Justin Weaks' A FINE MADNESS Will Receive Workshop at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company 

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company will present the workshop of A Fine Madness, written and performed by Helen Hayes award-winning actor Justin Weaks.  Using movement, poetry, affirmations, scientific findings, and narration, the actor shares his personal experience as a Black gay man navigating a positive HIV diagnosis. The workshop will run from March 17-24 and is a pay-what-you-will event with limited capacity.  Further information can be found here. 

Weaks, who was diagnosed with HIV just three weeks after coming to D.C. from North Carolina in 2016, didn’t set out to write a play. In March 2020, when the pandemic hit and the world was forced to isolate, he realized that he had been overconsumed with work and hadn’t even begun to process his diagnosis. He began journaling as a way to express and address his feelings, and realized much later that he had the basis of a performance piece and an opportunity to tell his own story. 

“Receiving my diagnosis was a surreal, scary time with many unknowns. It felt like being sucked into a black hole and I couldn’t escape.” shares Weaks. “Telling my story is a liberating experience and an opportunity to begin moving forward. There is so much joy and life to be experienced and I’m finally ready to live again.” 

Weaks, who is a member of the Woolly Mammoth Company of Artists, developed this ‘Memoir’ work as part of the Weissberg Commissions program. The theatre's first dedicated commissioning program provides generative artists with the opportunity to innovate and take artistic risks in creating new theatrical works. The program allows Woolly Mammoth to support DC-based or born artists (and non-local artists) writing about topics that directly relate to life in the DMV.  

“Justin is a joy to watch as a performer and an artist, and I’m thrilled that Woolly can be a part of his journey as a writer and creator as well,” says Sonia Fernandez, Woolly’s Director of New Work. “The Weissberg Commissions have allowed us to reimagine how we nurture and cultivate playwrights and generative artists, collaborating with them as they build their work. This piece is so exciting, in the way it plays with form, engages with the audience, and creates an intimate and powerful experience. It so needs to be shared with the world, and I can’t wait to see how it continues to develop.” 

“It’s clear that our community needs to hear Justin’s story about his HIV diagnosis, and that it can raise awareness for the needs of real people right here in our region,” says Kimberly Douglas, Woolly’s Managing Director. “I’m looking forward to a future in which this beautiful and personal piece reaches people across the DMV — and beyond.”  

Developmental support provided through the Weissberg Commissions funded by the Weissberg Foundation. 

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