[Capdist-announce] PRESS RELEASE: WAM Theatre Announces New Hires and Board Members

[Gail Burns]

January 25, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gail Burns, Marketing and Publicity Associate

www.wamtheatre.com

pr at wamtheatre.com; 413.274.8122

Production photos available at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/albums/72157687450162660

WAM Announces Expansion of Theatre Leadership

New Hires and Board Members Join Award-Winning Theatre

LEE, MA [January 25, 2018] — WAM Theatre embarks on its ninth season with
the announcement of two new members of the WAM Leadership Team and three
new members of its Board of Directors.  Talya Kingston has been named
Associate Artistic Director, and Max Galdos-Shapiro will join WAM as
General Manager. Together with Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven and
Philanthropy and Outreach Coordinator Gwendolyn Tunnicliffe, they comprise
the leadership team at WAM Theatre. Newly appointed to WAM’s Board of
Directors are Lynn Festa, Wendy Healey, and Arwen Lowbridge.

“We are incredibly proud to have created two new leadership positions at
WAM Theatre,” said Kristen van Ginhoven, Artistic Director. “As a growing
company, we were amazed by the number of remarkable resumes we received for
these two roles. There are many talented theatre professionals in our area
who are ready and eager for leadership growth. We feel lucky to have added
Talya and Max to our team, and we hope more pathways to leadership open up
in the future.”

WAM Theatre worked with consultant Joan Coombs from Noble Work Consulting
to create a thoughtful and intentional interview process. A blind
submission process, neutral interview questions, and a researched scoring
system were used to ensure equity in the final decision-making.

Originally from Britain, Talya Kingston is a dramaturg, playwright, and
educator with a particular interest in new play development and theatre for
social change. Prior to joining WAM, she was a Visiting Professor of
Theatre at Hampshire College.  She has also held the positions of Education
Director at Hartford Stage and of Educational Programs Coordinator at the
New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco.

Talya’s writing on theatre has appeared in Theater Journal, The Moving Voice,
European Stages, HowlRound, and the Valley Advocate. She is a member of
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and the Northampton
Playwrights Lab, and holds an MFA in dramaturgy from the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst.

“I'm thrilled to join WAM at a time when it is more important than ever to
empower women and girls by listening to their stories,” Kingston explained.
“I have spent 20 years working at the intersection of theatre and
education, and I believe that theatre is a powerful medium to inspire
empathy, incite conversation, and activate change.  Above all, I love a
good story well told, and the community that is created in its telling.”

Max Galdos-Shapiro is a Berkshire-based educator and theater-maker with
experience in both creative and technical work. His recent credits include
serving as Production Manager for WAM Theatre’s production of The Last Wife
and Assistant Director for Passage, a new play written and produced by
Kickwheel Ensemble Theater. When not in the theater, Max works as an
environmental educator teaching ecology and outdoor skills to young people.

“WAM not only tells important and compelling stories, but also does this
while supporting women and girls both locally and abroad,” Galdos-Shapiro
said. “At a time when the fight for gender rights is at the forefront of
our societal consciousness, I am delighted to have this opportunity to be a
part of the WAM team.”

“For 2018, we are also excited to welcome two new board members, Wendy
Healey and Arwen Lowbridge, and also announce Lynn Festa, who joined our
board in 2017,” said van Ginhoven. “Wendy, Lynn, and Arwen all bring
important expertise and deep passion for our mission. They, along with
Board President Tammy Valicenti and Vice President Christopher Buono, will
be instrumental in helping WAM reach the next step in our growth as an
organization where arts and activism meet.”

Lynn Festa OTR, CHT, CDWF has been a certified hand therapist since 1995,
and has been a clinician in a variety of settings for over 29 years. She
combines her work as an OT/CHT with providing training to other health care
providers in promoting wellness and limiting burnout. Lynn has given
national presentations and webinars on this topic, and runs workshops with
an emphasis on empathy and compassion, using evidence-based studies and
strategies. She attained her certificate in positive psychology from the
Wholebeing Institute, and is a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator through
The Daring Way™. She has also completed life-coach training through the
Martha Beck Institute. She is a Clinical Consultant at Berkshire Hand to
Shoulder Center and is the owner of Health Professional Coaching, LLC. She
resides in Lenox with her husband. With her free time, she loves the
outdoors, open water swimming, singing, and learning to play the piano. She
is also a board member of the Berkshire Music School. Lynn is grateful for
the years of theatre experience as a teenager and college student and is
thrilled to be a part of WAM’s mission to promote the many benefits theatre
provides to girls of all ages.



Wendy Healey has been in the banking and financial technology business for
over 20 years.  She has worked for Lee Bank since December of 2015. She has
been active with local chambers of commerce her entire career and has
served on the board of three of them, as well as serving as the President
of the Avon Chamber of Commerce. Wendy has a Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of Connecticut where she majored in English Literature, as
well as a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of
Connecticut. She grew up as an Army brat and a musician. She played both
the piano and the oboe in high school, and still likes to practice her
piano music. Wendy lives in an 1832 home on an old dairy farm in Colebrook,
CT with her partner Scott and their three rescue dogs. She loves spending
time around the house, doing projects both inside and out. Wendy enjoys
history and family genealogy. She is looking forward to serving on the
board of WAM because it aligns well with her appreciation of the arts and
interest in supporting girls and women.

Arwen Lowbridge has been in the performing arts since age five, when she
started studying dance. She had a twenty-year career in the non-profit arts
world that began with live performance and spanned to include theatrical
production, arts administration, non-profit management, fundraising, grant
writing, teaching, and mentoring young artists. She earned her BFA in
Acting with honors from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Certificate in
Fundraising & Development from Rollins College’s Crummer School of
Business. After many wonderful years in the arts, in 2015 she changed
directions to pursue her second passion: financial planning. She
established her financial planning practice for people who seek unbiased
advice and help with their important financial decisions. She is now a
Financial Advisor with Baystate Financial and is pursuing her Certified
Financial Planner (CFP) designation. In her current service to the
theatrical arts, she sits on the Board of Directors for the Brooklyn-based
play company, The Debate Society, and the Berkshires-based WAM Theatre. She
lives in the Berkshires with her husband and volunteers at the Berkshire
Botanical Gardens.

OUR SEASON SPONSORS

Our 2018 sponsors include Adams Community Bank, Baystate Financial,
Berkshire Bank Foundation, Berkshire Magazine, Berkshire Sterile
Manufacturing, Blue Q, Brabson Library & Educational Foundation, Canyon
Ranch, The Charles H. Hall Foundation, CMW Retirement Plan Services LLC,
Custom Business Solutions, The Dylandale Foundation, The Feigenbaum
Foundation, the Garden Gables Inn, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Guido’s
Fresh Marketplace, International Schools Theatre Association, Interprint,
Lee Bank, Massachusetts Cultural Council, J.H. Maxymillian, Inc.,
Methuselah Bar and Lounge, Natracare, No. Six Depot Roastery and Café, RB
Design Co., The Rookwood Inn, The Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation, Rouge
Restaurant & Bistro, Salisbury Bank, T Square Design Studio, Toole
Insurance, a. von schlegell & co.

WAM Theatre is also supported in part by grants from the Alford-Egremont
Cultural Council, Lenox Cultural Council, New Marlborough Cultural Council,
Pittsfield Cultural Council, Cultural Council of Northern Berkshires, Otis
Cultural Council, and Richmond Cultural Council – local agencies that are
supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

ABOUT WAM THEATRE

Based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, WAM Theatre is Where Arts and
Activism Meet. The company was co-founded in 2010 by Canadian director,
actor, educator, and producer Kristen van Ginhoven. WAM’s vision is to
create opportunity for women and girls through the mission of theatre as
philanthropy.

Inspired by the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for
Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, WAM donates a
portion of the proceeds from its theatrical events to organizations that
benefit women and girls.

Since 2010, WAM Theatre has donated more than $41,500 to thirteen nonprofit
organizations and provided paid work to more than 250 theatre artists. In
addition to the main stage productions and special events, WAM Theatre’s
activities include a comprehensive educational outreach program and the
Fresh Takes Play Reading Series. For more information, visit
www.WAMTheatre.com

###


-- 
Gail M. Burns

*Marketing + Publicity Associate*
www.WAMTheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com/>
413-274-8122

*Our 8th Season:*  <http://www.wamtheatre.com/special/>
Fresh Takes <http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes-2017/> | Emilie
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/emilie-remount-2017/>| Stars in the Orchard
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/stars-in-the-orchard-2017> | The Last Wife
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/the-last-wife/> | Leadership Summit
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/berkshire-leadership-summit-2017/>


Make a donation now <https://www.wamtheatre.com/donateonline/> to WAM
Theatre!
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