S. EPATHA MERKERSON AND DEIRDRE O’CONNELL TO LEAD
WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL READING AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE
WTF Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield Presents Season Sneak Peek

Williamstown, Massachusetts—The Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) and Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield present a free reading of The Roommate with S. Epatha Merkerson and Deirdre O’Connell on Thursday, June 2 at 2:30 pm at the Clark Art Institute. The reading is followed by a conversation with Greenfield about the process of work on new plays as well as WTF’s exciting summer 2016 season. The event will be held in the Michael Conforti Pavilion of the Clark Center.

While the event is free, reservations are required. Visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 0524 to make a reservation. The reading begins promptly at 2:30 pm and runs for approximately two hours. Late arrivals will not be seated.

The Roommate, written by Jen Silverman and directed by Mike Donahue, tells the story of empty-nested and husbandless Sharon, who takes on a roommate in her Iowa City home. She gets a bit more than she bargained for when Robyn, a beat poet from the Bronx, moves in. As an unexpected friendship ignites between these two very different women, The Roommate asks us to consider the surprises—both troubling and thrilling—we face when we open ourselves up to new experiences late in life.

“I’m grateful to our colleagues at the Clark for inviting us to work in their stunning space as we gear up for a season of bold, new work on our stages,” Greenfield said. “I look forward to giving audiences a peek into our new play development process and our plans for the Festival this summer, as well as the reading of Jen’s play by two sensational American actresses.”

S. Epatha Merkerson, a native of Michigan, is best known for her role as the smart and shrewd Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the long-running TV crime drama Law & Order. She currently stars in the NBC series Chicago Med. She received the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for Lackawanna Blues. Merkerson has a long list of Broadway and off-Broadway credits and honors that include Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nominations for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lola in the 2008 Broadway revival of Williams Inge’s Come Back, Little Sheba and her performance in the August Wilson play The Piano Lesson (1995); a 1992 Obie Award for her performance in I’m Not Stupid; and a 1998 Helen Hayes Award for her starring role in the John Henry Redwood play The Old Settler.

Deirdre O’Connell was honored with a 2015 Lilly Award for contributions made to American theatre by women. Recent theatre credits include The Way West (Labyrinth – Steppenwolf), Judy (Page 73), Little Children Dream of God (Roundabout), By the Water (Manhattan Theatre Club, 2015 Lortel Nomination); Scarcity (Rattlestick); A Family For All Occasions (Labyrinth); The Vandal (The Flea Theater); Magic/Bird (Longacre Theatre); Circle Mirror Transformation (Obie and Drama Desk Awards; Playwrights Horizons); In the Wake (Los Angeles Ovation Award, Richard Seff Actor’s Equity Award, Lortel nomination; The Public Theater and Mark Taper Forum). Film credits include The Boy Downstairs, Gabriel, St. Vincent, In the Radiant City, Synecdoche, NY, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. TV includes recurring roles on The Path, Nurse Jackie and The Affair. She received an Obie for Sustained Excellence of Performance.

ABOUT THE WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL

Since 1955, the Williamstown Theatre Festival has brought America’s finest actors, directors, designers, and playwrights to the Berkshires, engaging a loyal audience of both residents and summer visitors. Each WTF season is designed to present unique opportunities for artists and audiences alike, revisiting classic plays with innovative productions, developing and nurturing bold new plays and musicals, and offering a rich array of accompanying cultural events including Free Theatre, Late-Night Cabarets, readings, workshops, and educational programs.

With offices in both Williamstown and New York City, WTF creates vibrant work that feeds the wider theatrical landscape. The artists and productions shaped at the Festival each summer often go on to reach diverse audiences nationally and internationally. WTF is also home to one of the nation’s top training and professional development programs for new generations of aspiring theatre artists and administrators. WTF was honored with the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 2002 and the Commonwealth Award for Achievement in 2011.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

Press contact:
Sally Majewski
Public Relations and Marketing Manager
Clark Art Institute
smajewski@clarkart.edu
413 458 0588