A WALK THROUGH WILLIAMSTOWN WITH PHILIP ROSENBERG
A Walk Through Williamstown is our weekly series celebrating the town that supports WTF every summer, and the artists who return year after year. Every Sunday, join one of our artists as they chat with us at their favorite local spot.

PHILIP ROSENBERG [6th WTF Season] Favorite Williamstown Spot: Lickety Split
Current WTF Show: Kinship (Lighting Designer) playing July 15-25

1. Why are we in this spot? What does it mean to you?
Well, I love ice cream and I just love the idea of a town that has one ice cream shop and one coffee shop. It’s very quintessential New England. I grew up in Arizona, and that climate and that culture was 180 degrees opposite from what you get in the Northeast and Western Massachusetts. I’d actually never been to a town like this before. When I came here I was blown away by it. I love all the things that are small-town, unique Williamstown, but in particular Lickety Split, mostly because I love ice cream.

2. What keeps you coming back to WTF?
It’s a healthy environment that inspires creativity and supports your ideas and collaboration in a way that a lot of places don’t. Because you’re living it 24 hours a day for the 7 or 10 days you’re here, you feel like you’ve made a show and you’ve made friends and you’ve made a difference with your interaction with the Lighting Staff and Interns. It’s like you’ve really completed a whole of something.. I’m always happy to be invited back here. That’s the other thing: you don’t always get to choose whether you come back, so it’s nice to get invited. From the very beginning of when I learned about Williamstown, I had always wanted to be a part of the group of people who got to come here. I’m really, really proud that I do get asked to come here. I don’t take it for granted, I don’t take it lightly, I’m always thankful that I get to be here. Oh..and also there’s a drink named after me at the Herring….so…..that’s nice!

3. Describe Kinship in five words or less.
Kinship is: A study in the psychology of relationships. That’s seven. Is seven okay? I hope Carey Perloff doesn’t read this!

4. If you were an ice cream flavor, which would you be?
That’s a really hard question. I think I would probably be chocolate, because it’s very reliable, a lot of people like it, and it’s very satisfying.

5. If you weren’t working in lighting, what other job at the festival would you like to have?
Gosh, I don’t know. I mean, this is the problem with my life, if I didn’t do lighting, I don’t know what else I would do, because I don’t have any other marketable skills. I would probably work in Front of House? I love talking to strangers. I’d be a really good greeter. I think I’d interface with the public well.

[Photos: Paul Fox]