Mission :
The Wilma Theater exists to present theater as an art form, engaging artists and audiences in an adventure of aesthetic philosophical reflection of the complexities of contemporary life. We accomplish our mission by producing thoughtful, well-crafted, productions of intelligent, daring plays that represent a range of voices, viewpoints, and production styles.
History:
The Wilma's history since 1973 including videos honoring Founding co-Artistic Director, Jiri Zizka.
About Us:
We produce both contemporary and classical plays that offer the potential to reveal connections and analogies to current political, social, and cultural complexities and issues. We search for plays that are both emotionally and intellectually complex, and that may be ambiguous, with possible multiple meanings. Whether poetic, abstract, or vernacular, we look for language that is deeply connected to human emotions.
Even though the inspiration and foundation of artistic collaborations is text, the Wilma's productions are a synthesis of many artistic disciplines, including the visual arts, musical composition, sound and lighting designs, choreography, and of course acting.
The scope and form we look for in plays demands design choices that are bold and original. Drawing on poetic images and metaphors, the artists create a theatrical world that resonates with the underlying themes of the play. Each play receives unique consideration and treatment; there is no recipe and no routine to the collaborative process of designing the physical world of the play.
The Wilma has an ambition to become a true artistic home, where all the artists involved in creating theater can experiment, learn, engage, collaborate, strive to get better, and where they are even allowed to fail. Francisco Goya's pencil drawing of an old man leaning on a cane has a caption that says “I'm still learning.” It is a powerful image recognizing learning as a potent and ongoing force in life and work.
