NICHOLAS MARTIN TO BECOME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
OF THE WILLIAMSTOWN THEATRE FESTIVA

OUTGOING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ROGER REES COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL THREE YEAR TENURE

Williamstown, MA (10/24/07) – Nicholas Martin has been named Artistic Director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF), effective November 1, 2007,  it was announced by WTF Board President Matt Harris.  After a successful and productive three year tenure as the Artistic Director of the WTF, Roger Rees will step down to move on to other opportunities. 

Currently the Artistic Director of the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, Nicholas Martin has served in that capacity since 2000. He will continue his association with that company through Spring, 2008.  Martin’s association with Williamstown Theatre Festival spans more than a decade, and for two years he served as WTF’s resident director under then Artistic Director Michael Ritchie.

“I couldn’t be more delighted to be returning to Williamstown Theatre Festival where I have shared so many experiences with so many incredible artists,” said Martin.  “Williamstown is truly the place where I feel I really learned to direct.”

Board President Harris enthused, “Nicholas Martin is a great leader and a superb director.  We are thrilled that he will be helming the WTF and look forward to a creative association and an exciting new chapter in the life of the Williamstown Theatre Festival.”

During his tenure at the WTF, Mr. Rees presented some of the most acclaimed productions in the WTF’s recent history, including Autumn Garden and The Corn Is Green (directed by Martin) from the 2007 season.  In addition, he spearheaded continued innovation in the WTF’s education programs, most notably the leapFROG program, which offers young writers, directors and actors a chance to write and workshop a new play and a new musical each summer. 

“Roger came in at a time of transition for the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and did a great job setting a foundation of innovation for the future,” said WTF Board President Harris.  “He also helped to reaffirm our focus on training the next generation of artists while continuing our tradition of top notch productions.”

About the Williamstown Theatre Festival

Nestled in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, the Williamstown Theatre Festival is a celebration of theater that brings together a vast array of artists and offers audiences varied cultural experiences.  Every summer, WTF presents classic and new plays on its Main, Nikos and Center Stages, Free Theatre, Late-Night Cabaret, readings, workshops and other special events including a program for youngsters in North Adams called the Greylock Theatre Project.  Of equal importance, WTF's many training programs offer nearly two hundred aspiring theater artists and managers an opportunity to study acting or serve as interns with professional designers, directors and administrators.

The mission of the Williamstown Theatre Festival is to:

Produce classic and new plays with distinction and verve.

Provide a training program in which emerging theater talents collaborate with accomplished mentors in a vital, professional and educational atmosphere.

Create and present programs that have the potential to serve and engage a diverse community.

About Nicholas Martin

As a director, Mr. Martin is represented by the following: On Broadway - Butley (with Nathan Lane), Match (with Frank Langella and Ray Liotta), Hedda Gabler (with Kate Burton), Off Broadway – Fully Committed (Vineyard and Cherry Lane), Full Gallop (Manhattan Theatre Club and West Side Arts), The Rehearsal and You Can Never Tell (Roundabout), Observe the Sons of Ulster… (Drama Desk nom.),  The Time of the Cuckoo, and Chaucer in Rome (Lincoln Center Theater), Betty’s Summer Vacation (Obie Award, Drama Desk nom.) and Sophistry (Playwrights Horizons), Bosoms and Neglect (Signature Theatre).  Many regional, including Dead End at the Ahmanson and Macbeth at the Old Globe, and the West Coast and London productions of Full Gallop.  Williamstown Theatre Festival: The Corn is Green, Where’s Charley?, Camino Real, Dead End, The Royal Family, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dreading Thekla, Mother of Invention, among other plays.  For Huntington Theatre Company: Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Sister’s Rosensweig, Laughing Wild, The Rivals, Sonia Flew, Betty’s Summer Vacation, The Rose Tattoo, The Cherry Orchard and Present Laughter (with Victor Garber).  He will also be directing the world premiere of Paul Rudnick’s play, The New Century, at Lincoln Center Theater in April of next year.

About Roger Rees

Roger Rees is a Welsh-born American actor and director who began his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company and attended the Slade School of Fine Arts.  Mr. Rees created the title role in the original production of the play The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, winning both an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1982.  He also starred in the original production of The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard in London in 1984.  From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Rees appeared on the long-running American TV series “Cheers” as the dashing English tycoon ‘Robin Colcord.’  Later television appearances include “My So-Called Life” as substitute teacher ‘Mr. Racine’ and ‘British Ambassador Lord John Marbury’ on “The West Wing.”  He was awarded an Obie for his 1992 performance in the Off-Broadway play The End of the Day, and in 1995, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Indiscretions.  He has served as the Artistic Director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival since 2004.

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