Though she has been absent from the public eye since 2007, when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer”™s disease, Joanne Woodward ”“ the Oscar-winning actress, director and former artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse ”“ has nonetheless been very much a part of the public consciousness in recent months with the release of the HBO Max docuseries “The Last Movie Stars” ”“ about her and Paul Newman, her husband and frequent collaborator; and “Paul Newman: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man, a Memoir.”
Now we learn that Sotheby”™s will auction 300 items from their collection ”“ including her wedding dress and ring, one of Newman”™s car-racing suits and 19th-century folk artworks, in the June event “The World of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.” (The couple”™s items should be highly collectible. In 2017, Newman”™s rare Rolex Daytona sold for $17.8 million while another Daytona sold for $5.4 million three years later.)
Meanwhile, the Westport Country Playhouse is accepting applications for its 2023 Joanne Woodward Internship Program, in which participants enhance their professional skills”¯and gain on-the-job experience”¯working directly with playhouse senior staff from May 27 through Aug. 12.
In-person internship opportunities are available in”¯development; education; and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).”¯The development intern will work with the development department to support the playhouse”™s fundraising campaigns, operations and special events and learn about the administrative side of running a nonprofit regional theater. The education intern will work with the education department to support the playhouse”™s educational productions, programs and events as well as serve as a teaching artist. The EDI intern will work with the EDI department to”¯provide support for the playhouse”™s EDI Committee and internal affinity group,”¯The Justice League, and strengthen the playhouse”™s internal and external processes to advance equity and inclusion.”¯(Due to a reduced schedule, from five productions to three, the playhouse is unable to offer production internships this year.)”¯
”¯In addition to working in their respective departments, interns will attend weekly seminars featuring a variety of guest speakers, including playhouse staff members, visiting designers and artists, commercial producers and more.”¯
”¯The 2023 interns are hired through the playhouse”™s recruiting process to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Hiring panels, comprised of the department”™s manager, other department members and a staff member from a different department, carefully review all applications and ask identical questions of all candidates, creating an equitable environment.
The stipend is $600 per week (equivalent to minimum wage in the state of Connecticut). Housing will be provided with interns assigned to their own rooms. Transportation is the responsibility of the intern.”¯
Internships have formed a vital part of the playhouse”™s mission since 1946. (Among the alumni of the playhouse”™s program is the late composer Stephen Sondheim.) The application deadline is Friday, March 17.
In addition to the Woodward Internships, the playhouse supports the”¯Staples High School Internship program, designed for seniors”¯to gain a comprehensive overview of an organization and real-world experience for four-weeks prior to graduation.”¯
”¯All Westport Country Playhouse employees are required to provide proof of complete Covid-19 vaccination and proof of a booster dose”¯for those eligible as defined by Center for Disease Control and Prevention”¯(CDC) guidelines.”¯
”¯Westport Country Playhouse”™s 2023 season includes the Tony Award-winning musical”¯“Ain”™t Misbehavin”™,” from”¯April 11 through April 29; the suspense thriller, “Dial ”˜M”™ for Murder,” from”¯July 11 through July 29; and the comedy “School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play,””¯Oct. 24 through Nov. 11.”¯For more, visit westportplayhouse.org.”¯
