Whitman Drama is an award-winning high school drama program serving Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md. The company produces at least three shows each year: a fall musical featuring accompaniment by a student orchestra; a winter play; and a student-directed talent show.
Additionally, the program hosts workshops and student-managed theater projects.
The Daryl Shaw Auditorium, home of the Whitman Drama program, holds 1,200 seated audience members.
We are structured like a conservatory program, with its primary focus on the process of artistic development rather than the end-product. Students are responsible for all aspects of show production and handle multiple theater components—everything from on-stage performance to stage design to technical and production management.
Whitman Drama strives to promote intelligence, commitment, diversity and an understanding of the human condition by applying techniques based in realism.
Whitman Drama is a largely student-run organization. Each of the following staff members has undergone a rigorous assistant-ship and interview process before assuming their position.
Technical Director: Leo Levine
Stage Manager: Talia Fechter
Producer: Josie Wolfe
Lighting Designer: Lauren Tan
Sound Director: Topher Leonard
Scenic Designer: Leila Garner
Costumes Designer: Jane Pampillonia
Costumes Manager: Sophie Hoffman
Props Master: Bertille Aubert
Multimedia Director: Amanda Sanders
Walt Whitman Drama Boosters is a not-for-profit Maryland corporation that supports the Whitman Drama program, including its theatrical productions and related activities. Whitman Drama Boosters supports and promotes the drama program’s mission of educating students in drama, musical theater, vocal performance, dance, technical theater, and production management. The organization coordinates volunteer efforts and raises funds to support the activities of the Whitman Drama program.
Funds support each season’s production costs, new equipment (such as sound and lighting improvements), workshops with local professionals, summer theater opportunities, and other projects for all students interested in the theater–both on stage and in the technical areas.
Whitman Drama Boosters is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law.
2020/2021 Board Members
Sarah Craven, Betsy McIntyre, Hope Pampillonia, Mariela Semidey, Nancy Shute, Amy Strent, Heidi Treuenfels, Miriam Weintraub