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| Williamstown Theatre Festival | |
|---|---|
 '62 Center for Theatre & Dance | |
| Genre | Theatre |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Locations | Williams College Williamstown, Massachusetts |
| Inaugurated | 1954 |
| Website | wtfestival |
The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a residentsummer theater on the campus ofWilliams College inWilliamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. It was awarded aTony Award in 2002 and the Massachusetts Cultural Council Commonwealth Award in 2011.[1]
The Williamstown Theatre Festival was conceived as a way to use the Adams Memorial Theatre on Williams College campus for a resident theatre company.Marcia Henderson, aTheatre World winner and Williamstown native, performed in the first play of the festival. Her co-star was Canadian actorJonathan Frid, who portrayed Barnabas Collins on the gothic television serialDark Shadows.[2] Other notable actors have since participated in the festival, includingSigourney Weaver,Gwyneth Paltrow,Christopher Reeve,Christopher Walken,Peri Gilpin,Nathan Lane,Richard Chamberlain,Charlie Day,Kate Burton,Olympia Dukakis,Paul Giamatti,Bradley Cooper,Calista Flockhart,Matthew Broderick,Jesse Tyler Ferguson, andUma Thurman.[citation needed]
Nikos Psacharopoulos, a professor atYale Drama School and a co-founder, became the executive artistic director and guided the company for over thirty years. Psacharopoulos made certain WTF would not be a typical summer stock theater by focusing on such international playwrights asChekhov,George Bernard Shaw,Jean Anouilh,Tennessee Williams,Bertholt Brecht, andTom Stoppard[citation needed]. He mentored his associates and assistant directors, such as Tom Brennan,Arvin Brown,Keith Fowler,Peter H. Hunt, Paul Weidner, andAustin Pendleton. He attracted well-known actors includingE.G. Marshall,Frank Langella,Rosemary Harris,Blythe Danner, andColleen Dewhurst.Christopher Reeve, once a WTF apprentice and later a frequently-featured actor at the festival, told an interviewer: "By staying here thirty years, Nikos [did] what they couldn't do in Brooklyn or Washington or at Lincoln Center. He has managed to achieve a national theater."[3]
Psacharopoulos died in 1989. Following a 35th season run by a troika ofPeter H. Hunt,Austin Pendleton and George Morfogen, Hunt was named artistic director in 1990 for the 36th season. In 1996, long-time WTF stage managerMichael Ritchie became the head of the festival, and during his eight years at the helm, nearly two dozen productions transferred to Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theaters across the country. Ritchie was succeeded in 2005 byRoger Rees. Former WTF resident director Nicholas Martin served as artistic director from 2008 to 2010. Former Associate Producer Jenny Gersten served as artistic director from 2011 to 2014.Mandy Greenfield served as artistic director from 2014 to 2021.[4] Following Greenfield's resignation, Greenfield's predecessor Jenny Gersten was named Interim Artistic Director.
In 2002, the WTF received aTony award for Excellence in Theater from theAmerican Theater Wing.[5][6] In 2005, the festival held its inaugural season in the '62 center for Theater and Dance, which replaced the Adams Memorial Theatre.[7]
The festival transferred several shows to Broadway, includingOne Mo' Time,Hedda Gabler,The Man Who Had All the Luck,The Bridges of Madison County, andThe Elephant Man.[8]
In July 2021, an audio crew staged a walkout due to unsafe working conditions during a production of the musical "Row".[9] TheLos Angeles Times published a subsequent article describing unsafe working conditions, a "toxic work culture," and a history of overworking unpaid technician interns and acting apprentices. This article was based in part on a letter sent by 75 alumni of the festival detailing their experiences and outlining their demands for changes to the treatment of employees, interns, and apprentices. The festival has since restructured its internship and apprenticeship programs.[10]
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42°42′51″N73°12′25″W / 42.714197°N 73.207075°W /42.714197; -73.207075
