Employment

Williamstown Theatre Festival’s summer season offers a variety of career opportunities for theater professionals at all levels of experience. Ranging from supervisory to assistantship positions, WTF staff members engage with some of the top professionals in American theater. Most summer employment opportunities run from June through August, with some pre-season preparation for certain roles. Staff compensation varies with the responsibilities of the position and is disclosed in each individual job posting, with anticipated weekly hours to be discussed through the hiring process. WTF will provide all employees with an on-campus housing option as a benefit free of charge.

Jobs will be posted for at least one month before offers are made; please take this into consideration when applying.

Williamstown Theatre Festival is committed to telling diverse stories and to fostering an inclusive environment both onstage and off. We are seeking talented artists and administrators from all backgrounds, for all of our programs. WTF is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants shall be afforded equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, sex/gender (including pregnancy and gender identity), disability, military status, veteran status, marital status, familial status, ancestry, genetics, or any other class or characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Candidates from populations underrepresented in the theater field are strongly encouraged to apply.

Seasonal jobs for the 2024 Season will be posted in late December 2023/early January 2024.
Apply For Seasonal Positions Here Apply For Full Year Positions Here Learn more about each WTF department here

Summer Intensive

In partnership with the Williams College Theatre Department, Williamstown Theatre Festival was proud to offer our inaugural Summer Intensive program in 2022. Designed for current undergraduate students (or learners at an equivalent stage of their training), this program served a combined cohort of ten Williams College students and approximately 10 participants who applied via Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Spanning seven weeks, this unique program combined:

seminar-style classroom instruction, a “makers laboratory” with weekly workshops that explored playwriting, performance techniques, design, text analysis, and more taught by professionals in the field

hands-on experiential learning within professional departments at WTF

individual mentorship with Festival artists

culminating creative projects for a Festival audience

This program was perfect for learners interested in a holistic or generalist theater training experience and who identified as “hyphenates,” interested in generating work through multiple theatrical disciplines (e.g. performing, directing, playwriting, design).

WTF Summer Intensive participants were provided with room (single dorm room and shared living spaces), board, round-trip transportation within the continental United States, and a stipend of $2,500. Participants were at least 18 years of age.

The Summer Intensive Training Program is on hold and will not be offered in the summer of 2023. To listen to Interim Artistic Director Jenny Gersten provide an update on WTF’s strategic planning process click here.
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Fellowship Program

WTF is unable to offer these Fellowship opportunities this summer because of a programming change that is exclusive to the 2023 season. We do anticipate that these fellowships will restart in 2024.

DIRECTING FELLOWSHIPS

Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Directing Fellowship Program provides the next generation of theatrical directors with assistant directing opportunities as well as a forum for developing their own work. WTF’s Directing Fellowship Program remains one of the only director-centric developmental initiatives in the country. Annually, WTF awards the Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller Fellowships to two early-career directors, placing them in an assistant directing role on a Main Stage or Nikos Stage production, and challenging them to develop their own work in the vibrant atmosphere of the Festival.

Each Fellow is provided with 2.5 weeks of development and/or rehearsal, culminating in a “barebones” presentation for audiences in the Directing Studio. A budget for this project is provided and can be allocated toward paying collaborators (including actors) and/or for minimal technical and physical production elements. Producing and project management support is provided by the Professional Training Programs Manager and by WTF’s Production Department. Any and all additional resources are part of the project budget and determined in collaboration with WTF’s Artistic Director and administrative team. Fellowship projects are chosen in consultation with the Artistic Director. Please note that the emphasis for these projects is on process, not “project.” Fellows may use the “barebones” project to incubate a new collaboration, explore a design process, or explore the staging of a small-scale production. The resources allocated are meant to provide for a laboratory experience to further the Fellows’ practice.

The Directing Fellowship Program regularly fosters alumni who go on to helm lauded productions in New York and around the country. Alumni include May Adrales, Oliver Butler, Evan Cabnet, Carolyn Cantor, Mike Donahue, Davis McCallum, Patricia McGregor, Lila Neugebauer, and Moritz von Stuelpnagel. Past Fellowship projects, such as Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman’s Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Amy Herzog’s After the Revolution, and Samuel D. Hunter’s Pocatello, have gone on to Off-Broadway and Broadway productions.

The Directing Fellowship Program considers candidates via an application process as well as by invitation. Applicants may apply to either or both Directing Fellowships. Given its reputation for launching directors’ careers, the Directing Fellowship Program is highly competitive. WTF typically seeks directors who have already begun to establish themselves professionally. If this does not yet apply to you, please consider our Summer Intensive Program.

Directing Fellows are provided with a $2500 stipend, on-campus housing (single dorm room with shared living spaces), and round-trip transportation between NYC and Williamstown.

The Bill Foeller Fellowship is awarded to an early-career director who is a woman and/or artist of color seeking a boost to their career. Named for the late Bill Foeller, a director who worked at the Festival in 1997, the fellowship was established by his close friends Lewis Black and Gaylen Ross.

The Boris Sagal Fellowship was established in 1987 by WTF Trustee Emeritus Marge Champion in memory of her late husband and is awarded to a director with significant experience who is making the transition to a professional career.

View 2022 Fellowship Projects Here

J. MICHAEL FRIEDMAN FELLOWSHIP

In honor of the late American lyricist and composer J. Michael Friedman, this Fellowship identifies an early-career theater artist who demonstrates a passion for their craft and how it could be honed at Williamstown Theatre Festival. The Fellowship invites them to create or collaborate on a project that nurtures their artistic and career development while encouraging them to venture outside of their area of expertise. The Fellowship provides an emerging theater artist the opportunity to work and learn alongside industry professionals and contribute to the life and community of the Festival.

Recent alums of the Festival’s training programs and recent employees will be contacted with an invitation to apply.

Opportunities for Generative Artists

From the L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award to residencies and readings, WTF offers several opportunities for playwrights, composers, and directors to connect with the Festival, by invitation. WTF does not accept unsolicited submissions; only agents may submit scripts. If you are not represented, you may send information about upcoming readings, workshops, or productions to submissions@wtfestival.org.

Working and Living in Williamstown

Williamstown Theatre Festival’s season takes place on the beautiful campus of Williams College in Williamstown, MA with backdrops of the Berkshire, Green, and Taconic mountain ranges. Williamstown, MA (estimated pop. 7,813) is located in Berkshire County (estimated pop. 128,657) in Western Massachusetts and is an hour’s drive from Albany, NY and 30 minutes from Pittsfield, MA.

The Williams College campus and the ’62 Center for Theatre & Dance are within walking distance of Spring Street, which has several restaurants with dine-in and takeout options, a pharmacy, a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, a movie theater, and several stores. The nearest grocery store is a 10-minute drive from campus and not within walking distance. Having a personal vehicle does provide more flexibility in grocery-shopping and expands dining and activities options. For those who bring vehicles, parking is free at designated locations on Williams campus with a parking pass. For a list of all the things to do and see in Williamstown and the Northern Berkshires, visit destinationwilliamstown.org.

All seasonal staff are provided housing free of charge on campus at Williams College. Housing is dorm-style with private bedrooms and shared common areas, including bathroom and kitchen. Williams College housing is not air-conditioned. Weather ranges from evenings on the cooler side but can also be quite warm with temperatures in the 90s with high humidity.

We acknowledge that Williamstown Theatre Festival is a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) located in a county that is 91% white, according to the US Census Bureau. We are actively engaged in the work of becoming a more equitable, diverse, inclusive, accessible, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive institution that not only welcomes BIPOC artists and staff but nurtures an environment that allows everyone to thrive. More specific actions on these efforts can be found in our updated Progress Report linked here.

Non-Equity Company

We currently don’t have acting or training opportunities available for early career and non-union actors and do not accept unsolicited submissions.

We have put our apprentice, internship, and non-Equity company programs at the Festival on hiatus as we reimagine the Festival to be a more equitable, diverse, inclusive, accessible, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive organization. You can read more about our ongoing work here.

Work & Learn