckily with this script there were numerous different locations to create and this naturally lends for a scenic design that is very versatile. An alteration in the script or stage direction ended up being as easy as shifting around some chairs to create a new picture and acting movement.

How did you deal with the particular necessities of the play – multiple locations, fun tone, contemporary characters, etc.?

One of the images Benson used as inspiration for the set

The two major acting areas were the guys’ and girls’ apartments. Both of these were much more fleshed out and personal to the characters so we chose these spaces to anchor the set. The various other smaller scenes would dance between these worlds. Responding to the abstract works of Barnett Newman and his severe separation of space with line, we created a network of light bulbs that formed a barrier between these two living spaces. It is underneath this lit network that many of the computer internet scenes took place.

Designing for a comedy also gave me a lot of liberty as to what colors I used, and the palette was bold and bright. The girls’ apartment was the softer of the two and had many earth tones of greens, browns, and charcoal grays. In contrast, the guys’ apartment focused more on saturated primary colors.

Phillipa Soo and JD Taylor on the set of F***book

The set dressing was also crucial in expressing the characters. The symmetrical world of the women was much more based in organic shapes that were seen in the lamps, chair, and ottoman. The mismatched asymmetrical world of the guys was much more based in comfort and practicality. Along with the DVDs and iPod player that filled their world were also hints of their nostalgic past such as a Battleship board game, a solved Rubik’s cube, and a mixed tape that’s somehow still floating around.

Come See WHEN YOU'RE HERE!

2011-08-14T13:28:00.000-04:00

This year's Fellowship Play, WHEN YOU'RE HERE, written by Sam Hunter and directed by Portia Krieger, will begin performances tonight. We chatted with Sam and Portia about how the play came about and its unique setting - an Olive Garden.

WHEN YOU'RE HERE plays at the Directing Studio in the '62 Center on August 14 & 15 at 7PM and 11PM. Call the Box Office at (413) 597-3400 to reserve your seat!

TEN CENTS A DANCE - Audience Reactions and Opening Night

2011-08-13T12:21:00.001-04:00

We talked to audiences after performances of TEN CENTS A DANCE to hear what they had to say about the show. Take a look!

TEN CENTS A DANCE has a fabulous opening night last night on the Main Stage! Check out pictures of our company at the celebration.

Lauren Molina (TEN CENTS A DANCE), Jane Pfitsch (TEN CENTS A DANCE)

Lauren Molina (TEN CENTS A DANCE), Jessica Tyler Wright (TEN CENTS A DANCE), Diana DiMarzio (TEN CENTS A DANCE)

John Doyle (Director, TEN CENTS A DANCE), Jane Cox (Lighting Designer, TEN CENTS A DANCE)

Malcolm Gets (TEN CENTS A DANCE)

Jon Bass (Non-Equity Company), Stella Powell-Jones (Assistant Director, TEN CENTS A DANCE), Eliza Huberth (A DOLL'S HOUSE, Non-Equity Company)

Stage Management Interns - Yetti Steinman, Peyton Becker, Kendall Booher, Edda Baruch, Lauren Baston, Diana Gonzalez, Michelle Scalpone

Samantha Liebman (Social Media Intern), Elizabeth Cardaropoli (Publicity Intern), Katherine Fortner (Print & Graphics Intern)

TEN CENTS A DANCE will run at the Main Stage until August 28. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or in person here. We can't wait to see you there!

All photos by Clay Barron.

Changeover 2011 - SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER to TEN CENTS A DANCE

2011-08-12T16:58:00.000-04:00

As we get ready for TEN CENTS A DANCE opening night tonight, the last Main Stage show and second to last show of the season, we bring you the weekly changeover video. Watch our fantastic crew strike down the SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER set and bring up set for TEN CENTS A DANCE.

TEN CENTS A DANCE will run at the Main Stage until August 28. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or in person here. We hope to see you soon!

Go Backstage at TEN CENTS A DANCE

2011-08-12T12:02:00.000-04:00

We gave Lauren Molina, who plays Miss Jones One in TEN CENTS A DANCE, a camera to capture all the backstage action during the first tech rehearsal. Meet all five Miss Jones as they first try on their wigs and costumes for the first time!

In case you missed SITSTANDWALKLIEDOWN, or wanted to relive the piece, we put together an album of photos by Clay Barron of the show. You can take a look here!

Greylock Theatre Project Playmaking Photos!

2011-08-11T14:03:00.000-04:00

This past Monday,the Greylock Theatre Project presented their Playmaking performances, the final round of shows this year. Six local children wrote plays based on surveys their actors, members of the Equity & Non-Equity company, filled out the prior week. Check out some pictures from the wonderful performance!

Jeanna Phillips (ONE SLIGHT HITCH, Non-Equity Company) and Greg Couglin (Non-Equity Company) in SNOWBALL AND TREE'S ADVENTURE by Patrick.

Jeanna Phillips and Jane Kivnick (Apprentice) in SNOWBALLAND TREE'S ADVENTURE

Patrick, playwright of SNOWBALL AND TREE'S ADVENTURE

Phillipa Soo (Non-Equity Company) in SUSHBUG by Hailey

Gabriel King (Non-Equity Company) and Phillipa Soo in SUSHBUG

Liz Wisan and Chris Bannow (Non-Equity Company) in THE FRENEMIES by Emma

Liz Wisan, Emma, and Chris Bannow

Sabrina, playwright of THE JUNGLE AND THE LAKE

Ariel Woodiwiss (Non-Equity Company), Sabrina, and Kevin Reed (Non-Equity Company) in THE JUNGLE AND THE LAKE

Jon Patrick Walker (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER) and Abby in THE ADOPTION

Jon Patrick Walker and Eliza Huberth (A DOLL'S HOUSE, Non-Equity Company) in THE ADOPTION

Jon Patrick Walker, Abby and Eliza Huberth in THE ADOPTION

Denis, playwright of MILITARY CRISIS

JD Taylor (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, Non-Equity Company) and Michael Weiser (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, Non-Equity Company) in MILITARY CRISIS

The playwrights take a bow

Congrats to the Greylock Theatre Project for a fantastic season. We'll see you next summer!

Checking In With the Famiglia of the Fellowship Play

2011-08-10T10:52:00.001-04:00

On August 14th and 15th, WTF audiences will have the chance to witness a play as homegrown as they come: Samuel D. Hunter’s When You’re Here directed by Portia Krieger, this year’s Fellowship Play.

The Fellowship projects, like the musical After Robert Hutchens WTF audiences saw last month, are commissions written specifically for our Non-Equity ensemble of 10 early-career actors. During the intensive Fellowship development process, an entirely new piece of theatre goes from an idea to a full production in an astounding 5 weeks.

Members of the When You're Here cast during rehearsal.

At the beginning of the season, Portia and Sam came to Williamstown with only the notion that they wanted to collaborate on a play that explores the increasing anonymity and transience of America- all set within the walls of an Olive Garden franchise. During a weeklong workshop, Sam and Portia met with the company of Non-Equity actors and began to build the community the play depicts from the ground up. By the end of the week, Sam had churned out a draft of the first act. Sam then left the festival to expand the script to its first complete draft. Just days after After Robert Hutchens closed, Sam and Portia were back at WTF to have the cast read through the latest draft of the script, and since then writer, director and actors have been tirelessly working together to bring the world of When You’re Here to life.

With the cast and creative team gearing up for the first every production of this new work, we have asked one of the actors to answer an imaginary Olive Garden job application in character. Here’s a sneak peak at one of the ever-evolving figures that populate the world of Sam Hunter’s When You’re Here:

Harry Ford during the culminating read-through after the initial workshop week.

Harry Ford plays Eddie, the manager of the Pocatello, Idaho Olive Garden where When You’re Here takes place.

Have you been convicted of a felony in the last ten years?
I don't even drink let alone felonize, though I'm not even sure what would count as a felony nowadays. I guess that's a good thing.

What is your favorite Olive Garden dish?
The breadsticks. Hands down.

What previous experience do you have that makes you qualified for this position?
It's in my blood. That's good enough, right? I can handle anything that comes my way with a smile, a firm handshake, and a complimentary dessert of your choice.

What’s your favorite memory of interacting with a customer?
It would have to be a 5 year old's birthday party when I first started working here. Her name was Jackie, and she had probably 10 little friends with her. When it came time to leave, Jackie started crying because she didn't want to leave because she had "made a new friend." Me. She cried all the way out the door. When I got to work the next morning, I found Jackie and her mom waiting in the hostess area. "She wanted to have lunch with her new friend," her mom said. Totally worth coming into work that morning.

Playwright Samuel D. Hunter and Director Portia Krieger look on as their company reads aloud an early draft.

Come out to see When You’re Here, the exciting new work by Samuel D. Hunter directed by Portia Krieger. It runs August 14 and 15 at 7 pm and 11 pm in the Directing Studio. Tickets are free, and the box office will begin taking reservations for the general public on August 11!

A Tour Of Our Props Department By Our Props Department

2011-08-07T13:57:00.000-04:00

We wanted to learn more about what goes on in the props department so we gave Josh Hackett, Props Master extraordinaire, the camera for a few days to watch some props magic happen for TOUCH(ED)!

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

JD Taylor and Jon Bass in the Directing Assistant project F***Book, written by Jon Bass and directed by Jason McDowell-Green.

What's Going on at the Nikos - TOUCH(ED) and GTP

2011-08-06T11:42:00.000-04:00

The East Coast premiere of WTF alumni Bess Wohl's TOUCH(ED) is now playing on the Nikos. Hear what audiences have to say about this exciting new play!

Also at the Nikos on Monday 8/8, the Greylock Theatre Project will present it's third series of performances - Playmaking. Local children have been working throughout the summer to write a short play which will be performed by members of our equity and non-equity companies. This week, we got a look at the first read through of one of these plays with JD Taylor and Mike Weiser, members of our non-equity company!

TOUCH(ED) will play at the Nikos Stage until August 14. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or online here. The Playmaking performances will take place on August 8 at 4 PM and 7 PM on the Nikos Stage. The shows are free but reservations are encouraged and can be made by calling (413) 597-3400. We hope to see you soon at the Nikos!

TOUCH(ED) Preview and Opening Night Photos!

2011-08-05T17:01:00.000-04:00

We sat down with Bess Wohl, playwright, and Trip Cullman, director, to learn more about their experiences with the play. Check it out!

Congratulations to the cast and crew of TOUCH(ED) for a wonderful opening at the Nikos Stage last night! We were there to capture some pictures of the celebration!

Bess Wohl (TOUCH(ED)), Trip Cullman (TOUCH(ED))

David Weiner (Lighting Designer, TOUCH(ED)), Jon Goldman (Production Electrician), Steven Maturno (Associate Lighting Supervisor), Rob Ross (Assistant Lighting Designer)

Lisa Joyce (TOUCH(ED)), Michael Chernus (TOUCH(ED)), Bess Wohl (TOUCH(ED)), Trip Cullman (TOUCH(ED)), Merrit Wever (TOUCH(ED))

Natalie Kuhn (Apprentice), Jill BC DuBoff (Sound Designer, TOUCH(ED))

TOUCH(ED) will play at the Nikos Stage until August 14. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or online here. Don't miss out on this exciting new work!

From A DOLL'S HOUSE to TOUCH(ED) and a sneak peek of TEN CENTS A DANCE

2011-08-04T12:02:00.000-04:00

TOUCH(ED) will open at the Nikos Stage tonight, but as you all know, it takes a lot of people to put on a show. Watch our wonderful crew transform the Nikos from A DOLL'S HOUSE to TOUCH(ED). Wishing a wonderful opening to all involved tonight!

Coming up, John Doyle's new musical, TEN CENTS A DANCE, featuring the songs of Rodgers & Hart, will premiere here at WTF on August 11. Take a look at how rehearsals are going in this sneak peek!

TOUCH(ED) will run on the Nikos Stage until August 14 and TEN CENTS A DANCE will run August 11-28 on the Main Stage. Tickets for both can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400 or online here. We hope to see you soon!

An inside look at the Apprentice Program!

2011-08-03T15:26:00.000-04:00

We sat down with five of our fantastic apprentices about what there summer has been like so far. Take a look and learn a bit more about what life is like for an apprentice here at WTF!

In addition to the 70 apprentices, there are over 200 people working here at the Festival this summer. In order to learn a bit more about everyone here, we decided to map out where everyone here calls home. Take a look and feel free to play around. You never know might be from your town!

An Exciting Announcement from Literary!

2011-08-02T17:20:00.000-04:00

There's been a change in our Fridays @ 3 schedule. We are thrilled to announce this week's reading will now be VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE by Christopher Durang, directed by Nicholas Martin. We hope to see you there!

VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE
by Christopher Durang
Paresky Center
Friday, August 5th
$5 (suggested donation, reservations recommended)

Sonia and her brother Vanya are at each other's throats in an old farmhouse in the quiet countryside of Pennsylvania. Their sister, Masha, a glamourous movie star, wants to sell the family home and move on to her new life with a hunky young actor named Spike. Not even the wild threats of a voodoo slinging, prophetic housemaid named Cassandra or the ridiculous family antics surrounding a fairytale costume ball seem to be truly successful in thwarting Masha's plans. Will they succumb to the great Chekhovian fates and loose their home forever? Will Sonia and Vanya finally move on with their lives? Join us for a reading of this hysterical comedy from one of America's preeminent playwrights: Christopher Durang.

Pour Me a Glass of Cabaret

2011-08-01T17:17:00.002-04:00

Of the many amazing events constantly going up here at WTF, the Cabaret series is certainly one of the most memorable. The Cabaret began at the end of the 1972 Williamstown season as Nikos Psacharopoulos’s last-minute answer to replace a cancelled season-concluding musical, and it has been a staple of the Williamstown season ever since. From the ever-impressive Apprentice Chorus to solos showcasing the Non-Equity company’s pipes to guest appearances from the Equity Company, each one offers its own surprises. This week, we raided the WTF archives to bring you some gems from Cabarets of old. Eric Shethar, one of our Literary Interns, also sat down with Kris Kukul, the Festival’s Cabaret Director, and Kevin Hourigan, the Cabaret Intern, to talk about how those enchanted Cabaret evenings come together…

Donna McKechnie, who will return to the Williamstown stage in this season’s concluding Mainstage production TEN CENTS A DANCE.
(1977, Photo Credit Jan A. Wein)

Eric Shethar: Kris, how long have you been working on WTF’s Cabaret?
Kris Kukul: 7 years. My first year here I was hired as the musical director of the fellowship musical, but ended up being a last-minute replacement for the Cabaret Director. I’ve been back ever summer since.
ES: And Kevin, as the Cabaret intern what is your role in the process?
Kevin Hourigan: As Kris’s intern, I schedule rehearsals, assist Kris during them. I also do transcriptions and help with arrangements.
ES: Do you guys have any idea the kinds of instruments and voices you have before you get here?
KH: No. Not at all.
ES: So you literally get here and in the first week figure out what you have to work with?
KH: For the first Cabaret, sometimes things were really changing until the day of. As far the apprentices go, we always use an apprentice chorus, but we don’t know what they’re going to be until we see them.

Myra Taylor, Dwight Schultz, James Naughton, Christopher Reeve, and Stephen Collins in a rousing ensemble number. (1984, Photo Credit Nina Krieger)

KK: I can usually come up with some apprentice numbers before we arrive, but that’s about it.
KH: But we cast musicians from the same Apprentice and Non-Equity pool, so we can’t even work on orchestrations until we get here. And then as far as the solos go, that’s completely dependent on which actors are moving through the Mainstage and Nikos shows at the time. So, we have to wait for them to get here so we can find out what they have up their sleeve or what they’re interested in performing.
ES: And is that the biggest challenge of putting together the Cabaret? Is it that it’s always in flux?
KH: It’s hard because it’s really a week rehearsal process. And it’s funny because for the second and third Cabaret the most work happens in the first half of the week because we have to do all of the orchestrations, make all of the music, and then teach it to everyone so quickly.
KK: That, and coming up with a good opening number.

Steve Lawson, who is now entering his 40th WTF season, in a solo Cabaret moment. Lawson will be directing his own adaptation of SISTER CARRIE as this year’s final Fridays@3 reading.
(1975, Photo Credit C.G.Wolfson)

ES: And so with the Equity Company, you said that you have to wait until they get here to see what they’re interested in. Do you ask them what they’d like to sing, or do you give them options?
KH: Some of them, like the performers who do more musical theater, actually come with a book of music. But for other people, singing is not necessarily their forte, but it’s something that they want to do, and they know it will be fun.
KK: When Maura Tierney (THREE HOTELS) and Jessica Hecht (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) approached me about doing a duet, I came up with a shortlist of about five songs for them.
ES: Kris, what is one of your favorite Cabaret memories of years past?
KK: Do I only get one?
ES: For you, I’ll give you three.

A young Christian Slater and Gwyneth Paltrow share a duet years before they became household names.

KK: Greg Hildreth (WTF and Broadway’s BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, Fridays@3’s HOUSE ON STILTS) singing “Broadway Baby” from Follies in a diaper.
ES: Was that your idea or his idea?
KK: His idea.
ES: Any other gems?
KK: Catherine Brunell (WTF’s ANYTHING GOES), who was in the 2002 Broadway production of THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE singing “Gimme Gimme” from the show, and Brooks Ashmanskas (currently in SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER) berating the sound girl who was moving the microphone while he was emceeing and then kissing her.
ES: As a peace offering?
KK: It was a very complicated relationship.

ES: If you had to sing a song, Kevin, what would be your big Cabaret debut?

Rosemary Harris, Maria Tucci (who wrote and starred in IT'S ONLY A READING as part of this year’s Fridays@3), and Joanne Woodward in one of the annual WTF galas held in New York City.
(1985 credit Bob Marshak)

KH: My big Cabaret debut number would be…this is hard. I don’t know!
ES: You have no idea?
KH: I don’t know. You’ll have to wait for my debut to see!
ES: Kris, your song choice?
KK: Two words: Dolly Parton.
ES: Ok, but what song?
KK: Any of them. Probably her version of “Stairway To Heaven.”
ES: If you could dream-cast and bring anyone to sing any song in the Cabaret, who and what would it be?
KK: Dolly Parton. Singing “Stairway To Heaven.”

And there it is. However generous Kris and Kevin were with their time, neither would give any hints as to this week’s setlist, so you’ll just have to wait until this Thursday through Saturday at 10:30 for the final Cabaret of the 2011 WTF season!

Don't miss SITSTANDWALKLIEDOWN!

2011-08-01T12:19:00.000-04:00

On Friday August 5th at 1 PM and 4:30 PM, WTF will present SITSTANDWALKLIEDOWN, directed by Phil Soltanoff and conducted by Gabriel Marantz, both friends of the Festival. Members of our Apprentice company have been working with Phil and Gabriel to create this new, site-specific piece which uses kinetic movement and striking tableaux to transform ordinary places in Williamstown. We sat down with Phil and Gabriel to learn more about the piece. Take a look!

SITSTANDWALKLIEDOWN
Conceived and directed by Phil Soltanoff
Meet behind Pappa Charlie's (28 Spring Street, Williamstown)
August 5 @ 1pm & 4:30pm
FREE!
Remember to wear comfortable shoes!

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

Jeanna Phillips in WHEN THE TANK BREAKS by Anne Washburn, directed by Lila Neugebauer

Meet the 2011 Directing Assistants!

2011-07-31T11:59:00.000-04:00

We sat down with our Directing Assistant, a part of our Directing Corps (along with the Directing Interns we introduced you to earlier this season). Check out the video and learn more about their role here at the Festival!

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

Merrit Wever, Lisa Joyce and Michael Chernus in rehearsal for TOUCH(ED)

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER Opening Night & Audience Reactions!

2011-07-29T13:17:00.000-04:00

Congrats to the cast and crew of SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER on their wonderful opening last night! Check out some pictures from the night!

Richard Easton (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER)

Kevin Hourigan (Cabaret Intern), Jon Bass (Non-Equity Company)

Jeremy Webb (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER), Mia Barron (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER)

Holley Fain (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER)

Jon Patrick Walker (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER), Brooks Ashmanskas (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER)

M. William Panek (Business Management Assistant), Jessica Bowser (Producing & Artistic Assistant), Sonny Russo (Marketing & Development Assistant)

Kristine Nielsen (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER), Nicholas Martin (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER)

Dylan Baker (Fridays@3 - THE BLUE DEEP), Kristine Nielsen (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER), Jon Patrick Walker (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER)

Steve Lawson (Fridays@3 - SISTER CARRIE), Blythe Danner (Fridays@3 - THE BLUE DEEP), Lucy Boyle (Fridays@3 - THE BLUE DEEP)

Jon Patrick Walker (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER), Mike Weiser (Non-Equity Company, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER)

We also talked to our first preview audience to hear what they had to say about the show. Take a look!

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER will play at the Main Stage through August 7. Tickets can be purchased in person, by calling (413) 597-3400, or online here.

Changeover 2011 - THREE HOTELS to SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER

2011-07-28T17:10:00.000-04:00

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER opens tonight at the Main Stage, which means it's changeover time here at the blog. Watch our crews take the Main Stage back in time from the late 20th century to the late 18th century!

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER will play at the Main Stage through August 7. Tickets can be purchased in person, by calling (413) 597-3400, or online here. We hope to see you there!

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

Apprentices John Maddaloni, Nicola Martin and Artem Kreimer in THE POWER OF HYPNOTISM by Anton Checkhov and Ivan Shcheglov, directed by DI David Mendizábal for the Directing Intern Showcase on 7/27.

Animals of the Festival!

2011-07-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

Today, we decided to do a little something different and focus on some of our furry friends here at the Festival. Meet Tashi (starring as Tashi in A DOLL’S HOUSE), Turner (the lighting department bunny) and Hopper (Cabaret Director Kris Kukul’s dog)!

Meet Tashi

We talked to Barbara Tran, Tashi’s trainer, to learn more about Tashi, as well as Barbara’s business, See Spot Shine LLC.

Can you tell us a little about Tashi?
Tashi is trained with neither force nor intimidation. And it shows in the ring. She competes in APDT Rally Obedience, and she just shines in the ring because she has always had fun learning the behaviors. Within four months of competition, she earned titles in all 3 levels, all with Awards of Excellence. She is now an APDT Rally Champion (ARCH), as well as a Canine Good Citizen (CGC). Her full name with titles is: ARCH Tashi RL1X, RL2, RL3, CGC. In her spare time, she likes to go long-distance trail running and play with her squeaky toys.

Tashi served time -- out of no fault of her own -- in at least two different shelters. She was adopted and returned, and when she came home to us, at age one, had been deprived of both nutrition and education. No one had bothered to teach her any English, not even "Sit." Today, Tashi is a strong proponent of adoption and of positive reinforcement training.

What celebrity does Tashi identify with?
Tashi identifies with Lucille Ball. The ability to inject moments of mirth into our mundane lives is, she believes, the mark of genius.

What is the next leading role Tashi would like to tackle?
Tashi believes that she is well-suited to play the role of Balto, the Siberian Husky who helped transport -- over 1,000 miles -- serum to combat the diphtheria outbreak in Nome. The event is now commemorated by the annual Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Tashi prides herself on her strength and endurance, and her cute curly tail.

Could you explain what you do?
Through my business, See Spot Shine LLC, I offer group classes and private consultations. I started the business largely because I discovered, while looking for classes for my dogs, that the closest force-free training classes in the area are a 40-minute drive away. That doesn't work for most people's schedules, and so, the people in this area sometimes end up going to old-fashioned trainers. Now that there's more research into animal behavior, there's more data that proves that positive reinforcement is not just a feel-good method but actually is more effective and doesn't create behavior problems the way force-based training does. Even the Navy SEALs are now using positive reinforcement. If it works for them ...

Meet Turner

Wilburn Bonnel, Lighting Department Supervisor, talked to us a bit about Turner, a prop rabbit who found a home in the lighting department.

How did you get Turner?
Turner was the understudy for the baby white rabbit role in VILLA AMERICA in 2007. He and his brother, Bennett (who I think went by a different name during his tenure at WTF), were born here in Williamstown, at green river farm, located at five corners. He was named for Kathleen Turner, who was here directing CRIMES OF THE HEART at the time. Bennett had a great 15-performance run, but as far as I know Turner never got to go on stage. They both lived in the prop shop that season, and became very accustomed to being handled, cuddled, and played with, which is why Turner is so uncannily socialized. In fact, apprentices were "requested" by the props dept. several times a week, for bunny-playtime shifts on the lawn (which might have also entailed cage cleaning...).

As we prepared to close down the season that year, it fell to then-props master, Whitney Hale to determine who among the many clamoring candidates would adopt Turner and Bennett. Ultimately, she chose me (for Turner) and then-assoc. production manager Joel Krause (for Bennett). I've been "storing" Turner for the Festival in the off-season ever since!

What are some fun facts about Turner?
He has never bitten a soul; he has never (to our knowledge) encountered a female of his genus -- the closest he gets to romance is with his beloved blue, inflatable ball; he is able to roam free in the environs of the lighting office, much to the alarm of some passer-by; he is ALWAYS happy to be petted, especially behind the ears or on his nose; he has a propensity towards chewing on data and telephone wires, which garnered him the nickname 'Low-Volt.' This being his 5th year, Turner made the Veteran’s list – look for his name in the program.

What is Turner’s favorite play?
Rabbit Hole, Bunny Girl, Hare-Spray, A Bunny Thing Happened...

What is Turner’s ideal “post show” meal?
Absolutely carrots, but he's big into yogurt treats, grapes, and craisins!

Meet Hopper

Kris Kukul, Cabaret Director, answered a few questions for us about his dog Hopper.

How did you get Hopper?
Hopper was my brother's dog, but he moved to London on 2006 and wasn't able to take here. She's MUCH, MUCH happier now.

What is a fun fact about Hopper?
She once auditioned to be a in a certain play at the Williamstown theatre Festival that shall remain nameless. It rhymes with A Ball's House. The competition was incredibly stiff. One other dog auditioned. Hopper didn't get it.

What is her favorite food?
FOOD is her favorite food, really anything at all. I mean, left to her own devices, she eats grass.

Who is Hopper’s favorite musical theatre diva?
Her favorite musical theatre diva is Liza. Not because Hooper watches CABARET over and over again (that's my job), but because she met Liza on the street outside of my old apartment on 68th Street. It was early in the morning, somebody had had a late night, magic happened.

If Hopper were a contestant on any reality show, what would it be?
Meerkat Manor. I mean, not really a reality show, but she can't get enough. Seriously.
Otherwise, Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, for obvious reasons.

A Typical WTF Week - Coffee with Justin Long and the Cabaret

2011-07-26T11:58:00.000-04:00

Our second Late-Night Cabaret, hosted once again by Lewis Black, took place this past weekend from July 21-23. Check out pictures from the incredible night!

Steven Weber (THREE HOTELS) performing "Thunderball," the theme song from THUNDERBALL

Jon Patrick Walker (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER) performing "Let's Not Talk About Love" by Cole Porter

Holley Fain (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER) performing "Jesus, Etc." by Wilco

Holley Fain

Holley Fain with the Apprentices

Emily Simoness (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE/SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER) with the Apprentices performing "Ms. Julie"

Maura Tierney (THREE HOTELS) and Jessica Hecht (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) performing "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl"

Maura Tierney and Jessica Hecht

Brooks Ashmanskas (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER) performing "Love the One You're With"

Brooks Ashmaskas

Jon Bass, a member of our non-equity company, sat down for coffee with Justin Long (ONE SLIGHT HITCH) and Jeanne Phillips (ONE SLIGHT HITCH and a member of our non-equity company) to learn about what their WTF experiences have been like so far. Take a look!

A Sneak Peek at the Greylock Theatre Project!

2011-07-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

Tonight, the Greylock Theatre Project returns with their Teen Ensemble. The teens worked with a mentor to write a play based on Shakespeare's works which they will perform in. Check out a preview!

The Teen Ensemble will perform tonight at 7 PM in the Directing Studio at the '62 Center. Best of all it's free but reservations can be made by calling (413) 597-3400.

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

A scene from THE COMEDY OF ERRORS.

Catching up with Bekah Brunstetter, playwright extraordinaire

2011-07-24T11:26:00.004-04:00

Every year, as part of the exciting Fellowship Program, the emerging Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller Directing Fellows collaborate with writers of their choosing and our company of Non-Equity actors to create a play and a musical piece over the course of 8 weeks. Through this whirlwind process, WTF fosters young voices so their new projects have the opportunity to be produced elsewhere. Last week, you saw a glimpse of the Fellowship Musical After Robert Hutchens, written by Nick Blaemire and directed by Sheryl Kaller. Be on the lookout for the upcoming Fellowship Play When You’re Here by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by Portia Krieger. Public showings will be the evenings of August 14 and 15.

Last year, the Fellowship Playwright was Bekah Brunstetter, a talented and bright new voice in the theatre world. At WTF, she wrote House of Home, a play inspired by true tragic events in a small Southern town. After her time as a 2009 Playwright in Residence at ArsNova, her play Be a Good Little Widow ran there this May. It was also a Weissberger Award finalist for 2010. A Long and Happy Life is slated to be produced next year by Naked Angels. The New York Times hit the nail on the head when they said, “She writes fresh, unfussy dialogue and characters who earn their laughs and emotional moments by honest means.” Along with her commissions, Bekah is (rightfully) a busy busy person with myriad projects on the horizon. We decided to check in with her and ask her a few questions about writing, life, and of course, sandwiches. Here’s a quick profile on one of our favorite up and coming writers:

Name: Bekah Brunstetter

Alias: Funstetter

Occupation: Playwright

What’s your motto? Everything in moderation. Technically it’s my Mom’s. It might also be Jackie Kennedy’s.

What was your favorite 90’s boy band? Hanson, duh.

What do you most value in your friends? Good listeners, people who don’t take things TOO seriously.

What is your most marked characteristic? I am constantly and nervously twirling my hair.

What is your favorite part of being a writer? I love that even when I can’t literally be writing I can always be writing. IN MY MIND.

What is your process of creating new work? It’s kind of a like vomiting. Gross! But really. It just sort of all comes out. And then later, with the help of others, I fix it.

What was your experience like working on House of Home last year? It was fantastic. It was SUPER collaborative, made me happy, drove me insane. I was allowed to follow all of my impulses without really worrying too much about the end product. It was very freeing!

What is your favorite memory from Williamstown? The first night I got there, Kerry [Whigham, director of House of Home] and I went to see the Non-Eq’s do their monologues. I sat in the back and watched 4 actors that I’d never even met do monologues from my shows. I FELT FANCY AND SPECIAL!

If you had a sandwich named after you, what would be on the “Bekah Brunstetter”? I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS! SO MUCH! Fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, pesto, and ranch on a toasted wheat roll. BOOM.

What’s coming up next for you? I’m working on 2 new commissions, feeling lucky as heck to have a fellowship from The Lark [Play Development Center] where I’ll be developing new work for the next year, and for the first time, TEACHING! Working with kids at this amazing place Writopia, and teaching adults at Primary Stages.

If you’re curious about anything else Bekah Brunstetter-related, visit her website www.bekahbrunstetter.com. And read and see her plays! Also, her blog is some good reading. Just saying.

AND don’t forget to check out the Fellowship Play in August, When You’re Here written by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by Portia Krieger! Reserve seats ahead of time to be sure to see this new work!

-Anne Joy

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER Preview!

2011-07-23T12:49:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday July 27, our second Main Stage show, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER begins performances. Featuring a cast of Williamstown alums like Brooks Ashmanskas, Kristine Nielsen, and Mia Barron and directed by WTF favorite and former Artistic Director Nicholas Martin, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER is sure to be a riot. We talked to Nicky himself in this preview for the show. Check it out!

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER will play at the Main Stage from July 27-August 7. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 597-3400, or online here. We can't wait to see you there!

Photo of the day by Clay Barron:

Company members watch a reading of UNTITLED CAMP PLAY written by Thomas Higgins and directed by Workshop Director Laura Savia.

Pictured LtoR- Jeanna Phillips, Chris Bannow, Gabe King

A DOLL'S HOUSE Audience Reactions

2011-07-22T11:26:00.000-04:00

We were at the first preview of A DOLL'S HOUSE to see what audiences thought of the show. Hear what they have to say!

Take a look at some photos from the show!

Josh Hamilton, Lily Rabe

Adam Rothenberg

Matthew Maher, Lily Rabe, Josh Hamilton

Lily Taylor

Matthew Maher, Lily Rabe
Congrats to the cast and crew on a fantastic opening last night! A DOLL'S HOUSE runs until July 31 on the Nikos Stage. Tickets can be purchased at the box office in person, by calling (413) 597-3400, or online here. We hope to see you there!

All photos by T. Charles Erickson

From ONE SLIGHT HITCH to A DOLL'S HOUSE to SIT DOWN?

2011-07-21T16:54:00.002-04:00

Once again, it's changeover time here at the Festival. Watch as our crew transformed the Nikos Stage from the Coleman's living room in ONE SLIGHT HITCH to the Helmer's living room in A DOLL'S HOUSE, running on the Nikos Stage from July 20-31.

The Civilians, a New York based theater company, creates original work derived from investigations into the world beyond theater. The world premiere of YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE runs at WTF August 16-21. The show is crafted from interviews the cast conducted with their own parents. Check out a webisode The Civilians created in partnership with WNYC.

A core group of apprentices is conducting their own investigation in partnership with The Civilians. Stay tuned! Their posts will be coming next week. You will even have a chance to contribute to the project.

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

Peter Albrink & Matt Neurnberger in the Fellowship Musical AFTER ROBERT HUTCHENS, book, music & lyrics by Nick Blaemire, directed by Sheryl Kaller, musical direction by Jesse Vargas

WTF at the WAMC Roundtable

2011-07-20T16:58:00.001-04:00

Last Friday, WAMC held their weekly Roundtable Broadcast here at WTF (if you missed it, you can listen here at the WAMC website). Hosted by Joe Donahue, host of The Roundtable, Sarah LaDuke, producer of The Roundtable, and Alan Chartock, President and CEO of WAMC, the broadcast included ten panels, with speakers including: Jenny Gersten (Artistic Director), Steven Weber (THREE HOTELS), Lewis Black, Joe Grifasi, Justin Long (ONE SLIGHT HITCH), Nicholas Martin, Kristine Neilsen, Brooks Ashmanskas (SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER), Stephen Sanders (Literary Associate), Lucy Boyle (playwright, THE BLUE DEEP), Andrew Layton (Scenic Design Department Supervisor), Jeremiah Thies (Production Manager), Gaby Hornig, Katherine Kerrick (Apprentice Copmany), Johanna McKeon, Jon Bass, Gabriel King (THE COMEDY OF ERRORS), Bess Wohl and Trip Cullman (TOUCH(ED)). We talked to Alexandra Rubin, Publicity Manager, to learn more about the Roundtable and how it was put together. Check it out and take a look at some pictures from the event.

Sarah LaDuke, Alan Chartock and Joe Donahue with Apprentices Gaby Hornig and Katherine Kerrick

Steven Weber, Sarah LaDuke, Alan Chartock, Joe Donahue

Lewis Black

Joe Grifasi and Justin Long

All photos by Clay Barron.

WTF IS GOING ON?! An Evening of Stand-Up with Lewis Black

2011-07-19T11:22:00.000-04:00

Last night, Lewis Black performed WTF IS GOING ON?!, a one-night-only benefit of his stand-up, to support WTF's education and professional development programs. Check out some pictures of the show and hear what the audience had to say!

All photos by Clay Barron

Kid's Play in A DOLL'S HOUSE

2011-07-18T17:41:00.000-04:00

In A DOLL'S HOUSE, two children are needed to play Nora and Torvald Helmer's children Ivan and Emmy. Continuing Williamstown Theatre Festival's connection with the surrounding community, two local children, Rose & Sol, were cast as Emmy and Ivan. We talked to Rose & Sol themselves, as well as Knud Adams, Assistant Director, to learn a bit more about what this process has been like.

Meet Rose & Sol

Why do you like to act
Rose: Acting is fun and I like playing Emmy.
Sol: I get to meet a lot of new people and acting is fun.

What other activities do you like to do?
Rose: I like to play the magnet game and drawing and playing on my iPad. I like to do fun stuff like monopoly, twin cities, and cards.
Sol: I like baseball, playing board games, having my friends over, playing with legos and reading.

What is your favorite part about working with Knud?
Rose: He is nice and kind and helpful.
Sol: He is helpful, nice and he knows a lot about acting.

Are you excited about being in A DOLL'S HOUSE?
Rose: It is very fun and I like the costumes.
Sol: It is very fun and I like working with the people.

Rose and Sol's parents, Richard and Sharon, added, "We are impressed with the sensitivity of the people involved in the production. There is a genuine effort to help the children on and off stage. The children come home each day and say, 'I am glad I am doing this, I really like it.'"

Some questions for Knud Adams, Assistant Director

Can you tell us a little about the two kids and who they are playing in the show?
Sol and Rose are real-life brother and sister playing Ivar and Emmy, the children of Nora and Torvald Helmer. In our production of A DOLL'S HOUSE, they also have a dog named Tashi, played by a dog named Tashi. We’ve tried to make the Helmer’s home as contemporary and realistic as possible. The kids help fill in the family life of the play. Their main job is to be adorable, and they fit the bill admirably.

What is the process of working with children like? How does rehearsing with children differ from any other rehearsals?
There are things you assume most actors will already know, such as the importance of saying their lines in order, sticking to the story, and the ability to work a zipper. However, some skills that take actors years to hone come naturally to kids, like improvising dialogue, committing to make-believe, and being generally interesting to watch onstage. Working with kids can feel more like cheerleading and playtime than rehearsing, and you spend a surprising amount of time crawling on all fours.

What's been your favorite part about working with the children?
Getting to know Sol and Rose has been a blast. They’re intelligent and funny and adventuresome. After working with the kids in a separate rehearsal room, it was great to introduce them to the rest of the cast. The kids made themselves right at home, attaching themselves to Lily Rabe (who plays their mother Nora). They quickly recognized Krogstad, played by Adam Rothenberg. Rose pointed across the room and whispered, “There’s the bad man.”

Are there any fun stories from the rehearsal room?
In one scene, Nora helps the kids remove their snow gear, including hats, boots, coats, and mittens. For a few rehearsals, Rose would cry “Ow!” whenever her mittens were pulled off. I kept asking if the mittens were hurting her, but they weren’t: It was just a character choice.

In order to get Tashi to play with the kids, Sol gamely agreed to have easy cheese sprayed behind his ear for the dog to find. We tried it once, and Sol was soon overcome by dog licks. We cut the moment.

Has working with kids taught you anything?
When directing kids, you have to be very clear and specific. They won’t let you get away with any equivocating. It’s been a great lesson in communication. Also, working on a play as large and as dense as A DOLL'S HOUSE, it’s easy to get lost wresting with big psychological and dramaturgical questions. Having the kids around reminded me that essentially we’re here to play dress up and make-believe.

Could you give your own "kid friendly" synopsis of A DOLL'S HOUSE?
Once upon a time, there was a very pretty mommy named Nora who had a very big secret. One day, a bad man came to her house and threatened to tell her secret to the whole world. Then Nora had to fight to protect her secret, her children, and her husband. (Spoiler alert!) When Nora’s husband found out about her secret, he got very mad. She didn't like that he got mad, so she decided not live with him anymore.

Come see Rose & Sol make their WTF debut! A DOLL'S HOUSE plays on the Nikos Stage from July 20-31. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (414) 597-3400, or online.

What's a Weissberger, you ask?

2011-07-17T15:39:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, we introduced you to one of our new play programs, the Fridays@3 Reading Series. Today, we wanted to give you a look into one of the other main programs our department oversees: the L. Arnold Weissberger Award.

On June 15^th, we arrived at the Festival and immediately began setting up shop in an empty classroom on the Williams College Campus. Mismatched desks were shuffled around, computers were routed, and discarded furniture from Williamstown Theatre Festival productions past (including a formidably flower-patterned arm-chair) was arranged. Although at the end of the day it seemed like we had created a homey blank slate office for our summer’s work to pile up in, our Gmail inbox told a different story: we already had dozens of brand new plays from some of the most exciting, up-and-coming writers around the country waiting to be sorted through for our annual Weissberger Award.

Each year, Williamstown Theatre Festival solicits scripts from the top agents, theater companies, and playwriting programs in the country to bestow the L. Arnold Weissberger Award on the most promising play yet to be slated for production. The award includes a $10,000 grant, an optional publishing, and a reading at WTF the following summer as part of our Fridays@3 reading series. Past recipients have included Julie Cho’s BFE in 2004, which went onto play an off-Broadway summer engagement at Playwrights Horizons in 2005, and Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Good Negro, which went on to be part of the Public Theatre’s inaugural Public LAB series in 2008 before premiering in a full production at the Dallas Theater Center.

Now, a month into the 2011 season, we are nearly done with giving a first read to this year’s batch of 65 plays. The process to select a winner is quite comprehensive. Each script is read at least once, given a full written treatment (synopsis and evaluation) and a rating which will determine if it moves onto the next round. About half the scripts will receive a second read. We continue re-reading scripts and writing up evaluations until we have narrowed the nominated plays down to 4-6 finalists. A panel of theatre professionals then select a winner from the finalist shortlist.

It’s a seemingly daunting task to go from 60 scripts to 4 in the span of two months—thousands of pages are read by this four-person department every summer--but for new play junkies such as ourselves, it’s a dream job! Nominated plays often represent the newest work from the nation’s top writers. Moreover, most of the plays go on to be produced by the country’s most exciting organizations in the coming seasons. For instance, last year’s Weissberger finalists included Sharr White’s The Other Place, which had an extended run at MCC Theatre this past April, Bekah Brunstetter’s Be A Good Little Widow, which was produced by Ars Nova in May, and Jordan Harrison’s Maple and Vine, which premiered at the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 2011 Humana Festival of New American plays and will be given its Off-Broadway premiere by Playwrights Horizons this fall.

Although this year’s contenders will undoubtedly go on to have stellar productions at similarly great theatres, for now we just have the raw scripts to go off of. As we head into our initial round of second reads, you’ll spot us all over campus trying to find a shady (or better yet, air-conditioned) spot to get our Weissberger read on. Say hello and ask us what we’re reading- it could be the next big thing!

-Eric Shethar

Literary Intern

No need for trust falls when we have a bounty of new scripts to bond over.

A look inside our Literary Department & Fridays @ 3!

2011-07-16T13:21:00.002-04:00

Every Friday, the Literary Department puts together the Fridays @ 3 series, where actors come together at 10AM to rehearse for a reading of a new play in development that day at 3, all for a recommended donation of $5. We sat with the Literary Department to learn more about Fridays @ 3, and see a bit of what other fun things are going on in their department!

Dramaturgical image research they've provided for shows this season:

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: New Orleans, 1947. This picture includes several images mentioned in the play. Note the Cemeteries line streetcar on the right; in the background you can see the Loews Theatre and an ad for Jax beer.

THREE HOTELS: "Have" and "Have Not" murals for Durban, South Africa.

ONE SLIGHT HITCH: Interior of Cincinnati Suburban House vs. Interior of East Village Apartment.

A DOLL'S HOUSE: Betty Hennings as Nora in the first production of A DOLL'S HOUSE.

A sample of the dramatury content for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Fridays @3 is held every Friday from now until August 12th in the Paresky Center. The schedule for the remainder of the season includes:

July 22 | WHADDABLOODCLOTT!!! by Katori Hall
July 29 | THE BLUE DEEP by Lucy Boyle
August 5 | CHOIR BOY by Tarrel Alvin McCraney
August 12 | SISTER CARRIE adapted by Steve Lawson

Reservations can be made at the box office in the '62 Center either in person or by calling (413) 597-3400. For more information, click here.

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

Members of Berkshire Young Professionals at a Networking Social here at the '62 Center.

Fleeting Free Time With Free Theatre PLUS a first look at the Fellowship Musical!

2011-07-15T14:10:00.004-04:00

Danielle Thorpe getting her shrew on as Adriana (with Assistant Director Jordan Fein and Johanna watching on the sidelines) before we moved our little show into the Berkshire wilderness.
(Photo Credit: Jon Bass)

Last weekend, we introduced Johanna McKeon, director of this year’s Free Theatre Production of Shakespeare’s THE COMEDY OF ERRORS. Free Theatre is just one of the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s annual offerings, the most notable difference being that it has historically been made for family audiences to come together to, and is (you guessed it) entirely free of charge. After moving inside to the Main Stage for several years, Free Theatre is being brought back outside, which has both its own rewards and challenges for Johanna and the whole production team.

Faced with the beautiful expanse of Poker Flats, the first question became, “What counts as our stage?”
(Photo Credit: Jon Bass)

When I caught up with Johanna the afternoon after the first productive but exhausting night of technical rehearsals (when full costumes, lights, and sound are integrated into a show for the very first time), it was certainly the challenges as opposed to the rewards that were on both our minds. As she threw together a meal with fresh farmer’s market ingredients in preparation for that night’s tech rehearsal, we looked out over the field which was in the midst of being transformed into our stage and chatted about how she's been handling the abundant challenges of helming an outdoor show and her inspiration for the world of this year’s Free Theatre production.

An unwelcome visitor tries to rain on our parade.
Literally.
(Photo Credit: Gaby Hornig)

One of the first things we both responded to after initially re-reading THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, besides its hilariously orchestrated misunderstandings, is the overwhelming fact that, as Johanna put it, “everyone is doing things for money.” The word “gold” is only mentioned more in Shakespeare’s little-performed TIMON OF ATHENS, and the words “Marks” (the currency of the city of Ephesus where the play takes place) and “mart” are spoken in Comedy (his shortest play) more times than in other play in the cannon. With an eye to making the convoluted premise more contemporary, Johanna was immediately drawn to the idea of setting the play in a Farmer’s Market, a modern equivalent of the “mart” of Shakespeare’s time where a rising merchant class lived solely to buy and sell things.

Apprentice Molly McAdoo (one of the Ephesian market vendors who also contributes to the show’s live score) knows that nothing makes tech go smoothly like a little uke.
(Photo Credit: Nicola Martin)

This setting in mind, the cast took a field trip to the local Williamstown market on Spring Street to help the actor’s get into character. Many of the apprentices and Non-Equity company members in the cast had never been to a Farmer’s Market, and so meeting the people who work their own land for a living became a vital step in the process of bridging the world of Shakespeare’s play and our own.

Free Theatre first rehearses inside one of WTF’s rehearsal space, and only a week before they begin technical rehearsals do they move out into the field. When the cast moved from indoors to Poker Flats for the first time, Johanna realized how important the apprentices she had cast as market vendors now were not only to set the scene, but to focus the action of the play. No stranger to outdoor Shakespeare, having directed MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING and CYMBELINE on Martha’s Vineyard, Johanna very clearly understood that,“outside if you’re not clear, other things,” such as encroaching stormy weather or maybe even a cameo from a woodland creature, “will be more entertaining.” She discovered that the Ephesian market vendors, as well as having distinct personas, had to be united as a kind of Chorus (not the singing-and-dancing kind you may see on the Main Stage, but here a group acting cohesively as one, sometimes commenting on the action) to react in unison to certain pivotal events; “Choruses are really helpful outdoors- I guess the Greeks knew that too!”

When the Farmer’s Markets have been adorned with lights, and Mike Wieser (who plays the jeweler Angelo) has been adorned with a fanny pack, you know it’s show time.
(Photo Credit: Jon Bass)

In a gesture to the kind of grassroots community event that Free Theatre has always been, Johanna has invited vendors from the Spring Street market to join us on the Poker Flats field to both further set the scene, but also provide our audience with some homegrown treats during the show. Having discovered her passion for local markets while living in Germany, Johanna noted how the very contemporary Farmer’s Market vogue is in fact a tradition with an incredibly long history. We hope our production has the similar effect of allowing our audience to experience a work with as long a history as THE COMEDY OF ERRORS anew, as if for the first time.

The only thing shining brighter than our actors is…our lights. And boy, do they shine.
(Photo Credit: Danielle Thorpe)

WTF’s Free Theatre Production of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS plays at the Poker Flats field tonight through this Saturday, the 16th, and next Tuesday the 19th through Friday the 22nd, at 7:00pm, weather permitting. Check our Free Theatre Guide for a more detailed daily forecast.

Williamstown’s own Farmer's Market, located right off of Spring Street, runs every Saturday from 8:00am-12:30pm through October.

-Eric Shethar
Production Dramaturg
Literary Intern

In other fun things going on at the Festival, have you ever wondered what its like to write a musical in just eight weeks? That's what happens every summer during the Fellowship Musical Project. This year, Nick Blaemire (Book, Music & Lyrics), Sheryl Kaller (Bill Foeller Directing Fellow), Jesse Vargas (Musical Director) and a cast made up of our wonderful non-equity company have worked together to write AFTER ROBERT HUTCHENS. Hear them talk about how they wrote the show, and get the first look at rehearsal footage!

AFTER ROBERT HUTCHENS plays at the Directing Studio in the '62 Center on July 18 & 19 at 7PM and 11PM. Call the Box Office at (413) 597-3400 to reserve your seat!

The blog talks to Lewis Black!

2011-07-13T10:46:00.000-04:00

Matt Dickson, Directing Intern and Assistant Director for ONE SLIGHT HITCH, sat down with Lewis Black, author of ONE SLIGHT HITCH. Take a look and learn about his USO Tour experience, why he's returned to Williamstown, and what's on his iPod!

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

Matt Neurnberger, Gabe King and Danielle Thorpe in a scene from TAPE by Stephen Belber, directed by Directing Assistant Lila Neugebauer

Greylock Theatre Project One on One's Pictures!

2011-07-12T17:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, the Greylock Theatre Project presented their One on One's in the Directing Studio! For the past week, local kids have been working with professional actors on a 10 minute play and last night they got the chance to showcase it. They all did a fantastic job, and we were able to get some pictures.

Kristin & Liza Summers in GREENBEARD'S TREASURE

Hayley & Julie Sharbutt in YOU CAN'T BLEND IN

Elly Smokler & Maya in SELF-TITLED

Tahira & Sacha Yanow in ETERNITY TIME

Melissa Briggs & Billy in SAMMY AND THE SIREN

Emily & Jeremey Chase in MORGUE THAN YOU KNOW

Nick, Rachel Lovelidge, Phillip Ballantine, Kristen Egenes, Chennelle Bryant-Harris & Pat Swearingen in THE PRETTY GOOD TRAIN ROBBERY

If you'd like to see more from the Greylock Theatre Project, you can check out the Teen Ensemble show on 7/25 at 7PM in the Directing Studio at the '62 Center, and the Playmaking shows on 8/8 at 4PM and 7PM in the Nikos Stage. All shows are free but reservations are recommended. We hope to see you there!

All Photos by Clay Barron

Free Theatre 2011!

2011-07-11T17:05:00.000-04:00

This Wednesday, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS begins performances at Poker Flats! We're taking Free Theatre outside this year! We got to go to rehearsal and talk to Johanna McKeon, director of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS to learn a bit more about Free Theatre and what we will get to see this year. Check it out!

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS runs July 13-16 and July 19-22 at 7PM on Poker Flats. For more information on how to get to get to Poker Flats and what you should bring, click here for our User's Guide to Free Theatre!

Photo of the Day by Clay Barron:

Members of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS cast during tech rehearsal.

The Late-Night Cabaret! Plus some THREE HOTELS fun!

2011-07-10T15:24:00.019-04:00

It's that time of summer again! Everyone's favorite Williamstown tradition, the Late-Night Cabaret, has officially begun! The first of three, which ran from July 7-9, was hosted by Lewis Black and featured members of the ONE SLIGHT HITCH cast, our non-equity company, some alumni, and of course, our incredible apprentices. Don't worry if you missed this one, there are two more coming up on July 21-23 and August 4-6, all at Goodrich Hall at 10:30. Check out some pictures of the fantastic show!

Our Apprentices introducing Lewis Black

Lewis Black Stand-Up

"Ten Cents A Dance" from Ten Cents A Dance
From Left to Right: Emily Simoness (A Streetcar Named Desire/She Stoops to Conquer), Crystal Lucas-Perry (A Streetcar Named Desire/Fellowship), Emily Mattheson (Fellowship)

Emily Simoness (A Streetcar Named Desire/She Stoops to Conquer) singing "Ten Cents a Dance"

"Getting Married Today" from Company: Megan Ketch (One Slight Hitch) singing

"I Am Aldolpho" from The Drowsy Chaperone: Soloist Mark Linn-Baker (One Slight Hitch)

Chris Bannow (Free Theatre: The Comedy of Errors) performing His Original Song "Backwards Please"

Lewis Black

Jeanna Phillips (One Slight Hitch) singing "When Lily Came" from Darling with Apprentice Ladies

Jane Kivnick, Apprentice, and Apprentice Ladies

One Slight Hitch's Ben Cole and Clea Alsip singing "Love is My Legs" from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Ben Cole (One Slight Hitch)

Emily Mattheson (Fellowship) singing Queen's "Somebody to Love" with the Apprentices

Nick Blaemire (2011 Fellowship Musical Composer) and Apprentices singing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" from The Last Goodbye

We also got to sit with stage manager Eileen Kelly to watch the amazing transitions in THREE HOTELS from her point of view. As a stage manager, one of Eileen's roles is to cue the crew of THREE HOTELS and make sure the transitions are perfect.

All photos by Clay Barron.

Take a look at the Greylock Theatre Project!

2011-07-09T11:39:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week, we got to watch rehearsals for the Greylock Theatre Project's One-on-Ones! Modeled after the New York City 52nd Street Project, the Greylock Theatre Project allows local children from North Adams and neighboring areas to create theatre. On July 11th at 4 and 7 PM in the Directing Studio at the '62 Center, the Greylock Theatre Project will showcase their One-on-Ones, which allow the children to work with a professional actor to put on a play for the public! Check out a bit of the rehearsals and learn more about the program!

ONE SLIGHT HITCH Opening Night & Audience Reactions!

2011-07-08T12:38:00.001-04:00

ONE SLIGHT HITCH opened up at the Nikos Theatre last night! Congrats to the cast and crew for a fantastic opening (with no hitches to be found)!

Lewis Black, Joe Grifasi

Lizbeth Mackay, Jeanna Phillips, Megan Ketch, Clea Alsip, Ben Cole, Justin Long

Lizbeth Mackay, Megan Ketch

Brooks Ashmanskas, Elizabeth Cardaropoli

Lizbeth Mackay, Clea Alsip

Ryan Hallett, Elizabeth Cardaropoli

We also talked to the first preview audience of ONE SLIGHT HITCH. See what they had to say about the show!

All photos by Clay Barron.

Changeover 2011 - STREETCAR to ONE SLIGHT HITCH

2011-07-07T13:26:00.005-04:00

It's time for our first changeover video of the season! Over a period of 25 hours, our scenic, props, lighting, sound, production and apprentice crew took down the set for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE then put up ONE SLIGHT HITCH. Watch as they transform the Nikos stage from New Orleans in 1947 to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1981!

Our Assistant Production Manger of Operations, Kathleen Reinbold, explains a typical changeover:

Changeovers are a 3-4 day process during which the scene shop and paint crew, and occasionally the props crew work round-the-clock in 12-hour shifts to break down the set of the previous show (in this case A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE), recycle or save what they can, and dispose of the rubbish, then load in the pieces of the next set (ONE SLIGHT HITCH), and build and paint it onstage.
Once the set is basically installed, the lighting and sound crews go to work re-hanging and focusing lights, and setting up speakers and running wires. Both the Lighting and Sound Departments have guaranteed periods of 'dark time' for Lighting, so that they can observe the effects of their work in darkness, and 'quiet time' for Sound, so that they can hear their work without background noise. The Scenic and Paint crews and the Lighting and Sound crews' daytime meals are staggered around these times so that work can continue as efficiently as possible.
The crews run from 30-60 people, depending on the amount and type of work to be done, and to help them out and make them feel loved during the stress and work, they receive home-cooked (or, rather, dorm-cooked :) meals. The typical changeover meal schedule looks like this:

Sunday: evening dinner around 8pm
Monday: overnight 'dinner' around 2pm, breakfast around 8am, lunch around 1pm
Tuesday: overnight 'dinner' around 2pm, breakfast around 8am
Wednesday: overnight 'dinner' around 2pm, breakfast around 8am (if further work is necessary)

The Asst. Production Manager in charge of Operations creates the menus and preps the food, then either I or one of the PM or Co. Mgmt interns cooks the meal, assisted by an apprentice, if one is available. We have people prepping food and cooking from 4pm on Sunday straight through to 3pm on Monday, and then from 11pm straight to 10am the rest of the days. Some meals that we've made so far include Sloppy Joes, lemon-pepper chicken, French toast, and chocolate-chip pancakes (a special favorite).

Photo of the day by Clay Barron

The costume shop holds their morning meeting.

WTF Celebrates America's Birthday!

2011-07-05T16:03:00.002-04:00

Happy belated 4th of July, everyone! Did you have a wonderful day? We certainly did! Here at the Festival, we watched WTF actors Jessica Hecht, Steven Weber and Lewis Black read the Declaration of Independence and British Response and ended the day watching Emily Mattheson, a member of our non-equity company, sing the national anthem at the Pittsfield Colonials game. We brought our cameras along so you could join the festivities as well!

Steven Weber, Jessica Hecht & Lewis Black

Jessica Hecht

Steven Weber

Jessica Hecht & Steven Weber

Lewis Black

Jessica Hecht, Steven Weber & Lewis Black

Lewis Black

Jessica Hecht, Steven Weber & Lewis Black

Emily Mattheson

Emily Mattheson

Declaration photos by Clay Barron; Baseball photos by Ryan Hallett.

Inside Camp WTF

2011-07-03T12:12:00.007-04:00

Dear Sorely-Missed Theater Enthusiast Bestie,

It has been said that Williamstown Theatre Festival is a bit like camp. This place is Minnehaha with more arts, just as many crafts, and a boatload of talented individuals doing some great work. I'm writing to you today so you can get the scoop on what's happening here.

Bright and early this morning, Amy Herzog was pranayama-breathing her way through leading a yoga class for company members. Amy, you may remember, presented her play After the Revolution on the Nikos last season. She just found out her new play 4000 Miles (playing at Lincoln Center's LCT3 through July 9) will transfer to the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in the spring of 2012. Exciting news to stretch to.

In somewhat related/mostly unrelated news, I'm happy to report that the spirit of Tennessee Williams is alive and well. Jessica Hecht, who is playing Blanche in David Cromer's acclaimed and gorgeous production of A Streetcar Named Desire on the Nikos, is teaching a workshop. She's having the Apprentices read Streetcar and do some in-depth text analysis.

You would be so excited about some of the awesome new work happening here. The Fellowship Musical is in development right now. Nick Blaemire, an actor who was here last year in The Last Goodbye, is work-shopping After Robert Hutchens, his new piece commissioned by Broadway Across America, with the Non-Equity Company of early-career actors. These 10 young stars are running around town right now, filming segments that will eventually be part of the show.

Meanwhile, the Literary Department (I know you're obsessed with my every move, so I'm including some of my own exhilarating activities) is hurriedly getting ready for Fridays@3. It's a set of readings we do every Friday, with fantastic new plays from some of today's hottest emerging writers. The series kicks off next week on July 8 with a reading of House on Stilts by Sarah Hammond. You'll love it. It's a new work with an old soul from a writer I can't wait to see more of. Try to come out. It's only a $5 suggested donation. I know how you love intellectually stimulating (and affordable!) thrills.

Three Hotels just opened on the main stage! It's beautiful. Last night was the opening night gala, and in true fabulous/casual Williamstown style, there were celebs, champagne, and an ice cream truck. Today, I saw the playwright, Jon Robin Baitz, walking his dog through the quad while some of the Non-Equity actors were playing Frisbee. Where else does this happen? Nowhere! And last night, I spied Lewis Black at the Purple Pub for $5 burger night. It's so amazing to see company members all over this town.

Late night activities are abundant here at the Festival. This morning (by that I mean 12:30 AM), I saw the first of three evenings of 10-minute plays directed by the phenomenal Directing Interns. This round featured gems from some of my favorite new playwrights, like Two Hundred Feet and Counting by Marco Ramirez and Leviticus by Bekah Brunstetter. Last year, Bekah was the writer of the Fellowship Play and developed House of Home, a piece she calls "Our Town meets Krispy Kreme meets my brain." She's neat. Read some of her stuff.

This place seriously never sleeps. Apprentices are rehearsing at midnight. There's lawn games and light calls at 8 AM. It's 24/7 to keep all the projects in the air, and it's so worth it. This is a place where creation is on the daily agenda for everyone. Come visit! Or just keep reading our blog posts to stay up to date on all the inside info.

Love,

Anne

Literary Intern

An inside look at our COSTUMES department!

2011-07-02T17:27:00.001-04:00

The blog sat down with Cole McCarty, one of our Assistant Costume Designers, to learn more about what goes on in our Costumes department. Take a look!

Photo of the day by Clay Barron:

Apprentices Lauren Hayes, Morgan Everitt and Natalie Kuhn in THREE GUYS AND A BRENDA by Adam Bock, directed by DI Lisa Szolovits for the Directing Intern Showcase on 6/29.

THREE HOTELS - Opening Night!

2011-07-01T16:27:00.003-04:00

THREE HOTELS opened at the Main Stage last night! Our company came out and celebrated all their hard work at our opening gala. Congrats to everyone involved!

Sarah Ganek, Jennifer Lemcke, Emily Thomas, Hannah Miller, Elizabeth Nelson, Benson Knight

Claire Seibers, Eliza Huberth, Ariel Woodiwiss, Phillipa Soo

David Menizabal, Jacob Mundell

Hallie Haas, Gaby Hornig, Anna Tringali

Jenny Gersten, Matthew C. Harris

Ryan Hallett, Katherine Fortner

Molly McAdoo, Kate Hopkins

Stephen Sanders, Mary Kenny

Steven Weber

All photos by Clay Barron

Hello from the Literary Department!

2011-06-29T09:28:00.004-04:00

In its 57 years of existence, Williamstown Theatre Festival has developed an outstanding artistic legacy of supporting extremely gifted playwrights. This fabulous season is no exception to the rule. We in the Literary Department here at the Festival are excited to be a small but mighty force that helps to support both these playwrights and their work.

Throughout the season, we’ll be giving shout-outs and interviews to playwrights we love here at the Festival, and you’ll be getting a sneak peek at what they’re up to now since they last spent time with us. We’ll also be giving you an inside look at the processes behind programs like Fridays@3, the Workshop’s Fellowship and directing projects, and our Nikos Stage productions. You will discover some interesting tidbits about the incredible artistic energy that WTF exudes every summer. We’ll be searching for answers to such burning questions as: What are some great new plays to see and new writers to follow? What’s happening with that brilliant play from a previous season? What fantastic new heights has the playwright’s work reached? Do they brush their teeth up and down or side to side?

Stay tuned for more from the literary department and your favorite playwrights. Feel free to leave us comments about those writers and plays you can’t stop thinking about. They may even end up in one of our posts!

Pictured (nerdy and fabulous) from left to right: Eric Shethar (Literary Intern), Anne Joy (Literary Intern), Stephen Sanders (Literary Associate), Rachel Lerner-Ley (Literary Assistant)

The blog chats with Jessica Hecht!

2011-06-28T10:41:00.000-04:00

Our publicity intern, Lily Cardaropoli, got to sit down and talk to Williamstown favorite Jessica Hecht about her time here at the Festival. Check it out!

Photo of the day by Clay Barron:

Company members enjoying a game of Kubb on campus.

Meet our 2011 Directing Interns!

2011-06-27T17:13:00.000-04:00

We got to talk to some of our directing interns to about what they'll be up to this summer!

Photo of the day by Clay Barron

The crew at the Scene Shop receives a lumber delivery.

Meet Becca Euliss, Apprentice Coordinator!

2011-06-25T17:39:00.001-04:00

Introduce Yourself
My name is Becca Euliss, and I'm the Apprentice Coordinator for WTF. (Pictured: Becca Euliss with Stephen Sanders, Literary Associate)

Who are the apprentices?
The apprentices are a core group of 70 actors who are the greatest source of support for the festival, and in turn they receive some fabulous performing and networking opportunities throughout the summer. It is an educational program that offers multiple acting and improv classes, as well as master classes that cover everything from tap dance to stand-up comedy. They truly are the heart, soul, and fresh voices of the festival.

What is the average day like in the life of an apprentice?
On any given day, an apprentice will start work at 9:00am, doing some sort of work call (for lighting, the scene shop, etc.). After lunch, they'll get the chance to sit in on a "How I Got Where I Am" session, a Q&A opportunity with equity actors from the season. They'll go from their class to pick up a quick dinner, just in time to head backstage for their wardrobe crew call for the Main Stage. When the performance ends at 10:30, their work doesn't. They'll then head into an acting rehearsal for a 10-minute directing scene with a Directing Intern before their day finally ends in between midnight and 1:00am.

Tell us about two or three classes you have planned for the summer.
One really exciting class, or series of classes rather, that we have planned is stand-up training with Lewis Black. He is going to show archival tapes of some of his work, then put the apprentices to work. The classes will culminate in an amateur stand-up night for those apprentices who take the workshop.

Tell us about your past experience with the Festival.
This is my second year with the festival. A few years back I was the Workshop Intern, where I basically trained to do the position I have now. I remember the summer as being incredibly difficult but very rewarding, and ultimately, I had to come back. If nothing else, I needed another summer with access to Pappa Charlie's...

Name two or three things apprentices should do outside of the Festival this summer.
Visit Mass MoCA, hike to the top of Mount Greylock, and find a good swimming hole. I work seven days a week, so mostly I want them to do all the things I missed out on my first summer here! This summer, I'm making sure I get to check some things off my WTF bucket list.

Tell us about an apprentice who has gone on to reach celebrity status.
Some of our famous apprentices include...
Chris Pine [Film] Star Trek
Ben Mackenzie [TV] The OC
Nate Corddry [TV] Studio 60
Xanthe Elbrick [Broadway] Coram Boy
Logan Marshall Green [Off-Broadway] King Lear (Public Theater)

Is there an apprentice task you'd like to try your hand at?
I think Apprentice Night is one of the most exciting Workshop nights of the summer. They select, direct, and perform (and essentially completely line produce) their own short pieces to perform for the company. We perform in The Log, and the event always has an amazing atmosphere that really epitomizes The Workshop Department to me. I have some involvement in casting and producing Apprentice Night, but I'm always excited to do more.

What do you think is the coolest part of your job?
By far, the coolest part of my job is meeting and knowing the apprentices. So many of them go on to become the most influential artists of our craft. They do some of the most progressive, fresh, and innovative work in the American Theatre, and I genuinely believe a lot of their inspiration comes from the time they spend here. It's an honor to be part of that process.

2011 WTF Apprentices

All photos by Clay Barron.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE - Opening Night!

2011-06-24T17:44:00.006-04:00

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE opened last night. We've officially kicked off the 2011 season! Check out our opening night photos!

Anne Joy, Eric Shethar, Molli Duckworth, Becca Euliss

Ariel Woodiwiss, Jon Bass, Phillipa Soo, Michael Shaw

Graham Forden, Vanessa Coakley

Kristin Brain, Jeff Maloney, Olivia Spears, Josh Hackett, Gabrielle Heerschap

Crystal Lucas-Perry, David Cromer, Vella Lovell, Emily Ryder Simoness, Luis Vega

David Cromer, Jessica Hecht

Mike Weiser, Gabe King

Gustavo E. Valdes, Jon Goldman, Rob Ross, Heather Gilbert, Jane Chan, Steven Maturno, Alejandro Fajardo, Chase Gutman, Danny Moss

Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ana Reeder, Harry Ford

Elizabeth Cardaropoli, Alexandra Rubin, Ryan Hallett

Stephen Milosevich, Peyton Becker, Josephine Ganner, Kevin Schlagle, James Hickey Jr., Christopher Metzger

Eliza Huberth, Phillipa Soo, Chris Bannow, Danielle Thorpe, Nicola Martin, Josephine Ganner

All photos by Clay Barron.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE - Audience Reactions

2011-06-23T13:11:00.000-04:00

See what audience members had to say after the first preview of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.

Photo of the day by Clay Barron:

The Fellowship Play Company chat after their first read-through of Act I.

WTF 2011 - WELCOME!

2011-06-22T17:52:00.002-04:00

We're so excited the 2011 season is underway! We've got a ton of new faces who are ready to rock 'n roll this summer. Meet a few of them...

Things you can look forward to on the blog this summer:
Audience Reactions
Opening Night Photos
Department Tours
Interviews with Cast and Crew
Guest Posts by our Literary Department
Time lapse changeovers (our personal favorite)
And so much more!!

Photo of the day by Clay Barron:

Associate Lighting Supervisor, Steven Maturno, at the tech table in the Main Stage Theatre.

Bradley Cooper Gives WTF a Shout Out on Morning Joe

2011-03-18T17:34:00.000-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Special Valentine's Day Reading

2011-02-10T16:04:00.001-05:00

Join us Monday, February 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM at The Clark for a special Valentine's Day reading of Neil Simon's LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS directed by Jessica Stone. The reading will feature Brooks Ashmanskas, Susan Blackwell, Maria Dizzia, and Debra Monk.

Three women, three afternoons, three hilarious seductions.
Meet Barney Cashman. He's 47 years old, married with kids, a responsible restaurateur who has always done the right thing while the swinging '60's raged on around him. But today he's going to join the sexual revolution and do something reckless and wild. He is going to have an affair...in his mother's apartment. He's thought of everything - he's brought whiskey, glasses and aftershave. Now all he needs is the girl. Enter Elaine, Bobbi, and Jeanette, each carrying their own unique idiosyncrasies.

For tickets, call 413-458-0524. Click HERE for more information about the cast!

WTF Receives the 2011 Commonwealth Award for Achievement

2011-01-19T17:36:00.001-05:00

We are thrilled and honored to receive this award! The Massachusetts Cultural Council describes the Commonwealth Awards as this:

Given every two years by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Commonwealth Awards shine a spotlight on the extraordinary contributions that arts and culture make to education, economic vitality, and quality of life in communities across the state. The Awards ceremony is also a chance for the Massachusetts nonprofit cultural sector to come together, assert its value, and make the case for public investment in its work.

Past Commonwealth Award winners include leading artists, writers, and scholars such as Yo-Yo Ma and David McCullough; world-class institutions like Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and the Peabody Essex Museum; and social innovators like the Boston Cyberarts Festival and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation.

Achievement
For an individual or organization whose creative achievements have uniquely enriched life in Massachusetts.

Williamstown Theatre Festival
For over half a century, the Williamstown Theatre Festival has been a leading force in the American theatre, providing a catalytic environment in which the nation’s best established and emerging theatre artists develop, practice, and refine their craft in collaboration with a loyal and sophisticated audience.

Williamstown Theatre Festival is widely regarded as the premiere training ground for America's best emerging theatre artists, drawn from the nation's top undergraduate and graduate theatre programs. Students accepted into its highly-selective programs are immersed in a potentially career-launching experience by having the opportunity to work alongside renowned professional artists. Over the years, 57 Emmy Award winners, 23 Academy Award winners, and more than 115 Tony Award winners – many of whom started their careers as Williamstown Theatre Festival apprentices – have graced the Williamstown stages in various capacities.

While Williamstown Theatre Festival is perhaps best known for its bold, innovative productions of the greatest works in the theatrical canon, it is also one of the nation's most dynamic incubators for new plays. With at least three fully produced world premieres each season, works developed in Williamstown frequently have extended lives beyond the Festival. Throughout its history, the Festival has seen nine of its productions move to Broadway, 31 to off-Broadway theaters, one to PBS, one to HBO, and countless others to regional theaters around the nation.

The Festival is deeply committed to playing a lead role in the cultural life of the Berkshires. In addition to the full festival season, Williamstown Theatre Festival offers family-centered programming, including the annual Free Theatre production, to introduce new, and younger, audiences to live theatre. The Festival is also the proud home of the Greylock Theatre Project, a celebrated arts mentoring program for underserved and materially disadvantaged children from North Adams.

Williamstown Theatre Festival respects its position as an important economic engine for Williamstown and the Northern Berkshire region. While Williams College generates significant economic activity during the school year, summer activity created by the Festival is crucial for the financial health of local restaurants, hotels, and retail. They create jobs, both directly at the theater and in the surrounding community. Furthermore, over 60 percent of the earned and contributed revenue generated by Williamstown Theatre Festival comes from sources outside the Commonwealth, much of which is then reinvested in Berkshire County.

The Journey of AFTER THE REVOLUTION

2010-10-21T15:55:00.000-04:00

During the summer of 2009, AFTER THE REVOLUTION was born. It was produced through our Fellowship program using actors from our non-equity corps and directed by Tamara Fisch, the 2009 Bill Foeller Fellow.

Lauren Blumenfeld & Irene Lucio in the 2009 Fellowship production. Photo: Sam Hough

Daniel Hartley & Irene Lucio Photo: Sam Hough

Lucas Kavner & Gayle Rankin Photo: Sam Hough

In 2010, AFTER THE REVOLUTION became a full production and was produced on our Nikos Stage. Carolyn Cantor directed (she also directed the 2009 production NOT WAVING and was the 2004 Bill Foeller Fellow) and the production soared with rave reviews and sold-out houses.

Katharine Powell & Donald Margulies Photo: Sam Hough

Mare Winningham Photo: Sam Hough

Mark Blum & Peter Friedman Photo: Sam Hough

Now AFTER THE REVOLUTION moves to New York for a limited engagement at Playwrights Horizons from October 21 - November 28, 2010 featuring the same "dream ensemble" [Variety] you saw here at WTF this summer! Click HERE for more information about its New York premiere.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON: From Workshop to Broadway

2010-10-13T17:10:00.001-04:00

What started as a small workshop through WTF's Fellowship program in the summer of 2006 will officially open on Broadway tonight. Take a look at the timeline of BLOODY BLOODY and what it took to get from an idea to a full-scale production. You can also check out the Broadway cast here where you'll see many familiar WTF faces including Kate Cullen Roberts who has been a part of this show since it began at WTF! We congratulate the cast, crew and creative teams - break a leg!

If you've been living under a rock and have no idea what BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON is - take a peek at this video montage.

Our last goodbye | WTF Moving Out

2010-08-23T10:00:00.007-04:00

As we leave Williamstown for the summer, we thought we'd share some of our thoughts about leaving and how the summer has gone with you. Thanks for watching and reading--we will, of course, be back again next summer. In the meantime, stay tuned for updates about our 2011 season and don't forget to SAVE THE DATE for our NYC Gala on November 15, 2010.

Video | The Last Goodbye interview with Jeff Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert and Original Developer, Lauren Fitzgerald

2010-08-20T10:38:00.001-04:00

Check out this interview with Jeff Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, and The Last Goodbye Original Developer, Lauren Fitzgerald.

Fifth of July Opening Night

2010-08-17T17:07:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday we celebrated the opening of the final show of our 2010 Season, Fifth of July, at the Williams Inn. Take a look at our photos from the evening!

Video | Fifth of July Actors, Shane McRae and Noah Bean

2010-08-17T10:43:00.001-04:00

Check out this interview with Shane McRae and Noah Bean from Fifth of July!

Video | Changeover from Our Town to Fifth of July

2010-08-16T12:13:00.003-04:00

Watch the crew changeover the set from Our Town to Fifth of July!

The Last Goodbye Opening Night Party!

2010-08-13T10:09:00.001-04:00

Last weekend we celebrated the opening night of the World Premiere of The Last Goodbye at Goodrich Hall on the Williams College campus. Check out all of our photos from the evening!

[photos] Sam Hough for WTF '10

(1) Damon Daunno, Kelli Barrett

(2) Lauren Fitzgerald, Sonya Tayeh, Michael Kimmell

(3) Grace McLean, Chloe Webb

(4) Jo Lampert, Merle Dandridge, Michael Park

(5) Ariel Woodiwiss, Tom Hennes, Nigel Defriez

(6) Grace McLean, Michael Bradley Cohen, Brian Smith

(7) Ariel Woodiwiss, Jesse Lenat

(8) Gayle Rankin, Ashley Robinson

(9) Celina Carvajal, Ian Pai

(10) Kris Kukul, Joe Finnegan

(11) Reed Wilkerson, Rebecca Stevens, Austin Vaclavik, Amanda Charlton, Emily Kent, Brian Smith

(12) Rachel Seklecki, Danno Cuillane

(13) Sarah Harris, Julia Borowski, Teresa McHugh

(14) Toni Portacci, Julia Locascio

(15) Alison Chemers, Lauren Scottow

(16) Patrick Stengle, Clark Flynt

(17) Sylvia Seib, Alyssa Rachels, Alison Chemers, Lauren Scottow

Video | Changeover from After the Revolution to The Last Goodbye

2010-08-13T10:07:00.001-04:00

Watch the crew changeover from After the Revolution to The Last Goodbye!

Video | The Last Goodbye Actor, Damon Duanno

2010-08-12T09:03:00.000-04:00

Check out this video interview with The Last Goodbye Actor, Damon Duanno.

Special Feature | Famous Missourians

2010-08-12T07:51:00.000-04:00

by Rachel Lerner-Ley, Dramaturg

Shirley dreams of becoming a famous artist—“the greatest artist that Missouri has ever produced.” To which John responds “would that be so difficult?” Shirley then spouts off a list of famous and influential people who got their start in Missouri.

Here’s a glimpse into the famous folks of the Show Me State that make their way into Fifth of July:

Mark Twain (author and wit): Samuel Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri and at the age of 4 moved with his family to Hannibal, Missouri—a bustling town situated on the Mississippi River. It is in Hannibal that Clemens observed life along the Mississippi as well as the realities of slavery—two major themes of his later works. It is also in Hannibal that he began writing and drawing. His brother, Orion, owned the local newspaper, the Hannibal Journal, and Clemens became a frequent contributor.

Betty Grable (actor and pin-up): Betty Grable was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She made her first film appearance at the age of 13 and made her way up the Hollywood ladder, appearing in musicals and comedies. She eventually rose to the top of the box office throughout the '40s. In 1943 she posed in a swimsuit and became the most popular pin-up of WWII. The picture has even made it into LIFE’s list of the "100 Photos that Changed the World." Her legs were insured for over $1 million, and Hugh Hefner has noted her as an inspiration for Playboy. She died of lung cancer in 1973.

Tennessee Williams (playwright): He may have been born in Mississippi and have family roots in Tennessee (hence the name), but Williams did in fact spend many of his “formative years” in Missouri. From the age of seven until his late teens, Williams was a resident of St. Louis, Missouri. Here he wrote his first essays and stories as well as found inspiration for several characters that would appear in his later masterpieces. He began writing plays while a student first at University of Missouri and then at Washington University, St. Louis.

Vincent Price (actor): Price was born and raised in St. Louis eventually going away to Yale to study Art History. He traveled Europe and became an actor. He is most well known for his (somewhat campy) appearances in horror films and for his spooky voice (he “raps” in Michael Jackson’s landmark song “Thriller”). Later in life, he followed his passion for gourmet cooking and started his own line of cookbooks.

Harry S. Truman (President): Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri and grew up in Independence, Missouri. As a boy, he got to serve as a page at the DNC in Kansas City in 1900. He spent the majority of his young adult life in Missouri as a farmer and then went away to fight in WWI. He returned to Missouri and soon was elected a district judge, beginning a political career (as a Democrat) that would eventually lead him to the presidency.

Gwen also gives two other Missourians a shout-out. She compares June’s persona in the 1960s to these two ladies...

Ma Barker (outlaw): Born outside Springfield, Missouri, she married her husband in Aurora, Missouri. They moved to Oklahoma. Her sons became known as the “Bloody Barkers,” committing a series of kidnappings, robberies, and other crimes in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma throughout the '20s and '30s. Ma Barker is remembered in popular culture as being the ring leader of this gang of criminals, though recent evidence suggests quite the opposite. In 1977, Boney M. came out with a song called “Ma Baker” based on Ma Barker in which they call her “the meanest cat.”

Belle Starr (outlaw): Born in Carthage, MO, though she eventually moved to Texas after the outbreak of the Civil War. She became an outlaw in the “Old West”—“the bandit queen” helping to organize and lead gangs that participated in horse stealing, bootlegging, and other profitable ventures. Later in life, after being released from jail, she took on a long line of various lovers. She was shot to death, possibly by one of her children.

And of course, there is one important Missourian very close to the play itself:

Lanford Wilson (playwright): Born in Lebanon, Missouri and growing up in the town of Ozark, Wilson points to his experience of the Mid-West as being a major inspiration of several of his plays.

Video | Fifth of July Actor, Jennifer Mudge

2010-08-11T07:31:00.010-04:00

Check out this video interview with Fifth of July actor, Jennifer Mudge!

Video | Fifth of July Director, Terry Kinney

2010-08-10T13:02:00.003-04:00

Check out this video interview with Fifth of July Director, Terry Kinney!

Dramaturgy | Lanford Wilson and Circle Repertory Company

2010-08-09T11:48:00.000-04:00

by Rachel Lerner-Ley, Dramaturg

Circle Repertory Company was founded in 1969 by playwright Lanford Wilson, director Marshall Mason, actor Tanya Berezin, and director Rob Thirkield. With little money—paying the rent out of their own pocket for the uptown crumbling loft that would serve as a theatre and offices until they got a permanent home in the '80s, the four founders created one of the original off-off broadway theatres that would come to be a major influence in the American Theatre and the creative home to some of American Theatre’s biggest names. The theatre closed its doors in 1996.

“It was created out of the need from the artists to express themselves,” Mason pointed out in an 1999 NewsHour interview. “and at that point, Broadway was almost exclusively English: Harold Pinter and John Osborne, these guys were occupying the Broadway theaters. Off Broadway had become very commercial. It was running ‘Little Mary Sunshine’ and ‘The Fantastics,’ and that sort of thing…..A young American playwright had no place to go, and so we went to the little coffee shops—you know—down in the village. Most of it was down in the Village.” It was in one such coffee shop, Caffe Cino—a tiny place of mismatched chairs, postered walls, and a killer espresso machine—that the four founders of Circle Rep. met in the early '60s and began the collaboration that would eventually lead to the creation of a theatre company.

Circle Repertory Theatre was established as “an on-going ensemble of artists—actors, directors, playwrights and designers—who would work together to create a living play.”

The company was host to resident playwrights who wrote new plays inspired by and tailored for the company’s core of actors. The company held workshops for the actors, training them in voice, movement, and scene study. These workshops allowed the company to build a vocabulary so that everyone could contribute to the creation of the play. At Circle Rep, making a play was an all hands on deck, collaborative process.

Circle Rep. was the perfect artistic home for Wilson who confessed in a 1978 New York Times article, that he has a deep aversion to working alone: “A long time ago I was told that writing plays was a lonely business and I knew then that wasn’t for me. You’ll never catch me a hundred miles away from New York, cloistered in a cabin, pounding out the third act. I could as easily write in a closet. I know I can’t work away form the city. Eight years ago I found a house in Sag Harbor, made a fine writing room there, and have never written a word in it. It’s a kind of mild aversion to working alone that everybody at Circle Rep comes by honestly. We began working at Caffe Cino and La Mama, with everyone bumping elbows, and it never occurred to us to ask if we had good working conditions. At Circle Rep we bump each other around a lot….”

It is from such a bumping of elbows that Wilson’s Fifth of July emerged. Fifth was written entirely at Circle Rep. with five readings of five different full drafts occurring over several months, plus the readings of numerous other scenes that Wilson tried out by just grabbing actors as they passed by.

The actors at Circle Rep. were critical to Wilson’s process. He once reflected, “Sometimes you see something in an actor (a small, odd movement, a turn of voice) that suggests a whole character, someone you’ve know and wanted to write about….” He continues “I’ve always written for actors. ‘Whom do you write for?’ Actors. ‘But what audience do you write for?’ Anybody. One of the pleasures of being a playwright (count them on one hand) is watching an actor in the process of understanding, believing, the part.”

In the end, all the aspects of Fifth of July were Circle Rep derived: the direction, the acting, the designs, and even the song which Wes Hurley plucks out on his guitar throughout the play was composed by actor and company member Jonathan Hogan.

Video | The Last Goodbye Audience Reactions

2010-08-07T07:19:00.004-04:00

See what our first preview audience thought of The Last Goodbye!

Video | The Last Goodbye Actor, Kelli Barrett

2010-08-06T12:08:00.003-04:00

Check out this interview with Kelli Barrett who plays Juliet in The Last Goodbye!

Special Feature | Jeff Buckley and William Shakespeare in Dialogue Across 400 Years

2010-08-05T07:50:00.004-04:00

by Kristin Idaszak, Dramaturg

Jeff Buckley

“My skin is tight underneath the tear, dried upon my cheeks the night I cried.
When I smiled Good Morning to you, my crow's feet let you know that I lied.
Please let me give these gifts of mine to the woman who eyes shined on my back
as I slept. I left you because I loved you.”

William Shakespeare

“There's beggary in the love that can be reckon'd.”

________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Buckley

“And though the meaning fits, there's no relief in this. I miss my beautiful friend.”

William Shakespeare

“How heavy do I journey on the way

When what I seek, my weary travel’s end,

Doth teach that ease and that repose to say,

Thus far the miles are measur’d from thy friend.”

________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Buckley

“I am a man enclosed in quotation marks, ever since I took a drink of you.”

William Shakespeare

“If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken and so die.
That strain again, it had a dying fall.”
________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Buckley

“I'm lying in my bed, blanket is warm.. this body will never keep me safe from harm.
I still feel your hair, black ribbons of coal. Touch my skin to keep me whole. If only you'd come back to me.”

William Shakespeare

“When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see

For all the day they view things unrespected;

But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee,

And darkly bright, are bright in dark directed…

All days are nights to see till I see thee,

And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.”

Video | Delftree Department Tour

2010-08-04T17:18:00.001-04:00

Check out this behind the scenes tour of the scene shop at Delftree!

Dramaturgy | Romeo Prefigured: A Portrait of Jeff Buckley

2010-08-04T08:21:00.004-04:00

compiled by Kristin Idaszak, Dramaturg

Starlight takes hundreds of light years to reach the earth, and as a result stars continue to shine brightly in the night sky long after the antecedents themselves have died. Jeff Buckley’s light similarly continues to shine 13 years after his death. Excerpts from this 1993 article form The New York Times give us a glimpse into a brilliant past from an artist on the brink of stardom:

Strange things happen when Jeff Buckley opens his mouth to sing. One moment he's a white bluesman with a sound straight out of the Mississippi Delta; the next, a jazz singer whose acrobatic voice swoops and glides through a haze of cigarettes and pained memories. The last thing he sounds like is his age -- only 26.

Even odder, his singing makes otherwise jaded clubgoers and music-business executives rave with none of their usual cynicism. They will talk of catching Mr. Buckley at East Village hangouts like Sin-é and the FEZ, where they have heard him sing anything from "I Loves You Porgy" to a Sufi chant, an obscure Elton John oldie or one of Mr. Buckley's own unconventional songs. And they will talk about his new contract with Sony Records and how Buckley is a name to watch.

The one person who doesn't care for the talk is the source of it all. "The music business is the most childish business in the world," Mr. Buckley said one morning last month at a downtown bistro, "Nobody knows what they're selling or why, but they sell it if it works."

Mr. Buckley, whose hair is cut in a short, modestly spikey buzz, pauses and shoots an intense stare out the window. "There was a woman outside who was talking to someone, and I was trying to guess from her eyes what she sounded like," he said softly. "You can tell everything from the eyes."

You can tell a lot from Mr. Buckley's eyes, too. He's the son of the late Tim Buckley, who helped disassemble the barriers between folk, jazz and improvisational music before a fatal overdose of heroin, morphine and alcohol in 1975. Not only does Jeff Buckley have the same winding, sensual, octave-stretching voice as his father, but his waiflike looks recall the face on the covers of Tim Buckley albums like Goodbye and Hello, a cult classic from 1967.

Mr. Buckley grew up with his mother and stepfather, mostly in Southern California, and learned about his father from old friends…[He] played briefly in a rock band, Gods and Monsters, but departed in the spring of 1992. As his main solo base, Mr. Buckley chose Sin-é (Gaelic for "that's it"; pronounced shin-AY), a coffeehouse where the occasional baby mouse scurries across the wooden floor. The stage, such as it is, is a cleared-away area against a wall.

"I figured if I played in the no-man's land of intimacy, I would learn to be a performer," Mr. Buckley said. Gradually, he did; he also paid the rent on his East Village apartment with money he'd collect from the plastic pitchers passed around at Sin-é.

Shane Doyle, Sin-é's owner, said : "He'll stop by to sing at 2 in the morning, and it doesn't matter if only a handful of people are there. He's definitely unusual in that way." Mr. Buckley often helps wash the dishes, too.

When asked which musicians have influenced his work, Mr. Buckley cites figures that predate his father. Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong and Judy Garland records taught him about phrasing, for example. And "there was a time when I wanted to be Miles Davis," he said.

"A lot of time I feel like I don't belong here" he added, quickly turning forlorn. "Here" meaning where? "Here," he replied, as if the question was downright silly.

One moment Mr. Buckley will gush about a Led Zeppelin bootleg or will cockily say, "There are no precedents for what I'm doing,." Then he will turn near-suicidal : "I'm sick of the world. I'm trying to stay alive."

Interview | Stephen Sanders, Original Developer on The Last Goodbye

2010-08-03T08:18:00.010-04:00

Williamstown Theatre Festival's Artistic Assistant Stephen Sanders is one of the unseen, unsung members of the festival's year-round staff who knows the festival inside and out. In addition to his integral role in keeping WTF up and running, he also has a special affiliation with The Last Goodbye--as one of its producers and an original developers of the piece, before it was ever slated to come to Williamstown. He sat down with dramaturg Kristin Idaszak to talk about the role of producers in non-profit theatre.

Kristin Idaszak: How did you first get involved with The Last Goodbye?

Stephen Sanders: My first summer here was 2007. I was the Assistant to the Artistic Director and General Manager, and I met Lauren Fitzgerald, who was working as the Publicity Manager that summer. We had a great summer and became fast friends. The same thing also happened with Kris Kukul, the Music Director here. So the relationships were in place before anything ever happened.

Fast forward to last October of 2008. Lauren and I work in the same building in New York and we’ve remained close, and she started working on this project with Michael during that summer while I was gone. When I got back to the city and I saw her on the elevator and she said to me, “Let’s take a walk; I have something I want to talk with you about.” We walked from our offices on 42^nd and Eighth, to 46^th and Eighth where they were having auditions for the first reading they were about to do. So between 42^nd and 46^th she told me about the whole project, and that Michael’s wife was pregnant and had the baby early so they needed extra help producing the reading. By the end of those four blocks I said, “Sure, let’s do it,” having no idea what I was getting myself into.

I walked into the first rehearsal and introduced myself to Michael, and then sat down and started reading stage directions for the first reading of the play. And that’s how it happened—I just dove in. And we all worked really hard to produce that reading in the East Village.

There’s a great sort of unspoken rule about producing: always work with your friends because you need that level of passion and trust from the people you’re working with. And I learned that really quickly working on this project. We had no idea if this was going to succeed—it hadn’t been anything yet. It was just a group of friends working on something we believed in.

KI: What has been the best thing about working on this show?

SS: I think just having a dream or idea and seeing it fully realized. Initially it was just the four of us talking about it and working on our own, and now it’s here and I know that we created that—the four of us worked together to create it. And now I get to help give them what they need to fully realize that initial vision. That’s really my job—to make sure they have everything they need. And that’s what I like about producing in general. You’re like the invisible hand making sure everything is in place. It’s also about cultivating relationships and seeing a show through to production, and anything I can do to help attain that goal, whether it be big or small, is what I enjoy most about the process.

KI: So what’s your official role now?

SS: The four of us are calling ourselves “Original Developers.” In the first two incarnations of the piece—and here for us, too—in non-profit theatre the role of a producer is different than in for-profit theatre. It doesn’t mean necessarily financially backing a project; it’s about putting the pieces together and the organizational and developmental aspects of producing a show. In the commercial world the producer’s role is augmented by the money and the investments, though there are definitely still developmental responsibilities as well. We got The Last Goodbye on its feet!

KI: What does that entail in general for non-profit theatre?

SS: In non-profit theatres every institution has a unique producing model. It’s an umbrella title—we do a little bit of everything. Producers have to be jacks-of-all-trades. You’re working with a limited staff and with limited resources for that staff, so you really have to be able to help them do their jobs efficiently and keep things moving along. And actually, my position here at the festival as Artistic Assistant was really designed to be a catch-all. I’m around everywhere, I try to know about everything that’s going on, I’m trying to stay in the know about every project’s particular needs so that if there’s ever a problem I’m totally informed and ready to jump in at a moment’s notice and help push that project through to the end. And it’s not only the big things. The small things add up.

KI: It seems like the producer is the person who has to see the forest through the trees but also know where every branch and leaf is too.

SS: Exactly. And it’s so easy to get bogged down in the details but you also have to be able to pull yourself out and see the big picture. But that’s also what I like about it—getting to do both of those things.

Video | The Last Goodbye Actor, Ashley Robinson

2010-08-02T16:03:00.002-04:00

Check out this video interview with The Last Goodbye actor, Ashley Robinson!

Video | Our Town Audience Reactions

2010-08-02T13:10:00.001-04:00

See what our Friday night audience thought of Our Town!

Our Town Opening Night Party!

2010-07-30T19:37:00.002-04:00

The entire company had an wonderful time last night celebrating the opening Thornton Wilder's Our Town at the Williams Inn. Check out our photos from the evening!

[photos] Sam Hough for WTF ’10

[pictured]

(1) Brie Larson, Will Rogers

(2) Campbell Scott, Will Rogers, Ethan Heard, Nicholas Martin, Nancy Carroll

(3) Ginny Granger, Becky Anne Baker

(4) Nancy Carroll, Ethan Heard

(5) John Rubinstein, Jon Patrick Walker, Bryce Pinkham

(6) Grace McLean, Jo Lambert, Chloe Webb, Lauren Fitzgerald

(7) Joe Finnegan, Sam Crane

(8) Zackary Grady, Jeff Cutler, Kevin Cahoon, Elliot Villar

(9) Graham Rowat, Bryce Pinkham

(10) Susan Gold, Sam Crane, Sean Finnegan, Jessica Hecht

(11) Jon Bass, Meredith Holtzman, Dominic Spillane,

(12) Joey A. Frenette, Brynn Almli

(13) Kathryn Pamula, Erica Larocque

(14) Ashley Grombol, Jake Dupree

(15) Chet Miller, Lizzie Luch, Jeremy Bloom

Video | Changeover from Six Degrees of Separation to Our Town

2010-07-30T11:01:00.003-04:00

Watch the crew changeover from Six Degrees of Separation to Our Town.

Special Feature | From the Wilder Estate

2010-07-29T07:39:00.102-04:00

Please enjoy these biographical materials on Thornton Wilder from his estate, which still manages all the rights for productions of his plays and publications of his plays and books. --Sarah Slight, Dramaturg

Chronology

1897 Born in Madison, Wisconsin (April 17)
1906 Moves to Hong Kong (May) & to Berkeley, California (October)
1906-10 Attends Emerson Public School in Berkeley
1910-11 Attends China Inland Mission School, Chefoo, China (one year)
1912-13 Attends Thacher School, Ojai, California, The Russian Princess, Wilder’s first play known to be produced, is performed by Thacher students
1915 Graduates from Berkeley High School; active in school dramatics
1915-17 Attends Oberlin College; publishes regularly
1920 Receives B.A. from Yale College (with brief service in the fall of 1918 with U.S. Army); many publications
1920-21 Attends American Academy in Rome as special student
1920s Teaches at Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey 1924 ('21-'25, and '27-'28)
1924 First visit to the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, New Hampshire
1926 Receives M.A. degree in French, Princeton University
The Trumpet Shall Sound produced in New York Off-Broadway Laboratory Theatre
The Cabala (first novel)
1927 Second Novel: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Pulitzer Prize)
1928 The Angel That Troubled The Waters (first published collection of drama—playlets)
1930s Part-time teacher, University of Chicago (comparative literature and composition); lectures across the country;
first visit to Hollywood (1934); extensive foreign travel
1930 The Woman of Andros (novel)
1931 The Long Christmas Dinner and Other Plays (six full one-act plays)
1932 Lucrece (translation of André Obey’s Le Viol de Lucrèce) opens on Broadway staring Katharine Cornell
1935 Heaven’s My Destination (novel)
1937 Adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House for Broadway with Ruth Gordon (Broadway record for this play until 1999)
1938 Our Town opens on Broadway (Pulitzer Prize); Performs role of The Stage Manager for two weeks
1942 The Skin of Our Teeth opens on Broadway (Pulitzer Prize), Writes screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Shadow of a Doubt
1942-45 Military service with Army Air Force Intelligence in North Africa and Italy
1948 The Ides of March (novel), Performs his plays in summer stock
The Victors off-Broadway (translation of Jean-Paul Sartre’s Morts Sans Sépulture)
1949 Major role in Goethe Convocation in Aspen; Lectures widely abroad
1951-52 Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard
1952 Gold Medal for Fiction, American Academy of Arts and Letters
1953 on cover of Time Magazine (January 12)
1955 The Matchmaker opens on Broadway with Ruth Gordon (revision of the 1938 The Merchant of Yonkers)
1955 The Alcestiad produced at Edinburgh Festival (as A Life in the Sun) with Irene Worth
1957 Awarded German Booksellers Peace Prize, first American to receive this award
1961 Opera version of The Long Christmas Dinner (music by Paul Hindemith, libretto by Wilder) premieres in Mannheim,
Germany, December 20, 1961
1962 Plays for Bleeker Street (Someone from Assisi, Infancy, and Childhood) performed at Circle in the Square Theater in New York City, Operatic version of The Alcestiad (music by Louise Talma, libretto by Wilder) premieres in Frankfurt, Germany, February 28, 1962
1963 Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
1964 Hello, Dolly! Opens on Broadway with Carol Channing
1965 Awarded National Book Committee’s Medal for Literature
1967 The Eighth Day (novel); receives National Book Award for Fiction
1973 Theophilus North (novel)
1975 Dies in sleep in Hamden, Connecticut (December 7)

About Thornton Niven Wilder

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, and educated at Yale and Princeton, Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) was an accomplished novelist and playwright whose works explore the connection between the commonplace and the cosmic dimensions of human experience. The
Bridge of San Luis Rey, the second of his seven novels, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and his next-to-last novel, The Eighth Day received the National Book Award (1968). Two of his four major plays garnered Pulitzer Prizes, Our Town (1938) and The Skin of Our Teeth (1943). His play The Matchmaker ran on Broadway for 486 performances (1955-1957), Wilder’s Broadway record, and was later adapted into the record-breaking musical Hello, Dolly! Wilder also enjoyed enormous success with many other forms of the written and spoken word, among them acting, teaching and lecturing, as well as writing translations, opera librettos, and films (his screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt remains a classic to this day). Letter writing held a central place in Wilder’s life, and since his death, three volumes of his letters have been published. Wilder’s many honors include the Gold Medal for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Book Committee’s Medal for Literature. On April 17, 1997, the centenary of his birth, the US Postal Service unveiled the Thornton Wilder 32-cent stamp in
Hamden, Connecticut, his official address after 1930. He died at his Hamden home on December 7, 1975.

Wilder continues to be read and performed around the world. Our Town is performed at least once each day somewhere in this country or abroad, with his other major dramas and shorter plays not far behind. In 2008, Our Town and The Bridge of San Luis Rey were selected as a joint choice for the NEA’s “Big Read” Program. In recent years Wilder’s works have also inspired a growing number of adaptations, among them an opera based on Our Town (music by Ned Rorem, libretto by J.D. McClatchy) and a dramatized versions of Theophilus North (Matt Burnett). Reflecting the renewed interest in Wilder, the Thornton Wilder Society sponsored the first international conference on Wilder in fall 2008.

Publications Available in Bookstores Everywhere

The Selected Letters of Thornton Wilder, HarperCollins. Edited by Robin G. Wilder & Jackson R. Bryer, 2008. Paperback 2009.

The Library of America Collection, Edited by J.D. McClatchy, with a detailed chronology, notes and selected unpublished material.Thornton Wilder: Collected Plays & Writings on Theatre (2007), The Bridge of San Luis Rey and Other Novels 1926-1948 (2009)

HarperCollins 9-volume re-issue of Wilder’s novels and major plays.These publications feature Forewards by noted authors and Afterwords by Tappan Wilder containing a brief history of the work drawing upon extensive unpublished sources.The Bridge of San Luis Rey Forward by Russell Banks; The Cabala & The Woman of Andros Forward by Penelope Niven; The Eighth Day Forward by John Updike; Heaven’s My Destination Forward by J.D. McClatchy; The Ides of March Forward by Kurt Vonnegut; Our Town Forward by Donald Margulies; The Skin of Our Teeth Forward by Paula Vogel; Theophilus North Forward by Christopher Buckley; Three Plays: Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth, Matchmaker Forward by John Guare.

The Collected Short Plays of Thornton Wilder published by TCG Press. Vol. I. Foreword by John Guare, with five plays published for the first time (1997); Vol. II. Foreword by A.R. Gurney, with full-length play The Alcestiad (1998).

New Acting Editions, Thornton Wilder’s Playlets: Short, Short Plays for 3-5 Persons published by Playscripts, Inc. Twenty-two 3-5 minute plays written between 1917 & 1928 and released for the first time in an acting edition in 2009; The Beaux’ Stratagem published by Samuel French Adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig from George Farquhar’s late-Restoration comedy begun by Wilder in the ‘30s & completed by Ludwig in 2006. World premiere: The Shakespeare Theater, Washington, D.C., Nov. 2006.

Forthcoming, Thornton Wilder: A Biography by Penelope Niven. HarperCollins, 2011 www.thorntonwilder.com