Washington, D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has announced the lineup of productions and events for its 45th anniversary season.
The season will kick off November 23 with Behind the Groove—DC Edition. The dance party event presented by Woolly Mammoth, Miss Chief Rocka, and hip-hop legend Rokafella invites street and club-style dancers to freestyle. The evening will also include a dance battle and clothing swap. The company has also announced the return of the Spit Datresidency open mic, as well as Spit Dat Academy, which brings poetry, spoken word, and creative writing to D.C.'s Youth Services Center.
The theatre's first production of the new year will be Guac, written and performed by Manuel Oliver, co-written by James Clements, and directed by Michael Cotey. With the play, Oliver pays tribute to his son, Joaquin Oliver a.k.a. Guac, who was one of the 17 individuals tragically killed in the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. The work is playing Off-Broadway's Public Theater later this month.
The company will celebrate its 20th year in downtown D.C. February 20, 2025 with The March of the Mammoth: A Birthday Party for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
In March, Woolly Mammoth will stage disability-led theatre company FlawBored's It's a Motherf**king Pleasure in association with Studio Theatre. The satire, created by Sam Brewer, Aarian Mehrabani, Chloe Palmer, and Josh Roche, asks audiences to consider what it might look like to mass market disability as the next cultural cachet.
In late spring, Woolly Mammoth will mount the world premiere production of Julia Izumi's Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!) in collaboration with New Georges. Izumi and other actors will play filmmaker Kurosawa, whose career spanned over five decades and inspired artists across cultures and mediums.
Finally, Woolly Mammoth will partner with Black in Space and producer Leigh Crenshaw Player to present Unforgivable Blackness 5. The revue features Black LGBTQIA+ performers from the region and beyond. The season will also include the return of Black Joy Disco, an all-ages festival celebrating Black LGBTQIA+ culture, and the Mammoth Retrograde Market.
“I have always seen Woolly as a rare jewel in the American theatre, a theatre company whose mission is to produce work that breaks open provocative questions about our lives that serves as more than entertainment, and yet is absolutely still entertaining," Artistic Director Maria Manuel Goyannes said in a statement. "The cultural landscape has changed so much in these 45 years, and Woolly strives to meet every impactful moment with courage, and we know our audiences do too. And these artists coming up at Woolly are absolutely fearless! It’s such an honor to work with Manuel & Patricia Oliver, the artists of Flawbored, Julia Izumi, Aileen Wen McGroddy, Miss Chief Rocka, Drew Anderson & Miko Reed, and the LGBTQ+ artist collective Black in Space to mark this tremendous milestone.”
Visit WoollyMammoth.net for more information.
