About

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company was founded in Washington DC in 1980. Now in our 30th season, Woolly is “…the hottest theatre company in town” (The Washington Post, May 2008), “known for its productions of innovative new plays” (The New York Times, November 2007). We’ve garnered this reputation by holding fast to our unique mission::

. . . to ignite an explosive engagement between theatre artists and the community by developing, producing and promoting new plays that explore the edges of theatrical style and human experience, and by implementing new ways to use the artistry of theatre to serve the people of Greater Washington, DC.

Woolly serves an essential ‘Research and Development’ role within the American theatre and plays premiered here have gone on to productions at more than 200 theatres in 39 states and 12 countries. Recent premieres include David Adjmi’s Stunning (2008), which was produced by Lincoln Center Theatre in June 2009; meanwhile, Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed (2009) moved on to productions at the Center Theater Group and Yale Repertory Theatre later fall 2009. This track record has established Woolly as a national leader in the development of new plays and longstanding acknowledgement as “Washington’s most daring theatre company” (New York Times, 1991).

We make extra efforts to connect audiences to our boundary-breaking work and to give back to the DC community that has given so much to us. Ticket accessibility programs including “Pay-What-You-Can” performances and $15 “Stampede Seats” attract one of the youngest and most diverse theatre audiences in DC to Woolly. And we engage this audience by offering extensive dramaturgy on each production, programming panels and post-show discussions featuring experts from the academic and policy worlds, and providing audiences with direct access to our artists. Meanwhile, through our “Open House” program, we donate space in our facility to other DC arts groups and not-for-profits. We also offer internships, master classes, and partnerships with numerous organizations across our region.

Woolly is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with an annual operating budget of more than $3.5 million. Our full-time staff of 20 is led by Founding Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz and Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann and overseen by a 24-member Board of Directors.

A new era of artistic and financial growth for Woolly dawned in 2005 with the opening of our first-ever permanent home—a $9 million, 265-seat, courtyard-style theatre. This dynamic, architecture-award winning space allows us to continue to pursue our long-range vision to become “the epicenter of challenging new theatre in America.”

This blog was created in order to supplement the work we do on the stage with information about what happens behind the scenes and in our community.