<div dir="ltr"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></b><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">
<p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Press images
available at </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157635251271398/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">http://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157635251271398/</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Contacts: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Kimberly Rawson,
Publicist, <a href="tel:%28413%29%20445-4467" value="+14134454467" target="_blank">(413) 445-4467</a>; </span><a href="mailto:karawson@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">karawson@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Kelly Galvin,
Assistant to the Artistic Director, <a href="tel:%28518%29%20243-9627" value="+15182439627" target="_blank">(518) 243-9627</a>; </span><a href="mailto:kelly@wamtheatre.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">kelly@wamtheatre.com</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">WAM THEATRE LAUNCHES EDUCATION OUTREACH WITH TWO FALL
PROGRAMS </span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center"><br></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">Pittsfield,
MA- (09-16-13) WAM Theatre is delighted to announce the launch of their
education outreach with two fall projects: a fall residency at Girls Inc. of
Pittsfield and an educational outreach program related to their fall production
of <i>Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet
Defends Her Life Tonight</i> by Lauren Gunderson that involves five local
organizations that work with underserved communities. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">“Theatre education
is part of our background so I’m particularly thrilled to launch these programs
as part of WAM Theatre’s fourth year in operation as a professional theatre
company,” says Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven. “We are very thankful to
the sponsors who are making this possible and the participating organizations
for collaborating with us on this exciting new step for our company.”</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">Girls Inc. Project</span></b></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">From
September to December, WAM Theatre will work with Girls Inc. of Pittsfield participants
to create</span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> an original piece of theatre that explores the impact of technology and
social media on young women’s lives. The project will be part of the Girls Inc.
after-school program and will be taught by WAM Theatre actor and teaching
artist Barby Cardillo. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">This project is an
extension of the ‘like/unlike’ project created and directed by WAM Theatre co-founder
Leigh Strimbeck while the company was in residence at the 2012 WordxWord
Festival. This next phase of the project continues the discussion on how living
and relating online, both anonymously and publicly, affects us, including how
it may be working for or against us as individuals, families, and communities. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">“We
are very excited to offer this amazing program to the girls we serve,” says Kristen
Shepardson, program officer at </span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Gladys
Allen Brigham Community Center, where the Girls Inc. program is offered.</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times"> </span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">“This program will teach them the
skills they need to help them use social media in a positive and imaginative
way, which is perfectly aligned with our mission to focus on empowering young
people, in particular young women.” </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times"></span></p><p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">The main teaching
artist for this project will be Barby Cardillo. </span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Ms. Cardillo is a
professional performer and teaching artist. She has been creating and directing
drama workshops and productions since 1992 throughout Berkshire County and has
been working with WAM Theatre since 2010. With Shakespeare & Company in
Lenox she has directed many productions in Western Massachusetts middle and
high schools and worked for the Shakespeare in the Courts program for six
years. She spent ten years as the Director of the Theatre Program at Camp Hawthorne
in Maine and eight years as the drama instructor at the Valley Head School, a
residential treatment facility for girls aged 12-20 in Berkshire County. Ms.
Cardillo has worked for many years with Community Access to the Arts (CATA) and
with the Barrington Stage Company where she leads groups of at risk youth in
creating theatre from their own stories as part of the award-winning Playwright
Mentoring Project.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">This
residency is generously sponsored by Brabson Library & Educational
Foundation, Greylock Federal Credit Union, and the Pittsfield Cultural Council.
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">Emilie</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> Educational Outreach Project</span></b></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">As the recipient of a Mass
Humanities grant, WAM Theatre will create integrative age appropriate (12-20)
engagement opportunities around the issues and themes present in their November
production of <i>Emilie: La Marquise Du
Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight </i>for five local participating
organizations. The organizations are BART Charter School in Adams; Flying Cloud
Institute in Great Barrington; Girls Inc. of Pittsfield; Multicultural BRIDGE based
in Lee and the Rites of Passage and Empowerment for Girls Program based in
Pittsfield. The focus themes will be women and The Age of Enlightenment and
gender notions throughout history. The engagement opportunities for the
participants include a social media campaign, an education study guide, information
boards in the lobby, age-appropriate program notes and pre-show information
sessions.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Scholars involved in this
project include: Dr. Amy Holzapfel, Associate Professor of Theatre, Williams
College, Dr. Jennifer de Browdy Hernandez, Associate Professor of Comparative
Literature, Media Studies and Gender Studies, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and
playwright Lauren Gunderson.<i></i></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">This project will result
in the participants attending the play and participating in a final post-show
discussion led by the scholars and WAM artists. The production will be
presented from November 7 through November 24, 2013 at St. Germain Stage in the
Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden St. in Pittsfield. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">There will be two student
matinees on Friday, November 15 and 22 at noon. Tickets for these matinees are
$10 for students and can be reserved at </span><a href="http://www.WAMTheatre.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">www.WAMTheatre.com</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> or by
calling <a href="tel:1-800-838-3006" value="+18008383006" target="_blank">1-800-838-3006</a>.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><i><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Participating Organizations</span></i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">BART Charter School</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">BART is a
nationally recognized, award-winning, tuition-free public middle and high
school focused on preparing students for college. One hundred percent of BART’s
graduates have passed a college course and have been accepted into college
prior to graduation. </span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">BART’s mission is to prepare students for college
by promoting mastery of academic skills and content with a strong foundation in
the arts and technology. Their students come from 15 different communities
across Berkshire County, a county known for its exceptional cultural
institutions. BART students represent a largely underserved student population;
55% are low-income, 20% receive special education services, 10% are involved in
foster care and only 20% have a parent who has graduated from college.</span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p><p style="background-repeat:initial initial"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"><br>
</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Flying Cloud Institute</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Flying
Cloud Institute’s goal is to help children from ages 5 through 18 discover and
develop their interest and skill in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
(STEM) through a unique and exciting program which uses visual and performing
arts, environmental studies and close connections with STEM professionals to
inspire and stimulate creative thinking and problem solving. FCI's Young Women
in Science focuses particularly on bringing girls to STEM by engaging them in
laboratory experiences under the supervision of professionals in the STEM
fields who inspire them to reach their full potential.</span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Times"></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p><p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Girls Inc. </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Girls Inc. of Pittsfield
is an affiliate of National Girls Incorporated, a nonprofit organization
dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold. The Pittsfield
program shares this mission and offers innovative programs that help girls
confront subtle societal messages about their value and potential, and prepare
them to lead successful, independent and fulfilling lives.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.1pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Multicultural BRIDGE</span></p><p style="margin-top:0.1pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0.1pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Multicultural BRIDGE is a grassroots minority
and women run non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cultural
competence and integration of diverse groups in Western Massachusetts as an SDP
(State Certified 'Supplier Diversity Program'). Their work includes BRIDGE's
Women To Women Project supporting and empowering diverse women and young women
identifying and addressing cultural and systemic issues surrounding:
women’s education, women's professional development, women in leadership roles,
domestic violence/sexual assault and women's health and wellness. BRIDGE
has worked with corporations, schools, colleges and universities, law
enforcement, hospitals, teaching and leadership institutes to promote women and
women’s issues. </span></p><p style="margin-top:0.1pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">Rites of Passage and Empowerment
for Girls Program </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">A project spearheaded by community leader Shirley Edgerton that
celebrates and honors the entry of adolescent girls into womanhood and provides
them the skills and knowledge to be successful, independent, and responsible.
This initiative emphasizes the discovery of inner voice, cultural awareness and
self-development in the participants. It is </span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">designed
to celebrate all young women with a particular focus on young women of color.</span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Times"></span></p><p><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">WAM Theatre’s educational
outreach project is sponsored by a grant from Mass Humanities with additional sponsorship
provided by Berkshire Bank Foundation and Interprint.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">For more information about
WAM Theatre go to </span><a href="http://www.WAMTheatre.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial">www.WAMTheatre.com</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></b></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">About WAM
Theatre</span></b></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)">
</span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial">WAM (Women’s Action Movement) Theatre is based in the
Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Capital Region of New York State. Inspired
by the book “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women
Worldwide” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, WAM Theatre was founded in
2009 by professional theatre artists Kristen van Ginhoven and Leigh Strimbeck. </span></p><p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p>
<p style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial">WAM Theatre’s philanthropic mission is two-fold: first, to
create theatrical events for everyone, with a focus on women theatre artists
and/or stories of women and girls; and second, to donate a portion of the
proceeds from those events to organizations that benefit women and girls. Since
2009, WAM Theatre has donated more than $7,000 to its beneficiaries. For more
information, see </span><a href="http://www.WAMTheatre.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">www.WAMTheatre.com</span></a><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial">.</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"> </span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-bottom:12pt;text-align:center"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(26,26,26)"># # #</span></p>
<div>Kristen van Ginhoven<br><a href="http://www.kristenvanginhoven.com" target="_blank">www.kristenvanginhoven.com</a><br><a href="http://www.wamtheatre.com" target="_blank">www.WAMTheatre.com</a><br><a href="http://www.facebook.com/WAMTheatre" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/WAMTheatre</a><br>
<br><a href="http://www.wamtheatre.com/donate/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to make a secure donation to WAM Theatre<br>
<i>Thanks for your support!</i><br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>
</div>
</div><br></div>