Photographers and Photos of Wayside Productions

It is not clear how the Theatre selected a photographer to take pictures of the various productions that appeared on Wayside’s stage.  The earliest photograph in the files is from the 1964 season and bears the business stamp of L. A. Durnier, who had a studio in Front Royal, Virginia. There is a single photo from the 1967 season that bears a different stamp: The Gallery, Photographers, Portrait and Commercial located on W. Piccadilly Street in Winchester.

An undated photograph, most likely from a WTOT production, indicates it was taken by Ed Yankov of L. A. Durnier Studio.  To date, this is the only photo with that information.

Also in the files is a photograph taken by David B. Grim of a production of The Proposition that is listed as a “Title I Project, 1971-1973.”  This title, however, does not appear in any of the WTOT listings. In addition, one source has mentioned photography by Robert Brooks as well as that by John B. West, who also served as Stage Manager for a time. (Lynch. Email. 11 June 2021). Examples of their photography has yet to surface.

Photos in the files for the years 1983 – 1986 are credited to Nancy Yost, but there is no address given for the location of her studio.  All of the Yost photographs are black and white, 4” x 6” in size, and are usually contained in a brown envelope bearing the name of the production. Another photo dated June 16, 2001, labeled “Folks outside at Wayside Theatre during intermission of Kiss Me Kate,” was taken by Ginger Perry. Information on this name is unavailable.

There are no photographs in the files for 1986 and 1987 productions. Photos from the 1988 production of Cole bear the name of Winchester photographer, John Westervelt.  However, there are no photographs from other productions for that year in the files.  From 1988 until 2013, all production photos in the theatre’s files bear the name of Westervelt.  In some of the Theatre’s playbills, he is credited as the Wayside Theatre photographer.

In addition to the many single production photos Westervelt took, at some point he began creating a composite of these photos for each play. The composite measured approximately 14” x 22” and was usually hung in the lobby of the theatre during the run of the performance. This would be replaced by another composite created for the next production. It is assumed that all of the composites were returned to Westervelt when the Theatre closed.