At the core of the programming Westhoff is interested in hosting is providing a platform for artists not traditionally commercial, offering audiences a place to engage with niche programming.
“Finding the rhythm at which people want to consume this stuff is always a question for any room,” Westhoff said. “I feel almost emboldened. The rooms that do this kind of thing across the country are pretty finite. There’s really value in doing what we’re doing. Part of the reason we’re doing it is out of an artistic calling that is also being met with a necessity.”
The main flagships of this upcoming season are mixed with artists in residence activities as well as other community uses of the facility.
There will be an array of traditional folk music and performances, traveling to the theater from beyond, as well as a stronger allegiance to regional and community user groups activating the space.
Kicking off the 2025-2026 season Sept. 2 is vocalist Moira Smiley & The Rhizome Quartet, with special guests The World House Choir.
Smiley will be digging up beautiful folk songs from a mostly Anglo tradition and putting them in a chamber context with a string quartet. Also known for her work with traditional Irish group Solas, she will be performing solo for a portion of the performance. She will then be joined by artists in residence, The World House Choir, a 100-piece choir.
“[The kick off show] is pretty indicative of what programming I’m going for this year,” Westhoff said, “where we’re giving a stage for a sort of lesser-known superstar in a full traditional world that exists in these multiple dimensions: as a solo artist, as a leader of an artistic project really taking liberties in terms of what folk music is, and then as a community leader, directing choirs and coordinating efforts with them so it merges artistic presentation with community outreach.”
Bogota, Columbia, artist Yeison Landero is bringing his seven-piece cumbia band to the Foundry on Sept. 24. With his deep pocket grooves, he’s playing several major global music festivals this year. Landero is making a stop in Yellow Springs before heading to the Lotus World Music & Arts Festival.
The Foundry is also piloting a speaker series this season, in collaboration with one of its artists in residence companies called Mad River Theater Works, with arts grant support from the Ohio Arts Council. The first speaker is Columbus, Ohio-based author and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib.
“He has a really big, broad, sweeping idea of what it means to be a human being with a musical ear,” Westhoff said. “I’m just so moved by his ability to span genres and cultures.”
The first weekend in October, the Foundry will host the Yellow Springs Film Festival. Some of the key guest speakers this year will include comedian Kevin Nealon and filmmaker Kevin Smith. The festival is Oct. 2-5. More information can be found at ysfilmfest.com.
Two premier American fiddlers and Berkeley professors Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger will be bringing their duo show Oct. 11. Anger is known as one of the founding members of the Turtle Island Quartet, and Molsky is probably the most celebrated old-time fiddler.
Continuing a collaboration with Sharon Leahy and Rick Good, of Rhythm & Shoes and The Big Family Business, the Foundry is hosting a number of activities, including dance classes culminating in social dances with live bands. A partnership between Mad River Theater Works, The Big Family Business, and WYSO 91.3 FM, Trad Romp Wknd, featuring headliner Evie Ladie and The Mammals, is Oct. 24-26.
Dec. 11 will see Mr Sun Plays Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite, a string reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, bringing an end to 2025.
The Foundry in 2026 will host Tarta Relena (Jan. 17), Poet Ross Gay with Janan Alexandra (Feb. 4), Royal Wood (Feb. 6), Mark Lomax (March 7), Le Vent Du Nord (March 29), and The Big Family Business (May 2-3). The theater’s full programming lineup can be found at antiochcollege.edu.
WYSO daytime DJ Evan Miller also runs a quarterly series at The Foundry called WYSO’s The Outside Presents.
Additional shows will be announced throughout the season.
MORE INFO
For upcoming programming, tickets, and season ticket packages, visit antiochcollege.edu/2025/07/16/foundry-theater-programming-2/.
About the Author
