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Howard Shalwitz

Howard Shalwitz is co-founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC, one of the nation's leading producers of provocative new plays. He was the visionary force behind the company for thirty-eight seasons, guiding the development and production of dozens of new works, building a renowned company of artists, and leading Woolly Mammoth in the creation of its award-winning downtown home in 2005.  Howard was the Distinguished Finalist for the 2011 Zelda Fichandler Award for Outstanding Regional Director, and recipient of the 2014 Margo Jones Award in recognition of his lifetime commitment to new American plays.

An actor dressed as President Zelensky points a prop gun at an unseen target.
Reflecting on the Timeliness of Polish Theatre at Kraków’s Divine Comedy Theatre Festival
Essay

Reflecting on the Timeliness of Polish Theatre at Kraków’s Divine Comedy Theatre Festival

2 March 2023

The Divine Comedy Theatre Festival in Kraków, Poland explored the theme of “Polish Taboo” across its thirty-two productions this year. Howard Shalwitz, who attended the festival as part of an American delegation of artists building connections between the United States and Poland, shares his experience attending the festival.

Five people sitting around a table on stage.
Polish Connections: A New Generation of Theatre Linkages Between the United States and Poland
Essay

Polish Connections: A New Generation of Theatre Linkages Between the United States and Poland

19 September 2022

For the past two years, LINKAGES: Poland has convened theatre leaders from Poland and the United States to discuss fieldwide issues. When three theatremakers who have been deeply involved in the project traveled from the United States to Poland this summer, they were struck by the changing landscape of Polish theatre and its parallels to the US theatre industry.

three panelists
Shifting Sands of Russian Theatre
Essay

Shifting Sands of Russian Theatre

Reporting from Moscow’s Golden Mask Festival

8 May 2019

Howard Shalwitz, Karen Houppert, and Yury Urnov reflect on the productions they saw at this year’s Golden Mask Theatre Festival in Moscow, Russia.

six smiling people
Report from Theatre’s Front Line in Budapest
Essay

Report from Theatre’s Front Line in Budapest

3 January 2019

Howard Shalwitz gives us a glimpse into the theatre community in Budapest, Hungary, after a recent trip to the city.

director giving an actor notes
Teach Them How to Say Goodbye
Essay

Teach Them How to Say Goodbye

Howard Shalwitz and Carey Perloff in Conversation

18 October 2018

Howard Shalwitz, co-founder of Woolly Mammoth, talks with Carey Perloff, longtime director of American Conservatory Theater, about their decades-long tenures at their respective companies, covering everything from the throughline of founding manifestos, to the five- to six-year cycles companies go through, to how lonely it is to be an artistic director, and more.