Williamstown Theatre Festival: Sound Second Assistant

In the summer of 2021, on the tail end of the quarantines due to COVID-19 and during the uptick of the Delta Variant, I continued my exploration of sound by joining the sound team at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Due to the pandemic, the show I was assigned to - a new musical called Row - was presented in partnership with a local museum and took place on a reflecting pool. Betweem navigating the outdoors with electricity on water in the middle of many, many storms, a cast full of IEMs, and much more, this was certainly a learning experience; my sound team and supervisors not only helped me learn a great deal about audio in these two months, but also became good friends in the process.

I also learned, perhaps for the first time, how to advocate for myself and others. Williamstown Theatre Festival has built its reputation on exploiting its workers, and this mistreatment was brought to the surface during this summer due to continued negligence and lack of concern for safety by upper management. I am proud to have played a small part in the sound team walking out of technical rehearsals for Row, prompting increased pay for the entire company, improved hours, and more.

However, more than I wanted an extra $1.50/hour, I want Williamstown Theatre Festival to truly change for the better. WTF is one of the most preeminent summer stocks in the US, and they hold considerable sway in the theatre industry. Everyone who has been involved with the Festival knows that it is an unhealthy, and many times dangerous, environment, and the Festival should not operate unless it can immediately enact true and meaningful change.

For further reading about the struggle to challenge and change WTF’s culture, you can check out articles like this one.