Pat Adams has made a life in the theater
By Jay Nachman
Patreshettarlini (Pat) Adams’ mother wanted her to be a doctor. A dutiful daughter, she enrolled in Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) as a biology major but graduated with a degree in theater.
Adams went on to become the resident stage manager at the Wilma Theater, a position she’s held since 1996. She has also received her share of accolades along the way, including the Bonaly Recognition for Stage Management, the IUP Alumni Award of Distinction and the Del Hughes Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Art of Stage Management.
The 66-year-old Strawberry Mansion resident and Philadelphia High School for Girls graduate entered the theater profession on a dare from her friends who had started a drama club. She auditioned and won a part in the play, “Hot l Baltimore.”
When she later auditioned and didn’t get the part, Adams discovered – and fell in love with – the backstage production of a stage play.
Stage managing, Adams said, “is the hub of communication. We are there to facilitate.” That means making sure that the director is talking to everyone. The stage manager is also working on planning and the layout of rehearsals, along with a thousand other tasks that come with putting on a play.
After opening night, stage managers “are then the guardians of that production until it closes. We make sure the things that were agreed upon between the director and the actors and the designers are what people see when they come to the show.”
It helps to be detail-oriented, Adams said.
Her favorite shows among the more than 100 she has stage managed include “Fat Ham;” “The Invention of Love;” “Kill Move Paradise;” and “Angels in America,” of which she said, “We did both parts. That was an amazing experience.”
A favorite – and meaningful – experience for Adams has been her involvement with the Wilma Theater’s Portable Studio, which offers free theater programming and classes for adults.
Adams worked weekly with a group of older adults at the Philadelphia Senior Center on the Avenue of the Arts. After participants saw a play at the Wilma Theater, they created an original piece based on their response to the play, which they then performed.
“It was a highlight. I got to help create a program that benefited senior citizens,” Adams said. “And it was important because we felt that community was … made to feel like they were not needed anymore. It’s a community that gets pushed (to) the side. We wanted to uplift them and remind them that we need them. We need their knowledge. We need their experience. So, I absolutely loved the time I got to work with them. I learned something every single time.”
Another highlight for Adams was when the Wilma Theater received the 2024 Tony Award for Best Regional Theatre. The honor was based on a recommendation made by the American Theatre Critics Association.
“That was the most amazing feeling ever,” Adams said. “There was that moment of acknowledgment of the breadth of work that the Wilma Theater has accomplished, and the realization that I am a part of that. I burst into tears … in the emotion of the moment. I did something and people noticed.”
What she loves most about her work is the people. “I love the work,” Adams said. “I love the stories that we choose to tell. But I live for the people I get to work with, for the new experiences we get to have together, and for those things that we get to do.”
Now as a grandmother, Adams only works on two productions a year, rather than four. “It’s wonderful in trying to find that balance of doing that thing that I love but also having time for my family,” she said. “I want to be able support my friends by being able to see the work that they’re doing. There’s something really wonderful about actually getting to sit in the audience. I’m discovering what that is and really enjoying it.”
Adams has a joke with some of her friends: “I feel the slowdown coming. But I don’t know if I can stop.”
Jay Nachman is a freelance writer in Philadelphia who tells stories for a variety of clients.
