4 | OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
FEATURED
Studio Theatre Worcester unwraps adaptation of ‘The Gift of the Magi’ Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
WORCESTER – Studio Theatre Worcester debuted in 2019 with the hilarious madcap “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” and later that year put on the timeless musical fable “The Fantasticks.” The reviewers agreed it was a fantastic start for the new theater company, which has a self-stated vision to be “the professional theater of choice for artists, designers, educators and theatergoers in Central Massachusetts.” Next up was the drama “Doubt: A Parable,” scheduled to open March 13, 2020. The show was so near but so far, as an announcement was made that the production would have to be postponed because of the rapid onset of COVID-19 almost right before curtain-up. However, “Doubt” was staged more than 18 months later from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2 this year, and now Studio Theatre Worcester is getting ready for its fourth production, an adaptation of O. Henry’s short story “The Gift of the Magi” that will be put on at Gordon Hall at First Baptist Church of Worcester, 111 Park Ave., Nov. 12-21. Asked if there’s been any doubt during the pandemic as to whether Studio Theatre Worcester would keep going, John Wayland Somers, STW founder, president of the board and artistic director, had a forthright reply. “Never,” he said.
A scene from the Studio Theatre Worcester production of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).” PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANIKA NYMAN
”To be honest, that never entered my mind. We knew from day one that this was going to be a long game. We know Worcester is ready for an organization like ours. I think now is the time to see the arts culture grow and more organizations like ours popping up,” Somers said. “We did not panic. We took our time. We took a breath. We listened to other theater companies.”
An actor and director with a day job background in retail and corporate management, Somers has assembled a team of like-minded people with varying theater backgrounds in the area who want to establish a full-time professional theater along the lines of the former Foothills Theatre. But as the tumultuous events of 2020 unfolded, STW also took the time to pledge, despite its youth, to “do better” in
terms of equity, diversity and inclusion. On its website (www.studiotheatreworcester.org), the theater company said, “We know that actions speak louder than words. Studio Theatre Worcester has taken this opportunity to look within ourselves as an organization. While we are relatively young, we realize we can do more in this fi ght. STW CAN and WILL do better.”
Somers said during an interview last week that, “We decided to take a step back and further establish our foundation. We brought on Kim (Dexter). We brought on Michael (Walker), and Liz (Lizbeth Perez Rodriguez). We took anti-racist theater training. We really wanted to create that foundation to make sure we had the right direction coming out of COVID.” Kim Dexter joined the STW team as director of diversity and inclusion. She has been at Framingham State University since 2005, where she currently serves as executive director of Equal Opportunity. Lizbeth Perez Rodriguez is STW’s director of community engagement and outreach and holds teaching licenses in special education, English, and English as a Second Language. Michael Walker, dramaturg and literary manager, will be familiar to longtime Worcester theater-goers as the former artistic director of the former Foothills Theatre. STW’s team also includes executive director Robert Klimeczko, associate artistic director Todd Vickstrom and clerk Nicole Lian. Still, if not “doubts” per se, there might have been some curiosity about how audiences would respond to the return of STW with “Doubt” starting last month. STW had staged its fi rst two shows at Greendale People’s Church, 25 Francis St., where the original production of See MAGI, Page 5
