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MISSION

Woolly Mammoth produces courageous and invigorating new work to radically redefine theatre as a catalyst for an equitable, creative, and engaged society.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

PURSUE BOLD ARTISTRY.

We stoke and nurture the creative vision and rigorous process of every project we undertake. We strive for all of our work to flourish to virtuosic heights — in and beyond our walls.

CHAMPION RADICAL INCLUSION AND PROMOTE JUSTICE. 

Our work is rooted in practicing anti-racism through conscious decision-making that centers equity, advocacy, continual learning, and accountability. We are determined to dismantle systems of oppression in our organization and in our culture. We aspire to build a more inclusive society—across race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic background, religion and political viewpoints.

REIMAGINE COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY.

We approach relationships from a place of abundance, not competition. We actively forge unexpected partnerships that break down silos onstage, offstage, and across industries, communities, disciplines, and mediums.

PRACTICE RELENTLESS INQUIRY AND EXPERIMENTATION.

Our ambition is continual innovation in every aspect of our work in order to challenge and expand the limits of our collective imagination. We find joy in a learning culture where our spectacular failures are held in as high esteem as our spectacular successes.

EMBRACE THE DISCOMFORT.

We are energized by the messy edges of theatrical style and human experience— in all of its complexity. We nurture risk-taking by our audiences, artists, staff, leadership, partners, stakeholders, and volunteers.

SPARK DIALOGUE AND IGNITE SOCIAL CHANGE.

We believe that theatre is uniquely suited to add nuance and depth to the cultural conversations happening in our city and our country. We seek to create a brave space for dialogue and action in the middle of Washington D.C., the seat of our imperfect and evolving democracy.

ABOUT WOOLLY

The Tony Award®-winning Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company creates badass theatre that highlights the stunning, challenging, and tremendous complexity of our world. For over 40 years, Woolly has maintained a high standard of artistic rigor while simultaneously daring to take risks, innovate, and push beyond perceived boundaries. One of the few remaining theatres in the country to maintain a company of artists, Woolly serves an essential research and development role within the American theatre. Plays premiered here have gone on to productions at hundreds of theatres all over the world and have had lasting impacts on the field. Currently co-led by Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes and Managing Director Kimberly E. Douglas, Woolly is located in Washington, DC, equidistant from the Capitol and the White House. This unique location influences Woolly’s investment in actively working towards an equitable, participatory, and creative democracy.

Woolly Mammoth stands upon occupied, unceded territory: the ancestral homeland of the Nacotchtank whose descendants belong to the Piscataway peoples. Furthermore, the foundation of this city, and most of the original buildings in Washington, DC, were funded by the sale of enslaved people of African descent and built by their hands.

Language developed in consultation with Dr. Gabrielle Tayac

VALUES

We are a radically inclusive community—across race, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical ability, socioeconomic background, and political viewpoint—in which all are encouraged to exchange ideas freely and reach for new understanding.

Read more about Woolly’s stance on the issues affecting our world today and how we are actively engaged in struggling against oppressive systems.

This is intended to be a living section to help our community hold us accountable to the values that we believe to be essential to Woolly and its mission.