Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Washington, DC

The design for the new Woolly Mammoth Theatre provides a full range of theater-based activities within a three-story, 35,000 square-foot space in the heart of the city. Included in the project is a 264-seat courtyard-style theater with a three-sided balcony, a full production shop, a 100-seat black box theater/rehearsal hall, classroom space, offices, a shop and two cafes within a long, two-story urban alley-like lobby.

The design brief was to produce a world-class "transparent theatrical laboratory"— a place where all of the spaces normally hidden from public view, such as rehearsal hall, classrooms, offices, and other support areas, would be visible to the visitor to give a behind-the-scenes understanding of the process of creating live stage productions. The design reflects both the theater’s creative and cultural mission as a grassroots organization with a deep connection to a diverse community, and its commitment to risk-taking as it develops and produces highly charged, powerful and always provocative plays.

This new facility is inserted into a new mixed-use building in the 7th Street Arts District in downtown Washington and is an important part of the revitalization of that part of the city.