WASHINGTON D.C.: Stage and screen star Allison Janney will serve as the 2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival honorary chair. She previously served on the Women’s Voices Festival’s Honorary committee in 2015 and returns this year to continue supporting the artistic contributions of women everywhere. This year’s festival returns this runs Jan. 15-Feb. 15, 2018, with 26 theatres presenting world, national, or regional premiere plays written by women.
The ‘West Wing’ and film star is no stranger to the stage. Janney studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and made her Broadway debut in Noël Coward’s Present Laughter. She also starred in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge and the musical 9 to 5. She has received several Outer Critics Circle Awards, a Tony award nomination, and a Drama Desk Award. She most recently appeared in this year’s revival of John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation.
“Theatre nurtured my career—it’s where I came into my own as an actor, and of course, Washington is a very special place for me, because of my time on ‘The West Wing’,” said Janney in a statement. “I’m very glad to be a part of this project, and proud to be helping the festival advocate for women writing for the stage, new plays, and the sharing of diverse stories.”
Theatres presenting in the festival include 4615 Theatre Company, Alliance for New Music-Theatre, Ally Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, Brave Spirits Theatre, Convergence Theatre, dog & pony dc, Folger Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Mosaic Theater Company, Nu Sass Productions, Olney Theatre Center, Pointless Theatre Co., Rainbow Theatre Project, Rapid Lemon Productions, Rep Stage, Round House Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Spooky Action Theater, Studio Theatre, Taffety Punk Theatre Company, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. The festival is produced by Nan Barnett of Flanagan Theater Projects, with support from theatreWashington, led by President Amy Austin. Funding for the festival is provided by leading donors Heidi and Mitch Dupler, Share Fund, Andrew Rodger Ammerman in tribute to Josephine Friedman Ammerman, and The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.
The festival debuted in 2015 as a way to celebrate the nation’s leading female and female-identifying playwrights and their works. TodayTix is the official ticketing partner of the 2018 Women’s Voices Theater Festival.
