NAME: Tommy Crawford.
DEPARTMENT: Workshop.
POSITION: Apprentice.
YEARS WITH FESTIVAL: First.
HOMETOWN: Montclair, NJ.
SCHOOL/TRAINING: Just graduated this past spring from Yale University, BA in Theater Studies.
FAVORITE PLAYWRIGHTS: Brian Friel, Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller, Sarah Ruhl, Anton Chekhov, Thornton Wilder
FAVORITE PLAYS: The Real Thing, Our Town, Faith Healer, Death of a Salesman, The Seagull, August: Osage County
FAVORITE NON-THEATRE ACTIVITIES: I love to play and watch tennis and baseball, I’m a huge Yankees fan, I like to draw and paint, especially cartoons, and illustrate my own stories; I like to write, cook, and I’ve done a good deal of farming in Connecticut and in France and really love working on farms and cooking with just-picked ingredients. I also sang in an a cappella group at Yale (Redhot & Blue), and love to sing.
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR POSITION?
I think I had heard of Williamstown a long long time ago, it’s reputation preceded it, but it was really brought to my attention as something I should do by a Master’s Tea at Yale this past winter. An up-and-coming director and Yale grad, Henry Wishcamper, gave a talk where he spoke of how awesome Williamstown is and how, though he never did it, many of his acting and directing friends had, and that it’s a great thing to do right out of college. So I applied and got in.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE OR FIRST MEMORY OF WTF?
It’s tough to choose. After being here like a week, it felt like I had been here for months and months. I think that’s a factor of there being just so much to do, and because I met so many people in such a short amount of time. Maybe one of my favorite moments was discovering a swimming hole beneath a cemetery (creepy, right? It’s like the River Styx) in a nearby town after driving around with a bunch of friends. We actually went to “swimmingholes.org” to search for it. It’s not a joke. We were like “How are we gonna find a swimming hole?” “Let’s go to swimmingholes.org.” And there actually was one. Anyway, this place was great, and I leapt off a 30-foot rock into freezing cold water. Fun.
WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES THIS SUMMER?
As apprentices, we basically carry responsibilities spanning all aspects of theatre production on the Main Stage. We help at the carpentry shop, we help focus lights, we help on run crews, we help with costumes, etc. etc. It’s a pretty awesome learning experience. I’m hoping to add things like welding and carpentry to my list of man-skills. Also, some of us can get cast in the Main Stage in small roles, and sometimes we help famous actors run lines. I’m in the world premiere of Noah Haidle’s What Is the Cause of Thunder? which stars Wendie Malick and Betty Gilpin. The other day I ran lines with Nate Corddry and Paul Sparks of True West. At the same time, there are numerous projects going on in the other theaters on the Williams campus. Right now, I’m in Tracy Francis’s (one of the directing intern’s) project, a short Beckett play, Rough For Theatre I. I’m also in the process of putting together a proposal to direct a short play for the evening of apprentice plays later in July.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?
I’m really excited to work on What Is the Cause of Thunder? The cast is amazing, and I’m excited to be a part of it.
TO WHAT DO YOU ASPIRE?
I’m moving to New York in the fall when I get back from Williamstown. My future goals are to become a working actor in New York. I also want to start doing films. I think eventually, I might want to become part owner of a small organic farm; and if that farm can in any way can be related to theatre, that would be a dream. At school, I worked with a bunch of actors and friends, and we essentially had an ensemble. Starting an ensemble theatre company with my friends is also something I would love to do in the near future.
[photo] ©SAM HOUGH for WTF 2009
[pictured] Tommy Crawford
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