Work & Learn

Williamstown Theatre Festival is in the process of planning its 2022 summer season and determining which programs it will be able to offer. At-will, seasonal employment and training opportunities will be posted in early 2022. In the meantime, you can learn more below about our programs and opportunities from the summer of 2021, as well as descriptions for each department at the Festival.

THE RESOUNDING DEMAND FOR RACIAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION in the American theatre has re-affirmed Williamstown Theatre Festival’s (WTF) commitment to providing meaningful work experience and increased opportunities for early career theatre-makers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in its 66-year-old training program. WTF has refashioned its training program with an emphasis on structured learning that presents outstanding opportunities for early career theatre-makers.

As part of an extensive EDI initiative launched in 2019, this year the full-time, year-round staff of WTF participated in training led by artEquity and completed an analysis, through an anti-racism lens, of extant decades-old practices and customs at the Festival; further inspired by the demands of the We See You, White American Theatre, the staff reflected on the current culture of the Festival. Across departments, immediately and in a phased manner ahead, changes will be implemented to continue WTF’s commitment to being an inclusive, equitable, and anti-racist organization.

It is imperative that the Festival focus its efforts on being an equitable, diverse, and inclusive cultural organization, particularly in our Professional Training Program. The work begins now.

Substantive changes to our Professional Training Program and workplace will begin in 2021, and will continue in subsequent years. On this page is an overview of the Professional Training Program and employment opportunities we aim to offer in 2021, if we are able to produce a summer season in light of federal, state, and local guidance around COVID-19.

WTF RECOMMITS TO BEING A WELCOMING, DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

1. WTF has implemented new best practices for recruitment and hiring through an anti-racism lens and commits to greater transparency around logistics, compensation, and scope of work for all employment and training opportunities.

2. WTF has grown its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training for the year-round team, seasonal staff, and Trustees.

3. With guidance from artEquity, WTF has formed an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion working group among the year-round staff, which will meet regularly and inform our operations in perpetuity.

4. WTF will invest in human resources by engaging a seasonal Conflict Resolution Manager to keep the Festival accountable.

5. All personnel and Professional Training Program participants will have access to identity-based affinity groups.

Taken together, these actions represent the first piece of a new approach that seeks to foster, at an increased level, a just and anti-racist Professional Training Program and workplace. WTF is committed to building back better and more equitably in 2021 and beyond.

Williamstown Theatre Festival is committed to creating a safe, positive, welcoming place for all. Our staff, board, artists, audiences, community partners, and volunteers practice respect and a commitment to inclusion. We lead with kindness, and we treat one another with dignity. We foster a culture of collaboration, diverse perspectives, and the open exchange of ideas; we endeavor to listen to and learn from one another.

Employment

Tony Award-winning Williamstown Theatre Festival’s summer season offers a variety of career opportunities for theatre professionals at all levels of experience. Ranging from supervisory to assistantship positions, WTF staff members engage with some of the top professionals in American theatre. Summer employment opportunities run from June through August.

Our seasonal staff compensations vary with the responsibilities of the position and experience of the applicant. In the summer of 2021, salaried positions will be compensated at a range of $684 to $750 per week. Hourly positions will be compensated at a rate of $13.50 to $15.00 per hour, with anticipated weekly hours to be discussed through the hiring process. Seasonal staff members may elect to live in Festival-provided housing, available at a weekly rate, or off-campus at their own expense.

Travel to and from the Williams College campus is not provided.

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 professional and artistic programs. All personnel will have access to identity-based affinity groups.

WTF is an equal opportunity employer.

Apply for Seasonal Positions Here Apply for Year-Round Positions Here Learn More About Each Department at WTF

WTF recommits to offering multiple Rose Kennedy Scholarships for early career theatre-makers with disabilities, and to making progress in providing holistic accessibility to each recipient.

Early Career Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Theatre-makers Program

In partnership, Black Theatre United (BTU) and WTF will run the Early Career BIPOC Theatre-Makers Program, a newly co-conceived and co-executed “work & learn” experience. With the support of a visionary lead gift from the Tiger Baron Foundation, BTU and WTF have built a program that provides each participant with room, board, and a stipend of $2,500. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and currently enrolled in an educational institution.

Learn More

Fellowship Program

Each summer, WTF names recipients of the Bill Foeller, J. Michael Friedman, and Boris Sagal Fellowships. Williamstown Theatre Festival Fellowships engage artists in a creative track that deepens the Festival’s relationship with them and highlights their work and accomplishments. For decades, the WTF Fellowship program has served as a formative experience and launching pad for the next generation of emerging theatre artists. Past fellowship recipients include May Adrales, Oliver Butler, Evan Cabnet, Carolyn Cantor, Tatyana-Marie Carlo, Davis McCallum, Patricia McGregor, Lila Neugebauer, and Moritz von Stuelpnagel.

In 2021, each Fellowship will be awarded to an early-career artist, whom the Festival will engage as assistant director on one of our three summer productions. Learn more about our live 2021 season here.

Fellows would be expected to be on-site in Williamstown, MA for the full rehearsal and part of the performance process of their assigned production. Housing (single dorm-style room and shared living spaces) will be provided at no cost. Each Fellow will be provided with a $1500 stipend, and any COVID-related / testing costs will also be covered.

In addition to serving as the assistant director on their assigned production, each Fellow will be highlighted on the WTF website, and will be provided support for a one-day developmental reading of a project of their choosing in the fall of 2021.

The Sagal and Foeller Fellows will be chosen from a pool of applicants (see application instructions below). The Friedman Fellow will be selected by invitation and will be an artist who has previously trained or worked at WTF.

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

In honor of the late American lyricist and composer J. Michael Friedman, the Fellowship identifies an early-career theatre artist of exceptional talent, versatility, impact, and humanity who has demonstrated an artistic commitment to Williamstown Theatre Festival.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for WTF’s Foeller & Sagal Fellowships, please fill out this form, which includes prompts to link to or submit the following required materials:

Your current directing resume and complete contact information.
Your website, if you have one to share.
Statement of Interest: In 500 words or less, what interests you about this Fellowship and specifically the opportunity to assist on a production at the Festival this summer?
Name, title, and contact information for two references who can speak directly to your potential or experience as an assistant director.

If you have any questions about the Fellowship Program, please contact Maya Davis, Interim Associate Artistic Director, at mdavis@wtfestival.org.

Materials will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, but we strongly encourage you to submit them by Friday, 4/30.

Submit Your Materials

Acting Opportunities - Non-Equity Roles

AEA’s Equity Membership Candidate Program (EMC) permits actors and stage managers in training to credit theatrical work in certain Equity theatres, including Williamstown Theatre Festival, toward eventual membership in Equity. (For more information about EMC, click here.)

Each summer, in accordance with the EMC Program, WTF invites the participation of non-professional (“non-Equity”) performers in the professional work produced at the Festival.

In 2021, WTF invites the participation of non-Equity performers in its world premiere production of ALIEN/NATION, an immersive theatrical experience from Tony Award-nominated director Michael Arden and the company of The Forest of Arden that takes audiences on a journey throughout Williamstown, revealing unexpected surprises around and within them. Devised by The Forest of Arden in collaboration with writers Jen Silverman and Eric Berryman and featuring members of WTF’s COMMUNITY WORKS program, ALIEN/NATION engages all of the senses for a theatre experience unlike any other.

Materials will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, but we strongly encourage you to submit them by Thursday, 4/22.

Non-Equity performers in ALIEN/NATION will be expected on-site in Williamstown, MA, for the full rehearsal and performance process of the production: June 21 – August 8, 2021 (dates are subject to change). Non-Equity performers will be compensated at a rate of $13.50 per hour, with anticipated weekly hours to be discussed through the hiring process. As paid seasonal staff members, they may elect to live in Festival-provided housing, available at a weekly rate, or off-campus at their own expense.

The creative team of ALIEN/NATION is seeking non-Equity performers with a strong background in contemporary dance and/or physical theatre. Ideal candidates would be comfortable learning set choreography but also devising collaboratively and independently.

Non-Equity performers wishing to submit auditions should fill out this form, which includes prompts to link to the following required materials:

a headshot or other recent photograph
a resume
a video no more than 2 minutes long that demonstrates movement quality and range (compilation reels are an ideal format, but single-take videos are also welcome)
a video no more than 1 minute long of a contemporary (1950s or later) monologue (If you don’t already have a go-to monologue, here is one resource for options)

Submit Your Materials

Internship Program

Williamstown Theatre Festival is suspending its internship program for the summer 2021 season. All candidates who applied to internships for the 2021 season will be considered for other positions in the departments that they applied in.

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.

Apprentice Program

In 2021, WTF will suspend its Apprentice Program and continue to work to reimagine it for the future.