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I came to the Berkshires in the most millennial-Gen Z way possible. Today’s CV is an Instagram account, and the managing director of Williamstown Theatre Festival DM’d me to ask if I’d like to get involved. I’ve been working in theatre for 15 years and have never been approached by a festival, let alone Williamstown, which is legendary. Fast forward a year or so and I am spending the summer in Williamstown as the festival’s creative director, and my latest play, Spirit of the People, has its world premiere here in July.
Williamstown is a hallowed space in regional theatre: James Cusati-Moyer cut his teeth here, as did Andrew Burnap. For a young theatre obsessive, this was always the gold star. Tennessee Williams visited the festival many times, and Edward Albee and Sam Shepard spent time here, too. There is such a rich artistic community in the Berkshires: you have filmmakers, musicians, dancers, painters and writers within a 30-mile radius, so there is creativity everywhere.
On the Williams College campus, where the festival takes place, there is a generosity of spirit, and kids approach me at the Tunnel City Coffee shop at the end of Spring Street just to talk about theatre and acting. I am a bit of an amateur archivist, so I love to spend time researching the first 60 years of the festival. I found a great book – Many Stages – about its history at Chapter Two Books on Spring Street, and have been using it as a reference for this year’s season.
The festival owns a house where I am staying, and I was lucky enough to spend Christmas there with my family, which was a great way to explore the area. From Mass MoCA – one of the most stunning museums on the East Coast, with large-scale works by Anselm Kiefer, Sol LeWitt and James Turrell – to The Clark Art Institute, there is world-class art at every turn. The Clark is around the corner from where I am staying and includes some of the best European and American art from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. This is the place to see Winslow Homer paintings and sit by the Tadao Ando-designed water feature outside. Walk up Stone Hill behind the museum for beautiful views of the Purple Valley, named after the colour of the mountains at dusk.
When I wrote Slave Play at Yale I had actors at my disposal; I could write a scene, call my six friends and ask them to read and help determine what would happen next. Writing wasn’t solitary, it was a discursive process. The young actors emboldened me and I am using this method for my new play, too. Actors come to the house and we cook together and share ideas. I am a culinary freak and have been showing off my Ina Garten moves in the kitchen; I like to shop at Wild Oats Market and Stop & Shop for staples, and I get my produce, cheeses and prepared foods at Guido’s in Pittsfield. And while I haven’t eaten out much, I’ve enjoyed casual lunches at Spring Street Market & Café, Pappa Charlie’s and Mezze. The Neapolitan pizza at Crust is excellent, too.
I took my nieces to see Moana 2 at Images Cinema – the art-house movie theatre on Spring Street – and I am hoping we can do Theatre Festival tie-ins with them this summer, or maybe next. I am a double Gemini, so it’s a constant waterfall of ideas: how do we work with The Clark? With Images? With the Tanglewood music festival and Jacob’s Pillow dance festival? The arts are under attack in a very targeted way, and if we don’t band together to share resources and audiences, we might not survive. I’m hoping we create a groundswell of connective support here so we can all thrive.
This summer there will be a Tennessee Williams throughline at the festival; we’ll stage a revival of Camino Real – one of the highlights of the 1999 season that starred Ethan Hawke – as well as performances by Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri, Ahamefule J Oluo and Heartbeat Opera. Come for a performance or spend a weekend – Tourists is a great retro-modern hotel and The Williams Inn is just a short walk from the theatre. There is also The Porches, a row of Victorian townhouses reimagined as a boutique hotel across the street from Mass MoCA.
In the Berkshires you’re able to see the stars at night, and being away from the harried pace of city life, you’re able to hear other parts of your mind. Here you can connect with the quietest parts of yourself.
Spirit of the People is showing at Williamstown Theatre Festival from 17 July to 3 August
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