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Mastering the moments: The early years of the Williamstown Theatre Festival
Abstract
Local business became an early partner of the Williamstown Theatre Foundation, organized in 1954 for the purpose of establishing a summer theatre on the Williams College campus. Community support mobilized and $11,500 was raised. Ralph Renzi managed the campaign for funds and support, David Bryant planned the season, and Irwin Schainman handled the finances. Nikos Psacharopoulos, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, shared directorial responsibilities. Luckily, the enterprise received an endorsement from Cole Porter and a local-girl-turned-celebrity returned home to star in the inaugural production. Many of the first Broadway hits like The Crucible, and The Rainmaker. Throughout the summer, critics were encouraging. For Ondine, Nikos secured costumes from the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of 1954, an artistic coup that saved the season. Just three months later, David Bryant was driven from Williamstown by scandal, and Nikos Psacharopoulos assumed artistic control. Things changed. Plays for the second season were chosen from a survey of college audiences and community supporters. The publicity expanded its boundaries to include Albany, New York, and Springfield, Mass. Mid-season, audiences dwindled, and the summer theatre called desperately for help at the box office. Audiences returned, and the enterprise broke even. Nikos Psacharopoulos lived the rest of his life as artistic director, and his theatrical family grew. Under Nikos' guidance, the Williamstown Theatre Festival has earned a national reputation for producing plays of the world's greatest playwrights, like Shaw, Chekhov, and Tennessee Williams. The early years set the stage for success.
Subject Area
Theater|American studies|Marketing|American history
Recommended Citation
Henjum, William Charles, "Mastering the moments: The early years of the Williamstown Theatre Festival" (2000). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9976994.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9976994