Programs & Initiatives

Williamstown Theatre Festival is more than the work you see on our stages each summer in Williamstown. In addition to producing a full season of theatre and events in only eight weeks, Williamstown Theatre Festival runs professional training, play development, and community immersive theatre programs year-round. Click below to learn more about each of these programs.

L. ARNOLD WEISSBERGER AWARD

Each spring, Williamstown Theatre Festival administers the L. Arnold Weissberger Award on behalf of WTF Trustee Emeritus Fredda Harris and the Anna L. Weissberger Foundation. Championed for the Festival in 1998 by Fredda’s late husband and former WTF Trustee Jay Harris, the award honors noted theatrical attorney and avid theatre supporter L. Arnold Weissberger, this $10,000 award recognizes excellence in playwriting. Additionally, the award carries a $10,000 commission, named for long-time Festival trustee, the late Jay Harris. The award also provides the playwright with the option for publication of the winning play by Concord Theatricals.

Nomination is by invitation only, and the winner is selected by a panel of theatre professionals. Eligible scripts must be full-length, unpublished, unproduced, and not optioned for production during the season in which it is being considered. Musicals, screenplays, or children’s plays are not considered. For more information, contact weissberger@wtfestival.org.

We recently announced Beth Hyland as the recipient of the 2024 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award & Jay Harris Commission for her play SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA. We are grateful to our judges for the 2024 Award: WTF artists Jennifer Chang and Lee Sunday Evans and Williams College faculty Karen Shepard, and look forward to presenting a reading of the play as part of our 2024 season this summer! Other recent recipients of the award include Clarence Coo for his play Chapters of a Floating Life, Mike Lew for his play tiny father (2022), John J. Caswell, Jr. for Wet Brain (2021), and Sanaz Toossi for English (2020).

Read more about the 2024 Weissberger Award here.

**To book your tickets to this summer’s reading of SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA click here.**

WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL L. ARNOLD WEISSBERGER AWARD RECIPIENTS

Since 1998, the L. Arnold Weissberger Award has recognized the following new plays and emerging playwrights:
2024 – SYLVIA SYLVIA SYLVIA by Beth Hyland
2023 – CHAPTERS OF A FLOATING LIFE by Clarence Coo
2022 – TINY FATHER by Mike Lew
2021 – WET BRAIN by John J. Caswell, Jr.
2020 – ENGLISH by Sanaz Toossi (winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Drama)
2019 – CINCHED/STRAPPED by Selina Fillinger
2018 – SELLING KABUL by Sylvia Khoury (finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama)
2017 – NOURA by Heather Raffo
2016 – HANNAH AND THE DREAD GAZEBO by Jiehae Park
2014 – KILL FLOOR by Abe Koogler
2013 – FIVE MILE LAKE by Rachel Bonds
2012 – PARADISE BLUE by Dominique Morisseau
2011 – THE BODY OF AN AMERICAN by Dan O’Brien
2010 – CHOIR BOY by Tarell Alvin McCraney
2009 – THE SUBSTANCE OF BLISS by Tony Glazer
2008 – SENSE OF AN ENDING by Ken Urban
2007 – THE GOOD NEGRO by Tracey Scott Wilson
2006 – TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION by Etan Frankel
2005 – SAID SAID by Kenneth Lin
2004 – BFE by Julia Cho
2003 – ARRANGEMENTS by Ken Weitzman
2002 – MOTHERHOUSE by Victor Lodato
2001 – THE BRIDEGROOM OF BLOWING ROCK by Catherine Trieschmann
2000 – JUMP SLASH CUT by Neena Beber
1999 – INTO THE FIRE by Deborah Brevoort
1998 – INFRARED by Mac Wellman

General submissions

From the L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award to workshops, readings and residencies, WTF offers several opportunities for playwrights, composers, directors and other artists to connect with the Festival and bring their projects to the next level. Agents may submit plays or information about upcoming readings, workshops, or productions on behalf on the artists they represent. Please send materials to submissions@wtfestival.org.

WTF does not accept unsolicited submissions; only agents may submit scripts.

Workshop submissions

Every summer, the Festival supports artists and new projects in development through workshops and residencies. Participants in our workshops are given one to two weeks of focused time and space to move their projects into the next critical phase of development with the support of the WTF staff. Housing on Williams College campus is provided, along with local travel from surrounding areas.

Whether it’s working through final questions before a world premiere production, fitting a new song into the book of an original musical, or starting from scratch, workshops at Williamstown Theatre Festival are transformative for artists and audiences alike. The public is invited to attend free performances that showcase discoveries made in the room. This process provides invaluable feedback to these artists, who are often hearing audience responses to their work for the very first time.

Williamstown Theatre Festival is now accepting proposals for the 2025 season. All project proposals should meet the following requirements:

Proposals must be submitted by a playwright, actor, or director with representation or an established producing entity. If you are a producer NOT providing financial support, you are not in need of financial support from the Festival to pay actor salaries.

Company members as part of the project will agree to be in residence in Williamstown for one to two weeks to workshop the project and present three work-in-progress performances in the summer of 2025.

Company members will agree to embrace the Festival’s commitment to EDIA and Anti-racism by actively participating in and encouraging behaviors among participants members that exemplify respect; interrupting microaggressions and other behaviors that hinder our EDIA and Anti-racism efforts; engaging in the diversification of the festival; demonstrating a degree of cultural competency that encourages healthy relationships with all company members.

If you have a project you would like to have considered for a developmental workshop for the upcoming season, please email Artistic Programs Manager Lianna Rada-Hung (lianna@wtfestival.org) with the below information by January 31st:

How many people will make up the company for this project? Please list their names and roles, if available, and indicate which of these individuals would also be in residence in Williamstown for the duration of the workshop.
What are the technical needs for this workshop that require Festival support? Please describe the intent for scenic, costumes, lighting and sound.

Are there producing partners on this project? Please detail how they will support this workshop, financially or otherwise.

Please provide the agency name and contact information for your representation.

Please submit a script or any materials associated with this project.

New Play and Musical Development Initiative

Williamstown Theatre Festival’s robust and growing New Play and Musical Development Initiative provides support and professional opportunities to playwrights, composers, and other generative artists, with summer residencies and year-round opportunities for development and collaboration in New York City and at the Festival.
Learn more: New Play and Musical Development Initiative