Matt Walker & Jonghoon Han , The Model American ( Foeller Fellowship play , 2016 ), photo by Daniel Rader
FRIDAYS @ 3 NEW PLAY READINGS
JUL 7 , 14 , 21 , 28 , AUG 4 , 11 , 18 , 3PM THE CLARK FREE ($ 5 DONATION ENCOURAGED )
WTF ’ s Fridays @ 3 reading series is a renowned program for the development and discovery of new work ! Many Festival productions started as Fridays @ 3 readings , including this season ’ s Where Storms are Born and Actually . Spend the afternoon up close and personal with a play in development , read by brilliant actors !
JUL 7 : SEARED by THERESA REBECK directed by MORITZ VON STUELPNAGEL featuring STEVEN PASQUALE
Facing mounting pressure to expand his restaurant , a passionate chef clamors to keep his cuisine on point .
JUL 14 : THE FIT by CAREY PERLOFF
Sakina struggles to find her place in the “ boys ’ club ” at a venture capital firm , pinning her hopes on a bold , new idea .
JUL 21 : NOURA WTF ’ s 2017 L . Arnold Weissberger New Play Award winner by HEATHER RAFFO ( WTF ’ s 2017 Jay Harris Commission recipient ) directed by JOANNA SETTLE
An Iraqi immigrant living in America makes the complicated decision to welcome a young refugee into her home .
JUL 28 : BLUE SKIES PROCESS by ABE KOOGLER
Three employees must brainstorm their way to success at a startup while navigating office politics and water cooler alliances .
AUG 4 : LEMPICKA music by MATT GOULD book and lyrics by CARSON KREITZER directed by RACHEL CHAVKIN
Fleeing a violent revolution in Russia , Tamara Lempicka starts a new life in Paris alongside the two great loves of her life .
AUG 11 : OVERJOYED by ETHAN LIPTON directed by OLIVER BUTLER
Stacey is a new mom . Stacey likes to take her baby to the park . Stacey is 93 years old .
AUG 18 : SCREENPLAY BY STALIN by TOM FONTANA directed by LAURA SAVIA
Vasilij and Fyodor have been hired for a very important project ; they just need a little more time — and vodka — to complete it .
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED ; LIMITED AVAILABILITY
See calendar on pages 17 – 20 for venue information
COMMISSIONS , WORKSHOPS , & RESIDENCIES
Play development is a year-round activity at WTF . Every summer , through WTF ’ s New Play Development Initiative , dozens of artists developing new work for the Festival participate in residencies and workshops in and around Williamstown .
Among the artists are members of WTF ’ s New Play Commissioning Program — playwrights , composers , and collaborative devisers from across the career spectrum . This summer , our biggest group of commissionees yet — Big Dance Theatre , Nathan Alan Davis , Meghan Kennedy , Justin Levine , Marsha Norman , Zoe Sarnak , and Bess Wohl — joins us in the Berkshires . We are thrilled that the first production born of our commissioning program , Halley Feiffer ’ s Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow , will be seen this summer on the Nikos Stage .
In addition to commissionees , select writers and composers are invited to spend a week at the Festival for an intensive work session on a project they are developing . For WTF , it ’ s about starting a relationship . For these artists , we offer time and space to work with actors and to hear their work out loud . The Festival provides housing , rehearsal space , actors , and dramaturgical and directorial support . In exchange , we ask only that the week be interactive , collaborative , and goal-oriented . This is not a solitary writer ’ s retreat in the Berkshires , but an active engagement designed to advance the work . Recent participants have included : PigPen Theatre Company , Martyna Majok , Jessica Dickey , Sharon and Michael Counts , Melissa James Gibson , Caroline V . McGraw , Nell Benjamin and Lawrence O ’ Keefe , Rachel Chavkin , Carson Krietzer , Jesse Lenat , Adam Rapp , and Karen O . Look for information about who will join us and how you might experience their work at wtfestival . org .
WTF also hosts a Playwright-in-Residence , who works and lives at the Festival for the duration of the summer . 2016 Playwright-in-Residence , Harrison David Rivers ’ new play , Where Storms Are Born , will premiere at the Festival this summer . In 2017 , we welcome writer / composer Michael R . Jackson to Williamstown .
Watch www . facebook . com / wtfestival for information about occasional , spontaneous presentations of the exciting new work being developed in Williamstown !
Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting the Williamstown Theatre Festival .
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