TICKETS
Advance reservations required. $20 with no processing fee per ticket

New plays by Benjamin Benne, Beth Hyland, Melis Aker, and Sofia Alvarez.

WTF’s Fridays@3 reading series is a renowned program for the development and discovery of new work curated by the Festival’s Artistic Associate, Lianna Rada-Hung. Many Festival productions have started as Fridays@3 readings. Spend the afternoon at The Clark Auditorium with a play in development, directed and performed by industry professionals. All readings take place at 3 PM in the Auditorium at the Clark Art Institute (225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267).

Friday, July 12
at the very bottom of a body of water
Written by Benjamin Benne
Directed by Cat Rodríguez

Marina’s life has a circular routine which, when broken by the disappearance of her fishmonger, sets her off on a surreal quest to confront the grief that’s been holding her captive for years.

Friday, July 19
SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA
Written by Beth Hyland
Directed by Caitlin Sullivan

A once-celebrated novelist, grappling with writer’s block, confronts the ghosts of her past, threatening to unravel both her sanity and her artistic vision. SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA is the recipient of WTF’s 2024 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award winner and Hyland is WTF’s 2024 Jay Harris Commission recipient.

The July 26 reading of Indigo Dreams has been cancelled due to an illness in the cast. Patrons who bought tickets are being contacted by the Box Office staff.
Friday, July 26
Indigo Dreams
Written by Melis Aker
Directed by Kate Whoriskey

Three carpet-weaving women in Turkey are caught between wanting to salvage their dying industry, and an offer to modernize that could have dangerous consequences.

Friday, August 2
KILL CORP
Written by Sofia Alvarez
Directed by Portia Krieger

A dark comedy about a newly pregnant woman who realizes that the only way to be a working mom in Corporate America is to kill all of her bosses.

Artist Headshots and Bios

at the very bottom of a body of water

Benjamin Benne (Playwright)
Benjamin Benne (he/him) was named part of “LA Vanguardia: The Latino innovators, instigators, and power players breaking through barriers” by the Los Angeles Times. His work has been developed at the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, The Public, Roundabout, Playwrights Realm, Denver Center, The Old Globe, Two River, New Harmony Project, and SPACE on Ryder Farm, among many others, and his produced plays include Alma (Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, American Blues Theater, ArtsWest Playhouse, Curious Theatre Company, Central Square Theater, The Spot), In His Hands (Mosaic Theater Company), and What / Washed Ashore / Astray (Pillsbury House + Theatre). He has been awarded Ojai Playwrights Conference’s Dr. Kerry English Award, Portland Stage’s Clauder Competition Grand Prize, Arizona Theatre Company’s National Latinx Playwriting Award, the Kennedy Center’s KCACTF Latinx Playwriting Award, American Blues’ Blue Ink Playwriting Award, and the Playwrights’ Center’s McKnight and Many Voices Fellowships. He is a Playwrights’ Center Core Writer and has been commissioned by South Coast Rep and Seattle Rep. MFA: David Geffen/Yale School of Drama. www.benjaminbenne.com

Cat Rodriguez (Director)
Cat Rodríguez (she/ella) werqs in theater + new media. She wears many wigs: Cat acts, directs, and dramaturgs. A co-foundress of the queer collective Fake Friends, Cat performed in the company’s co-created Off-Broadway production of Circle Jerk, for which she and collaborators won Obie Awards (2022) and that was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama (2021). Cat’s a frequent collaborator of Benjamin Benne, having partnered as director, dramaturg, translator, and producer of his works. As director, she has helmed processes of Benne’s plays at The Public, Playwrights’ Center, La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Arizona Theatre Company, Milwaukee Rep, Two River, Duke University, &c. Cat lives and labors in english y español, talks with her hands, and also anda con ganas. She names New York, New Orleans, and Nicaragua home. 2022 Latine Fellow, Sundance Institute; 2021 Art of Practice Fellow + Community Leader, Sundance Interdisciplinary Program; 2014 NALAC Leadership Institute Fellow. Fake Friends: 2022 CultureHub Resident Artist; 2022 Mercury Store Resident Artist.

Annie Henk (MARINA)
ANNIE HENK – Off Broadway: World Premieres of Man Cave, Pinkolandia, Lucy Loves Me. Other NY Theatre: To The Bone (Cherry Lane), City of No Illusions, Cute Activist, The Rafa Play (Flea Theater), La Ruta, Enfrascada, Frank Dwyer, Sadly Missed (EST), Hamlet bilingual staging (Classical Theater of Harlem/Folger/The Public), First Gen by Jon Rua, Dennis (Fiasco/Red Bull theatres). Regional: Manning (Portland Stage – World Premiere), Shape (Kitchen Theatre), Bad Dates (Portland Stage), Heather Raffo’s Migration Play Cycle (Kennedy Center). VoiceOver: Mami in “Alma’s Way” (PBSkids). Book narration: Sunstroke, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Finn, Star Bound & Earthbound. Podcasts: Macbeth (PlayOn), The Bleeding Class (Geva Theatre), Jr Space Lords (Kennedy Center). TV: Bull, The Blacklist, Longmire, Red Oaks. Film: Ponyboi – 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Entre Nos, That’s What She Said. Annie is a Member of The Actors Center. Recipient of the Charles Bowden Award (New Dramatists)

Emma Ramos (ROSA LUZ/LULU)
Emma Ramos is a Mexican actress based in NYC. Best known for her role in Ivo Van Hove’s internationally renowned stage play SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, most recently, Emma stars in Alessandra Lacorazza’s IN THE SUMMERS, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Not only is she a stellar actor, but she also just got her first staff writing credit on Nickelodeon’s Dora The Explorer reboot DORA!

Daisuke Tsuji (HIROSHI)
Daisuke recurs in Netflix’s hit series Th Night Agent, from creator Shawn Ryan. He was also a Series Regular in Apple TV’s thriller INVASION, from Simon Kinberg & David Weil, inspired by HG Wells’ War of the Worlds. Prior TV credits include recurring roles in Amazon’s period drama The Man in the High Castle and IFC’s comedy Brockmire. Daisuke voiced a character in David Fincher’s mo-cap animated series Love, Death, and Robots for Netflix. In theatre, he starred on Broadway in Life of Pie (Tony, Drama Desk and Drama League Award Nominee), Lolita Chakrabarti’s critically acclaimed stage adaption of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel. The play originally ran on London’s West End where it was an Olivier Award winning hit. Daisuke was a company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for six seasons. He has performed in theatres around the country, including a contract with the amazing Cirque du Soleil. Daisuke has also been prolific in the world of Video Games, most notably as the lead character in the hit game GHOST OF TSUSHIMA (for which he received a BAFTA Games Award nomination as ‘Best Performer in a Leading Role’). In addition, he has a lead role in Mortal Kombat 1.

Natsuko Hirano (YOKO)
Natsuko Hirano is thrilled to be a part of the Williamstown Theatre Festival! Originally from Fukuoka, Japan. Santa Monica College, CA (Theater, AA), AMDA, NY Grad. Proud member of Actor’s Equity. Her favorite roles include: Victoria (Cats), Eliza (The King and I), Christmas Eve (Avenue Q) Junko (Yukio Mishima’s The Light House, English Premier). Off Broadway: Katsumi (Sayonaya), Jai (The Brother’s Paranormal, World Premier) with Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. Stage Reading: Yasuko ((An Audio Guide For) UnSung Snails and Heros with Manhattan Theatre Club), Rosie O’hara (Yellow Fever with Pan Asian Rep), Natsuko (American Spies and Other Homegrown Fable). She has appeared in variou