The Wilma Theater

The Wilma Theater, established in 1973, produces "both contemporary and classical plays that offer the potential to reveal connections and analogies to current political, social, and cultural complexities and issues," says artistic director Blanka Zizka. Zizka's commitment to learning and experimentation has led the theater to invest in innovative vocal and physical training for local actors and the creation of Wilma HotHouse, a resident acting company. Center-supported productions have included the North American premiere of Václav Havel's final play, Leaving; the development and world premiere of Paula Vogel's Don Juan Returns from Iraq; and the world premiere of Adapt!, an original play by Zizka based on her personal experiences of emigrating from Czechoslovakia to the US. A 2018 Project grant has supported the Wilma’s staging of THERE, an ensemble-devised adaptation of Lebanese American poet Etel Adnan’s book-length poem There: In the Light and the Darkness of the Self and of the Other. In 2020, the Wilma received a Center Project grant for The Cherry Orchard, a new interpretation of Anton Chekhov's play, led by director Dmitry Krymov for a modern-day means of viewing the 1903 classic through the eyes of a contemporary Russian artist.