Adirondack Theatre Festival Announces New Producing Artistic Director, Miriam Weisfeld

GLENS FALLS - As its 27th season nears its close, Adirondack Theatre Festival has named Miriam Weisfeld as its fourth producing artistic director after an extensive national search.

Miriam Weisfeld most recently served as Director of Artistic Development for the Tony-winning Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. She assumes the position on Sept. 1, 2021 but is in Glens Falls Aug. 1-15 observing production of ATF's final show of the season, "Traffic and Weather," which opens Aug. 5.

"Miriam emerged from a great field of candidates partially because of her command of the contemporary issues in American theater around inclusion, audience development and innovation," said Nancy Fuller, ATF board president. "And she also presented the board a clear vision for producing work that is a continuation of ATF's rich history of entertaining audiences with original stories created and performed by superlative talent."

Weisfeld was one of 91 candidates who applied and 44 who were interviewed for the position according to Kate Broderick, an ATF emeritus board member who coordinated the search for the organization. "The six-month search produced so many qualified candidates who made it clear that ATF is not just important to Glens Falls but to the theater world at large," she added.

"I'm so grateful to assume stewardship of the Adirondack Theatre Festival and to join the Glens Falls community," Weisfeld said in a statement. "For 26 years, ATF has held fast to its mission to produce innovative new plays and musicals at the foothills of the beautiful Adirondacks.

She continued, "The impact that ATF has had for artists and audiences is a tribute to Martha Banta, David Turner, David King and the other founders, staff, and remarkable board members who have helped to make this a unique cultural gem of the Southern Adirondack region. I look forward to building on this legacy: to widening the circle of artists, partners, and patrons we include and to deepening the impact of our work."

The producing artistic director role is being handed off to Weisfeld by Martha Banta, who assumed an interim role after temporarily returning with her family to the region to live during the pandemic. The ATF co-founder returned to her hometown of Lake George at the same time the position opened due to the departure of Chad Rabinovitz.

Banta said Weisfeld's experience and reputation suggest she has the qualities inherently required of the position. "It is a diverse set of skills required," Banta said of the position. "On one hand you need to have the talent to develop and implement an artistic vision for ATF. And on the other, in a small company, your business acumen is extremely important. Add communications and leadership skills ... It's a lot.

"Everyone I know who knows Miriam says she possesses each of those talents," Banta added. "She is extremely well thought of in the field."

Weisfeld and her family are very familiar with the region. "My husband Joe (Isenberg) and I have had the privilege of developing new work with various performing arts organizations in the southern Adirondacks and the Hudson Valley over the years," she said. "We've been particularly moved by the welcoming, adventurous spirit of audiences in the Lake George region.

Although Isenberg-an award-winning fight director and actor-will maintain residence in New York City for various projects, Weisfeld stated "our family will be based in Glens Falls and our daughter will attend school here. We've spent many of our happiest moments in this region: visiting with family, sailing, picking apples, and exploring the mountains. We feel like we're coming home-and at the same time, we feel we're at the start of a new adventure."

Weisfeld said ATF may be needed by the community now more than ever. "As we emerge from a year of turmoil, we need spaces like ATF to come together-to laugh, to reflect, to ask hard questions, and to celebrate our resilience."

There have been only three artistic directors in ATF's history prior to this appointment: Banta (1995-2007, 2021), Mark Fleischer (2007-2014) and Rabinovitz (2014-2020).

Weisfeld joins Tracey Sullivan in ATF leadership roles. Sullivan has been ATF managing director since December 2019.

About Miriam Weisfeld

Weisfeld helped to develop Generation Now, a $1.5 million co-commissioning project for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) playwrights funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, at Children's Theatre Company, and spearheaded the stage adaptation by Cheryl L. West of "Something Happened in Our Town," a multigenerational story about racial justice which will be produced in partnership with CBS Twin Cities affiliate WCCO in March 2022.

She was previously senior vice president for Production and Development with The Araca Group in New York City. At Araca, she recruited the creative team for "The Outsiders" (pre-Broadway engagement at The Goodman Theatre in May 2022) and supported the development of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Musical" (Broadway); Ayad Akhtar's "Junk" (Lincoln Center Theatre); and "Clue" (national tour).

Prior to Araca, Weisfeld served as associate artistic director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington DC. At Woolly, she dramaturged world premieres of Anne Washburn's "Mr. Burns: a post-electric play" (#4 on the New York Times' list of "The 25 Best American Plays Since Angels in America"); Robert O'Hara's "Bootycandy" (Obie Award Special Citation); Aaron Posner's "Stupid f-ing Bird" (American Theatre Magazine's top 10 most produced plays of 2016); and many more. She conceived and produced Woolly's 30th anniversary conference on theatre and democracy, which led to the creation of Woolly's nationally recognized community engagement program.

Weisfeld's work has also been seen at New York Theatre Workshop, The American Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Two River Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Lookingglass Theatre, the Kennedy Center and the Banff Playwrights Colony. She has lectured at Harvard, MIT, Northwestern and the Moscow Art Theatre School. She is a contributing author to "The Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy" (Magda Romanska, ed.) and "Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage" (Jacqueline Goldfinger). She holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from the A.R.T./MXAT Institute at Harvard University.

To post a comment, you must register and login.