A. Adams

Background

About A. Adams

Abigail Adams has been associated with People’s Light for 42 years, directing more than eighty plays. Abbey has held increasing leadership roles in the company since 1984; she became Artistic Director in 1997, and Executive Artistic Director in 2012. She led the cross-institution planning process for the Theatre’s last three long range plans. At People’s Light, notable productions she has directed include "The Cherry Orchard,""The Rainmaker,""The Trip to Bountiful,""Dividing the Estate,""Legacy of Light,""Nathan the Wise,""The Day of the Picnic,""Getting Near to Baby,""Theophilus North,""Something You Did,""Twelfth Night,""The Miser,""Fabulation,""Member of the Wedding,""Little Foxes" and "In the Blood". This season she will direct "The Cherry Orchard"(adaptation by Emily Mann) featuring David Strathairn and Mary McDonnell as well as "A New Book For the Bible" by Bill Cain. In 2014, she led a collaboration between People’s Light and the National Theatre of Scotland to develop a theatre piece about the future of work in the 21st century which will be performed both in Scotland and the US. During her time at People’s Light, the Theatre has produced more than 150 world premieres. Abbey served for ten years on the faculty of Swarthmore College and has also taught at New York University, Bryn Mawr College, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. She has served on numerous TCG and NEA panels, and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Ursinus College.