our story

​Founded in 2009, the WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company is a consortium of theatre professionals
​and dedicated amateurs who are committed to producing quality theatre in a local setting.

We produce shows in a variety of venues, from outdoors to black boxes, schools to large theaters, warehouses to town halls.
Provocative theatre. Contemporary playwrights. New works. Local talent.

For the 2024-2025 season, we are pleased to announce that WatermelonAlligator is in residence at Cotuit Center for the Arts and Marion Art Center!

If you see our name, please come out and join us!

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meet our creative team

managing & artistic director
​Jess Wilson

Photo of Jessica Ellis-Wilson, a plus-sized white nonbinary person with blue eyes and short grey hair swept to the left, looking directly at the camera and resting their chin on their right hand while their left arm rests across their body with their left hand under their right elbow. They are standing in front of a grey-white background in a black wrap shirt with 3/4 sleeves. They have red nail polish on short nails, matching red lipstick, and a single stud earring is visible in their left ear.
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Jess Wilson (they/she) is a former C-level executive leader with extensive experience as an actor, director, playwright, intimacy director, stage manager, tech, designer, and producer. Jess is the Managing and Artistic Director of the WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company, co-founder and one of the managing/ creative producers for Danu Pictures, and adjunct faculty at Cape Cod Community College. They are an accomplished author, consultant, executive coach, teaching artist, and speaker who conducts classes and workshops on culture transformation, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B), public speaking, leadership, empathy, and a wide range of theatre disciplines, and frequently speaks across the globe on a variety of healthcare, leadership, and humanitarian topics. 

​Jess has directed for stage and film with many professional, community, and academic performing arts organizations in addition to WatermelonAlligator, including Helltown Players, the Eugene O’Neill New Works Festival in Provincetown, Danu Pictures, Midsummer Shakespeare, and Cape Cod Community College. Most recent directorial credits include the world premiere of Dreamsville (by Susan Lumenello; WATC), As You Like It (Shakespeare Under the Stars, CCCC), Karen (by Fermin Rojas) and Twist of Lemon (by Lynda Sturner, both with Helltown Players), and the New England premiere of The Way It Is (by Donna Hoke, WATC).

An experienced actor-combatant, Jess works as an Intimacy Director/Coordinator, Fight Captain, and Safety Coordinator for stage and film productions nationwide. Recent industry credits include Intimacy Director for Bright Star (CCCC), Saturday Night/ Sunday Morning (Wellesley Upstage), Nothing is the End of the World (Except the End of the World) (CCCC), Wolf Play (Wellesley Upstage), and Eurydice (Wellesley Upstage); Fight Director (Arsenic & Old Lace, MAC); Intimacy Director/ Fight Captain (Flyin’ West; Wellesley Upstage), Intimacy Coordinator (The Lost Weekend; Flying Card Productions), Intimacy Director/ Fight Captain (Victor/Victoria; Cotuit Center for the Arts), Intimacy Coordinator/ Fight Captain (Magnolia Flowers; Strange Place Productions). 

Notable past stage roles include Ruth (Miracle On South Division Street), Alex Klein (Church & State), Laurie (Lopsided), and Helen (Fat Pig), all with WATC; Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing; Midsummer Shakespeare/GHP),  Macbeth (Macbeth; Glass Horse Project), Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream; Shakespeare on Vacation), M’Lynn (Steel Magnolias; Plymouth Community Theatre), Lenny (Crimes of the Heart; Bay Players), Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing; PCT), and Megan in the world premiere of EA Kafkalas’ Lopsided (CCTC).



associate artistic & tech director
​Garrett Olson

Photo of Garrett Olson, a white man with brown eyes and short red-brown hair parted down the middle and swept back from the face, looking directly at the camera with a smile. His left arm is crossed over his right arm, with the fingers of his right hand visible in the crook of his left elbow. They are standing in front of a background which is 2/3 red brick with white mortar and 1/3 painted white brick and mortar, split vertically behind Garrett's left shoulder. He is in a black v-neck short sleeve ribbed shirt.
Garrett Olson (he/him) is a professional working actor, director, screenwriter, film maker, song writer, seasoned fight director/stunt coordinator, intimacy director/choreographer captain and safety/accessibility consultant for stage and screen. He is currently the Technical Director and Associate Artistic Director for the WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company, co-founder and one of the managing/creative producers for Danu Pictures, and is the former Technical Director/acting coach / accessibility consultant for the Boston Zombie Apocalypse. An accomplished teaching artist and combatant instructor, Garrett’s classes in public speaking, acting, staged violence, and improv are crafted for students of all levels and abilities. Classes include adaptive programs to accommodate all abilities creating a truly immersive and inclusive opportunity for learning and growth. Past local class venue include Pembroke Elementary Schools, Cape Cod Can, Cotuit Center for the Arts, Watermelon Alligator Theater Company, The Zeiterion Theater and Waldorf School of Cape Cod.
 
 As a consultant, teaching artist and professional speaker who travels nationwide Garrett speaks on a wide range of theatre disciplines, inclusion, and leadership topics. Recent appearances include the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival Region 1 Annual Conference (Basics of Inclusive Intimacy Practices, Trauma-Informed Spaces, and Improv Masterclass) and Tilden Arts Center’s Masterclass series (Yes, And…Now What? & So You Wanna Fight?).
 
Recent industry credits include Fight Director/Armorer (The Way It Is; WATC), Intimacy Captain (Wolf Play; Wellesley College),  Intimacy Captain (Eurydice; Wellesley College), Fight Director and Intimacy Captain (Flyin’ West; Wellesley College), Intimacy Captain (The Lost Weekend; Flying Card Productions), Fight Director and Stunt Coordinator (Above Arkham; Ragnarock Productions) Fight Director and Intimacy Captain (Victor/Victoria; Cotuit Center for the Arts), Director New England premiere (Lopsided ; WATC), Fight Director and Intimacy Captain (Magnolia Flowers; Strange Place Productions). 

Recent acting credits include Robert in the world premiere of All The Frozen Ones at Marion Art Center, Senator Charles Whitmore (Church & State; Marion Art Center), Cane (The Way It Is) Jimmy (Miracle On South Division Street), Narrator 2 (The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon), Senator Charles Whitmore (Church & State), Martin (Seminar), and Tom (Fat Pig) with WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company at Cotuit Center for the Arts, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol, True Rep), Leo/Maxine (Leading Ladies, Nemasket River Productions), Officer Frank (Live from Copley Square; Boston Playwrights Platform Festival), Gabriel (Above Arkham; Ragnarock Productions) and Bobby O’Mara (A Difficult Conversation; Inpatient Productions).