The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Washington DC's Premier Theatre

The "Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company" is considered Washington's most daring theater company according to the New York Times. The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company hasn't gotten to where they are right now overnight. This interesting idea was sparked by Howard Shalwitz and Roger Brady, two actors right out of New York City which is the North American capital of stage drama as Los Angeles is mainly focused on film. This would take about two years for this idea to come into fruition as the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company went into full gear at a church hall near Metro Center. It seemed to be no different from this local improvisational comedy group I used to train with in town. The group would rehearse in a vacant church hall every Tuesday nights and on Friday nights perform in a foyer in this small shopping area.

After a year, they managed to rent a small area in that area where they would give performances every first Friday of the month. In the case of the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, it is not any different but they have been doing this much longer and it is more focused towards structured productions than your one hour improvisational comedy show. Its goal was to seek and promote innovative scripts from fearless playwrights willing to take the risk. The one important thing that they stressed was to take risks; which is pretty important in the world of the performing arts. It was something I had learned when I did drama back in high school.

As the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company attracted a bigger audience, they would need a bigger space required to seat many people. This is the same case is with many theatrical companies that have just started out. Initially, you're going to have a small attendance as you only need a small amount of space. When you get more people attending your shows, you have to get a bigger space. Because of that, the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company moved to a warehouse they had rented out as they have grown bigger and more popular. This would be where either plays are made or broken as they would be produced across the country as a result.