The Art of Theater: Celebrating 15 Years

Since 2010, The Phillips Collection has produced staged readings of plays related to art, artists, and museum practice; commissioned and premiered six original scripts; and partnered with several of the region’s theater companies. Theater Consultant Ann Greer shares the process of producing a staged reading and the importance of championing interdisciplinary connections between art and theater. 

Palpable anticipation pervades The Phillips Collection’s seminar room, which today serves as a theater rehearsal space for a staged reading. It’s midday, the cast has studied artwork in the galleries related to the play they will perform, and it’s time to begin. As the cast and director explore the script, the actors become their characters and develop a rhythm with the words and each other. Later we will continue to rehearse in the Phillips’s auditorium, before the evening’s performance.  

I sit, taking it all in, and think about the performance to come. The afternoon process is akin to visual artists preparing materials or priming a canvas. I witness the alchemy that takes place over the course of rehearsal—a finely calibrated intellectual and emotional mix on the part of the actors that makes the script come alive. Then, seemingly effortlessly, they live their characters’ lives onstage. Theater and art are both creative acts; making theater is not possible without community, while visual art is often a solitary pursuit. But as 15 years of producing art-related staged readings at the Phillips has shown me, these forms of expression make compelling connections. 

In 2010, Director Emerita Dorothy Kosinski—then my boss at the Phillips, when I was the director of marketing and communications—suggested that I produce theater programming for the museum. Dorothy was aware of my long-standing involvement in theater as a theater journalist, acting student and performer, and a staff member at Arena Stage. In fact, I began working at art museums so that I could pursue my theater journalism and avoid a conflict of interest. Dorothy suggested I use my expertise and contacts to create a theater program for the Phillips, and she only had to say it once. I produced several theater programs until I left the Phillips staff in 2013, after which I became the museum’s theater consultant. Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan Binstock has continued to support the initiative. 

As producer, my first and perhaps most critical responsibility is to select the plays. My decision, in addition to finding compelling scripts that are well written and structured, is informed by the practical matters of performing theater in a museum auditorium not equipped with all the elements of a theater space, along with evening time limitations to accommodate the museum’s schedule. The performances are staged readings, with actors referencing the script and without costumes, sets, or lighting design. Several audience members have shared they find the staged readings an intensely engaging and inspiring experience, as performances are focused solely on the words and the actors. It is especially important to locate excellent scripts, and to hire the most accomplished directors and actors in the DC region. 

The Phillips has also commissioned and premiered plays. They are, of course, a more complex endeavor, given the additional responsibility of selecting and working with playwrights. However the commissions gave us an unparalleled opportunity to meld the museum’s visual art expertise and resources with performance practice. “Alma W. Thomas: Imagine That!” by Caleen Sinnette Jennings was commissioned for the Phillips’s centenary in 2021. In 2016 (and performed again in 2024), five 10-minute scripts (by Norman Allen, Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm, Annalisa Dias, Jacqueline E. Lawton, and Laura Shamas) explored themes surrounding Jacob Lawrence’s epic Migration Series.

All the scripts, whether commissioned or previously written, concern art, artists, and museum practice. I identify them through research and recommendations from my theater contacts, including actors and directors who participate in the staged readings. I next select a director, we cast the play, then I work with Phillips staff to ensure all is ready for the evening. Following the staged reading, I moderate a talk-back with the actors and director. When I let audiences know that we gather at midday, rehearse that afternoon, and perform for them after a dinner break, there is audible exclamation and appreciative applause. The magic of theater.

At the beginning of every staged reading, I feel a thrill that makes it impossible for me to sit, so I stand at the back of our performance space. As I enter my fifteenth year of producing—“Impressionism” by Michael Jacobs was staged at the Phillips on February 20—I remain gratified that the Phillips has embraced this creative form of expression, making the story of art come alive.