Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre (SSMT) is a professional, non-Equity, not-for-profit theatre, supported by ticket sales and gifts, which provides affordable musical theatre for families in and around the Winchester and Frederick County, VA community. SSMT presents three Broadway-style musicals each season, with two to three weekends of performances of each title. Season audiences total over 20,000 people, drawn from a 150-mile radius. All shows are presented with full sets and costumes, with the support of a full, live orchestra as licensed. The seasonal company of actors, technical and costume artists, instrumentalists, front-of-house staff, high school apprentices, designers, directors, and more averages 120 people.
SSMT was established to give Shenandoah Conservatory theatre students an opportunity to have professional experience before going out to start their own careers in that field. By bringing in students from SU and other universities, as well as industry professionals and experienced creative teams, SSMT fosters a professional company with an educational mission. All positions are paid, allowing every member of the company to learn on the job whether they are working their first contract or they are regional and Broadway veterans.
Artistic Director Emeritus Harold Herman led the team of Shenandoah Conservatory faculty and staff that founded SSMT in 1984. Herman continued as Producing Artistic Director until the spring of 2015, when Thomas Albert was named to the position. In 2020, Jeremy Scott Blaustein succeeded Thomas Albert as Producing Artistic Director. Elizabeth Albert joined the SSMT leadership team in 2014, succeeding Sue Robinson who began with the company in 1984.
