Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Encyclopedia
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company
located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter
neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
It produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provoking. Performances are in a 265-seat courtyard
-style theater.
Howard Shalwitz, Roger Brady, and Linda Reinisch in 1980. It opened its first season in a church hall near Metro Center
. Outgrowing its initial home, the company rented a warehouse in the 14th Street
corridor, where it performed for 13 years. When that space ceased to be available, Woolly Mammoth became a nomad company, performing in various venues in the DC area. During this period the company worked with the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation to acquire space for and to outfit a new theatre.
Opened in 2005, the permanent Woolly Mammoth home is a $9 million, 265-seat courtyard-style theater. It was designed by Washington-based architect Mark McInturff in association with Theatre Project Consultants. The space has won local, regional, and national awards for innovative architectural design, including the American Institute of Architects
2006 Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture. and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology
Honor Award
Plays that have premiered at Woolly Mammoth have been produced in more than 200 theaters in 39 states and 12 countries.
The Theatre’s education and outreach programs include "Pay-What-You-Can" (PWYC) performances providing access to all residents regardless of economic means; "Playmaking," which pairs students with professional playwrights; "Woolly D.C.," in which a neighborhood joins together to create an original production based on an issue of common community concern; and internships, workshops, and theater classes, including a partnership with the University of Maryland, College Park
.
s. Its more prestigious awards include:
, the League of Washington Theaters
, and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington
. The Theatre’s programs are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts
, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program of United States Commission of Fine Arts
.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter
Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C.
Penn Quarter is a neighborhood in the East End of Downtown Washington, D.C. north of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Its boundaries are not well established, but they appear to extend to 5th and 10th streets NW on the east and west, and approximately H Street on the north where Penn Quarter abuts or...
neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
It produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provoking. Performances are in a 265-seat courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
-style theater.
History
Woolly Mammoth was founded by Artistic DirectorArtistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
Howard Shalwitz, Roger Brady, and Linda Reinisch in 1980. It opened its first season in a church hall near Metro Center
Metro Center (Washington Metro)
Metro Center is the central hub station of the Washington Metro rapid transit system in Washington, D.C. Metro Center was one of the original Metro stations, and has been in service since March 27, 1976....
. Outgrowing its initial home, the company rented a warehouse in the 14th Street
14th Street Northwest and Southwest (Washington, D.C.)
Fourteenth Street is a street in Northwest and Southwest Washington, D.C., located 1¼ mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue....
corridor, where it performed for 13 years. When that space ceased to be available, Woolly Mammoth became a nomad company, performing in various venues in the DC area. During this period the company worked with the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation to acquire space for and to outfit a new theatre.
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
2006 Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture. and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology
United States Institute for Theatre Technology
The United States Institute for Theatre Technology is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and technology, and to generally promote their interests...
Honor Award
Plays that have premiered at Woolly Mammoth have been produced in more than 200 theaters in 39 states and 12 countries.
The Theatre’s education and outreach programs include "Pay-What-You-Can" (PWYC) performances providing access to all residents regardless of economic means; "Playmaking," which pairs students with professional playwrights; "Woolly D.C.," in which a neighborhood joins together to create an original production based on an issue of common community concern; and internships, workshops, and theater classes, including a partnership with the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
.
Notable playwrights and productions
Woolly Mammoth has produced works by the following playwrights in the seasons indicated:- Amy FreedAmy FreedAmy Freed is an American playwright. She was nominated as a finalist in the drama category of the 1998 Pulitzer Prizes for her play Freedomland. In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon , The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays...
: Psychic Life of Savages (1994–95); Freedomland (1998–99) - David Lindsay-AbaireDavid Lindsay-AbaireDavid Lindsay-Abaire is an American playwright and lyricist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole, which also earned several Tony Award nominations.-Early life and education:...
: Wonder of the World (1999–2000) - Nicky SilverNicky SilverNicky Silver is an American playwright. Formerly of Philadelphia, he resides in New York City.As a teen, Silver attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York. He began writing after graduating from the New York University Theatre program. Many of his early plays...
: Fat Men in Skirts (1990–91); Free Will & Wanton Lust (1992–93); The Food Chain (1993–94); Raised in Captivity (1996–97) - Craig WrightCraig Wright (playwright)Craig Wright is an American playwright and Emmy-nominated television writer.-Biography:Born in 1965 in Puerto Rico, Wright attended St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota and went on to earn a Masters of Divinity degree from the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities...
: Recent Tragic Events (2002–03); Grace (2003–04) - Doug WrightDoug WrightDoug Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play, I Am My Own Wife.-Early years:Wright was born in Dallas, Texas...
: Watbanaland (1995–96); Quills (1996–97) - Sheila CallaghanSheila CallaghanSheila Callaghan is a New York City-based playwright and screenwriter who emerged from the RAT movement of the 1990s. Her work is considered to be part of the downtown theater scene, and is known for its unusual use of language and narrative structure...
: Fever/DreamFever/DreamFever/Dream is a play by Sheila Callaghan which premiered in 2009 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC. It is a reinvention of Pedro Calderón de la Barca's play Life is a Dream.-Plot summary:...
(2008–09) - Robert O'Hara: Antebellum (2008–09)
- Jason Grote: Maria/StuartMaria/StuartMaria/Stuart is a play by Jason Grote , which premiered in 2008 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC...
(2008–09) - Mike DaiseyMike DaiseyMike Daisey is an American monologist, author, and actor best known for his full-length extemporaneous monologues. His breakthrough work 21 Dog Years is an account of life as an Amazon.com employee during the dot-com boom. Since that time he has created monologues about Nikola Tesla, L...
: If You See Something Say Something (2007–08) - David AdjmiDavid AdjmiDavid Adjmi is an American playwright. He is the recipient of a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2010 Whiting Writers' Award, the inaugural Steinberg Playwright Award, a Bush Artists Fellowship, and the Kesselring Fellowship for Drama.-Life:...
: Stunning (2007–08) - Laura Schellhardt: The K of D, an urban legend (2007–08)
- Melissa James Gibson: Current Nobody (2007–08)
- Josh Lefkowitz: Now What? (2007–08)
- Sarah RuhlSarah RuhlSarah Ruhl is an American playwright. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.-Biography:Ruhl was born in Wilmette, Illinois. Originally, she intended to be a poet. However, after she studied under Paula Vogel at Brown University , she was convinced to switch to playwrighting...
: Dead Man’s Cell Phone (2006–07), which subsequently was produced at Playwrights HorizonsPlaywrights HorizonsPlaywrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
in New York and Steppenwolf Theatre CompanySteppenwolf Theatre CompanySteppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
in Chicago - Bruce NorrisBruce Norris (playwright)Bruce Norris is an American actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. On April 18, 2011 Norris was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Clybourne Park...
, Clybourne ParkClybourne ParkClybourne Park is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written in response to Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun portraying fictional events set before and after the play and loosely based on real life events. The premiere took place in February 2010 at Playwrights Horizons in New York. The play...
, 2010, winner 2011 Pulitzer Prize for DramaPulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
Awards
Overall, Woolly Mammoth has earned 130 Helen Hayes Nominations and won 31 Helen Hayes AwardHelen Hayes Award
A Helen Hayes Award is a theater award named for the famed actress Helen Hayes to recognize excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are managed by Linda Levy Grossman. and presented by the Washington Theatre Awards Society.-Awards:The Helen Hayes...
s. Its more prestigious awards include:
- 2008 The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, Dead Man's Cell Phone.
- 2007 Outstanding Non-Resident Production, In the Continuum.
- 2006 Outstanding Resident Play, The Clean HouseThe Clean HouseThe Clean House is a play by Sarah Ruhl, which premiered in 2004 at Yale Repertory Theatre and has since been produced in many American cities. The play is a whimsical romantic comedy centered on Matilde, a Brazilian cleaning woman who would rather be a comedian.-Plot summary:The play opens with...
. - 2006 The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, Starving.
- 1996 Outstanding Resident Play, The Pitchfork DisneyThe Pitchfork DisneyThe Pitchfork Disney is the first stage play by the multi-talented artist Philip Ridley. It was premiered at the Bush Theatre in London, England in 1991...
.
- 1994 The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical, Free Will and Wanton Lust.
- 1991 Outstanding Resident Musical, The Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
.
- 1988 Outstanding New Play , National Defense.
- 1987 Outstanding New Play , New York Mets.
- 1986 Outstanding New Play , Metamorphosis.
Affiliations
Woolly Mammoth is a member of the National New Play Network, Theatre Communications GroupTheatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...
, the League of Washington Theaters
League of Washington Theaters
The League of Washington Theaters is an association of non-profit professional theaters and theater-related organizations in and around the Washington, DC area. Its programs include an annual area-wide audition, Free Night of Theater, and Stages For All Ages...
, and the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington
Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington
The Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington works to increase appreciation, support, and resources for arts and culture in the Greater Washington DC region, USA...
. The Theatre’s programs are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program of United States Commission of Fine Arts
United States Commission of Fine Arts
The United States Commission of Fine Arts , established in 1910 by an act of Congress, is an advisory agency of the Federal government.The CFA is mandated to review and provide advice on "matters of design and aesthetics", involving federal projects and planning in Washington, D.C...
.