WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE LINE UP FOR “WTF IS NEXT,” THE MINI FESTIVAL-WITHIN-THE FESTIVAL
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, PLEASE
YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCE IT TO KNOW IT.
THE TONY AWARD-RECOGNIZED
WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES THE LINE UP FOR
“WTF IS NEXT”
THE MINI FESTIVAL-WITHIN-THE FESTIVAL
THAT WILL OFFER A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE OF WTF
New York, NY (June 5, 2024) – Today, Managing Director, Strategy & Transformation Raphael Picciarelli announced the line up for “WTF IS NEXT,” the expansive glimpse into a new vision for the Tony Award-recognized Festival taking place Thursday, August 1 through Sunday, August 4 throughout the community of Williamstown.
This ambitious new model will surround WTF’s regular summer programming with a robust schedule of not-to-be-missed experiences. From the moment they arrive and throughout this special weekend, guests will be immersed in activities and events that combine the transformative power of theater with the stunning natural beauty of the Berkshires: memorable morning and midday activities, curated experiences, vibrant late-night programming, and more. Central to “WTF IS NEXT” is the Festival’s commitment to fostering community and deepening connections through a broadened concept of theater.
Raphael Picciarelli said, “At the start of the year, the team and I set out to create a prototype that would make our vision for the future of the Festival experience tangible. In many ways, this weekend is a rebirth with all that entails. I cannot wait for audiences to celebrate with us and meet our newly reimagined Williamstown.”
The “WTF IS NEXT” lineup will run concurrently with the previously announced world premiere production of Pamela Palmer by David Ives, directed by Walter Bobbie; the WTF Cabaret; the Fridays@3 reading of the new play KILL CORP by Sofia Alvarez, directed by Portia Krieger; and The Plastic Bag Store by Robin Frohardt.
For ticketing information, a complete itinerary, and updates on the “WTF IS NEXT” weekend, please visit: www.wtfestival.org/main-events/wtf-is-next2024/
DINNER EXPERIENCE:
“StoryCourse”
By Adam Kantor
Thursday, August 1 at 5:30 PM & Friday, August 2 at 5:30 PM
at The Williams Inn Ballroom (101 Spring Street, Williamstown, MA 01267)
StoryCourse is where theater and food come together. A multi-chapter, multi-course, interactive, and narrative dining experience where the story informs the menu and the menu informs the story, StoryCourse breaks down the walls between the kitchen and the dining room, between strangers sitting together at a table, between chefs and the mouths they feed, between experience and possibility. Created for and with the Williamstown community by Adam Kantor (The Band’s Visit) with special collaborators, this is a StoryCourse experience you won’t be able to have anywhere else.
StoryCourse is included for WTF IS NEXT Passholders and has limited additional availability.
NIGHTCAP:
“Open Mic Night”
Created and Performed by Peter Mills Weiss and Julia Mounsey
Thursday, August 1 at 10:00 PM & Friday, August 2 at 10:00 PM
The Directing Studio at ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance (1000 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267)
An experimental theater piece about the end of an experimental theater. As one-time proprietors of Brooklyn’s late and much-lamented DIY space Life World, Peter Mills Weiss and Julia Mounsey have already lived through the artist’s pain of building up and then losing a scene. A long goodbye to an imaginary experimental theater, Open Mic Night’s (New York Times Critic’s Pick) recursions and subversions reveal the easy fellowship that comes from mixing dark rooms, cheap beer, and a small crowd facing the same direction.
Open Mic Night is included in and exclusive for WTF IS NEXT Passholders.
MORNING SHOW:
“Britton & The Sting: Unplugged”
Friday, August 2 at 10:00 AM
The Reflecting Pool at The Clark Institute (225 South St, Williamstown, MA 01267)
Through the testimony and mesmerizing grooves of gospel, alternative rock, and soul, Britton & The Sting creates an intimate, sacred gathering to uncover just how tethered we are to the element of water. Like water, in what ways do we boil, flood, rain, and renew ourselves?
This 45-minute experience features original music, personal testimony, and dialogue about the creation process, vision, and future of the full-length piece, MAMA. Why is a funk liberation band writing music about water? What is the relationship between spirituality and this work? How does Britton’s identity as a Black, queer Southerner living in Brooklyn influence this new creation?
“Britton & The Sting: Unplugged” will be a standing event; it is included for WTF IS NEXT Passholders and has limited additional availability.
DINNER EXPERIENCE:
“Tu Le + 328North”
Friday, August 2 at 5:30 PM
Join local Chef Tu Le and his micro farm 328North as they reinvent the classic pig roast barbecue in the backyard of a local Berkshires home. With locally sourced ingredients grown specifically for this occasion, Tu Le builds a casual bespoke experience that explores how a combination of summer, good food, and the outdoors naturally brings people together.
“Tu Le + 328North” is part of the WTF IS NEXT 4-Day Pass and may become available in the coming weeks.
NIGHT CAP:
“MAMA”
Friday, August 2 at 10:00 PM
Goodrich Hall (863 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267)
Britton & The Sting guides us into the deep end of our oceanic selves to remember the spirit of earth’s original drop of potential. Water. For billions of years, she has reigned as our planet’s most essential element of life. Across our differences, she is MAMA.
Through testimony and mesmerizing grooves of gospel, alternative rock, and soul, Britton & The Sting creates a sacred gathering of community to uncover just how tethered we are to Mama and why. In what ways do we boil, flood, rain, and renew ourselves like her? In this era of great divide, oppression, empathetic drought, what does Mama want to remind us as we reach towards evolution and salvation?
This 70-minute experience invites its audience to participate as a unique congregation of seekers. Britton & The Sting creates an environment of joy, reflection, and curiosity so that we may each experience the benefits of radical sanctuary to align with the purpose of this sacred element within ourselves and each other.
Originally commissioned, developed, and produced by Little Island. https://www.littleisland.org/ .
MAMA is part of the WTF IS NEXT 4-Day Pass and may become available in the coming weeks.
LIVE PODCAST:
“Normal Gossip”
With host Kelsey McKinney and producer Alex Sujong Laughlin
Saturday, August 3 at 11:00 AM
The MainStage at ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance (1000 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267)
Divulge and indulge in “Normal Gossip Live,” a morning of juicy, strange, funny, and utterly banal gossip about people you’ll never know and never meet, coming to the stage straight from the stream of the hit podcast. This entertaining performance with host Kelsey McKinney, producer Alex Sujong Laughlin, and special surprise guests dives into the lives and decisions of complete strangers.
“Normal Gossip Live” is included for WTF IS NEXT Passholders and has additional availability for the general public.
OUTDOOR BLOCK PARTY
FREE FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE WILLIAMSTOWN COMMUNITY
Featuring Fogo Azul
Saturday, August 3 at 5 PM
Paresky Lawn (39 Chapin Hall Dr, Williamstown, MA 01267)
The Williamstown community comes together for a joyful happening outdoors surrounded by the rolling hills of the Berkshires. Food trucks, drum lines, cirque performers, dancers, and more make this performance-party hybrid a moment of celebration, connection, and community. The event features Fogo Azul, the nation’s premiere Brazilian Samba Drumline made up of all female-identifying and non-binary humans, joined by various artists
The Outdoor Block Party is free and open to all. Food truck purchases are not included.
NIGHT CAP:
“Speakeasy”
Created by Holly-Anne Devlin
Saturday, August 3 at 7:00 PM & 10:00 PM
Goodrich Hall (863 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267)
Sultry sirens and celebrations rule the night in Speakeasy, an all-in-one immersive mixology experience that combines the worlds of cirque, burlesque, and musical theater with an upscale cocktail flight of five cocktails and a delicious appetizer from Sweet Hospitality’s world-class team. Created by Broadway’s Holly-Anne Devlin (Jersey Boys), Speakeasy features a cast of Broadway and nightlife legends.
Speakeasy is included in and exclusive for WTF IS NEXT Passholders.
MORNING SHOW:
“The Wake”
Created and performed by Lindsey Noel and Francis Menotti with Jon Gruver
Sunday, August 4 at 9 AM & 11 AM
This magical and musical immersive theatrical whirlwind explores the space between life and death and invites all participants to sink into and revel in the unknown. Come along with the Director, the Spiritualist, and the Orator as we navigate the Deceased brain’s final firings. As electrical impulses continue beyond heart beats, will anyone ever truly cross over or are we stuck in the seemingly eternal dream state of increasingly infinitesimal electric impulses? Magic show? Seance? Concert? Play? Choose Your Own Adventure? Yes. Created and performed by magicians Lindsey Noel and Francis Menotti with musician Jon Gruver.
The Wake is included in and exclusive for WTF IS NEXT Passholders.
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2024 WTF SUMMER SEASON
The season’s fully staged shows will be produced in a new space for the Festival: the intimate 150-seat CenterStage, a state-of-the-art versatile performance space in Williams College’s ‘62 Center for Theatre & Dance (1000 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267) that includes orchestra and balcony seating on three sides. The CenterStage season will include Sara Porkalob’s Dragon Mama, Part II of The Dragon Cycle, directed by Andrew Russell from Tuesday, July 2 through Sunday, July 14, and the world premiere of David Ives’ Pamela Palmer directed by his longtime collaborator Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Venus in Fur) playing Tuesday, July 23 through Saturday, August 10.
In the MainStage, Emmy® and Golden Globe Award® winner Rachel Bloom will bring her critically acclaimed musical comedy Death, Let Me Do My Show, directed by Seth Barrish, from Friday, July 5 through Sunday, July 14.
And WTF’s beloved cabaret series will return to the specially created Festival Stage in the MainStage Theater, curated by Asmeret Ghebremichael, with Tony Award® nominee Christopher Fitzgerald advising, and music direction by Joel Waggoner.
The Plastic Bag Store, created, written, designed, and directed by Robin Frohardt, with music by Freddi Price, produced by Pomegranate Arts, and presented with MASS MoCA (housed in Building 1: 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247) runs Thursday, May 9 through Monday, September 2.
WTF’s Fridays@3 reading series, curated by the Festival’s Artistic Associate, Lianna Rada-Hung will take place at 3 PM in the Auditorium at the Clark Art Institute (225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267). This year’s lineup includes at the very bottom of a body of water by Benjamin Benne, directed by Cat Rodríguez on Friday, July 12; SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA by Beth Hyland on Friday, July 19; Indigo Dreams by Melis Aker, directed by Kate Whoriskey on Friday, July 26; and KILL CORP by Sofia Alvarez, directed by Portia Krieger on Friday, August 2.
This year’s developmental workshops include Alone & Alive written and performed by Joel Waggoner, directed by Brandon Ivie taking place July 18-20; and Marcel On The Train by Marshall Pailet and Ethan Slater, directed by Marshall Pailet, produced by Mix and Match Productions (Maxwell Beer and Mitch Marois) taking place July 30-31.
Kamilah Bush, John J. Caswell, Jr., Peggy Noonan, and Ellis Stump will join WTF as playwrights-in-residence this summer.
ABOUT WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL
For seven decades, the Tony Award-recognized Williamstown Theatre Festival has brought emerging and professional theater artists together in the Berkshires to create a thrilling summer festival of diverse, world premiere plays and musicals, bold new revivals, and a rich array of accompanying cultural events.
Artists are drawn to Williamstown Theatre Festival to make great theater in an environment conducive to artistic risk-taking. Matthew Broderick, Audra McDonald, Dominique Morisseau, Mary-Louise Parker, Susan Stroman, Uma Thurman, and Blair Underwood are just a few of the luminous theater artists who have worked at the Festival. Many others, including Sterling K. Brown, Ty Burrell, Charlie Day, Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Allison Janney, Brie Larson, Chris Pine, and George C. Wolfe, began their careers at the Festival.
Productions and artists shaped at the Festival fill theaters in New York City and around the world. Recently, Williamstown Theatre Festival was represented on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally by The Sound Inside, Grand Horizons, The Rose Tattoo, The Visit, Fool for Love, The Elephant Man, Seared, Selling Kabul, Unknown Soldier, the 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning Cost of Living, and Lempicka.
Learn more about Williamstown Theatre Festival at https://www.wtfestival.org/.
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