<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><p style="text-align:right"><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</b></p>
<p style="text-align:right">Contact: Kristen van Ginhoven Artistic Director, WAM Theatre</p>
<p style="text-align:right"><span><a href="http://www.wamtheatre.com%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank" target="_blank">www.wamtheatre.com</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:right"><span><a href="mailto:kristen@wamtheatre.com" target="_blank">kristen@wamtheatre.com</a></span><span>; <a href="tel:518%20243%209627" value="+15182439627" target="_blank">518 243 9627</a></span></p>
<p style="text-align:right">Press Photos can be found at:</p>
<p style="text-align:right"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157645322064232" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157645322064232</a></span><span> </span></p>
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<p style="text-align:center"><b>Jayne Atkinson to Host WAM Theatre Benefit, <i>Change Makers</i>, </b></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><b>on August 24 at the Mahaiwe</b></p>
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<p style="text-align:center"><i>Theatre company marks fifth anniversary season with panel discussion and reception featuring extraordinary artists working for positive social change</i></p>
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<p>LEE, MA (6/24/14) – WAM (Women’s Action Movement) Theatre will celebrate its fifth season on Sunday, August 24, with <i>Change Makers</i>, an exciting and relevant evening hosted by acclaimed actress Jayne Atkinson. The celebration is centered on a dynamic panel discussion moderated by WAM Theatre artistic director Kristen van Ginhoven featuring artists whose work catalyzes positive social change. The celebration and benefit, taking place at the Mahaiwe Center for the Performing Arts in Great Barrington, will also include a sneak peek of WAM Theatre’s fall production and the announcement of the beneficiary of this year’s philanthropic donation.</p>
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<p>The evening’s host, Berkshire resident Jayne Atkinson, is best known for her roles in the series <i>House of Cards</i>, <i>Criminal Minds</i>, and <i>24</i>, and for her Tony-Award-nominated turns on Broadway in <i>The Rainmaker</i> and <i>Enchanted April</i>. Atkinson served as the co-producer and host of WAM Theatre’s 2013 benefit, <i>Claiming Her Place</i>. Earlier this year she directed and co-produced the sold-out <i>Motherhood Out Loud</i> benefit event.</p>
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<p>Says Atkinson, “I am thrilled to host <i>Change Makers</i>, which features a meaningful discussion by accomplished, passionate artists making a difference in the world. This timely benefit event is in keeping with the activist mission of WAM Theatre, and it’s also aligned with my own views of how theatre and the other arts can be more than entertainment and move people to take action.”</p>
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<p>An exceptional group of award-winning artist/activists who promote social justice and human rights through their work comprise the <i>Change Makers</i> panel:</p>
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<p><b>Jessica Blank</b> is author (with Erik Jensen) of <i>The Exonerated</i>, a play based on interviews with wrongly convicted death row inmates (Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Ovation, Fringe First, Herald Angel awards); they also adapted the film starring Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover. Their play <i>Aftermath</i>, based on interviews with Iraqi civilian refugees, ran at New York Theatre Workshop, toured internationally, and garnered two Drama League award nominations. Their new play, <i>How to be a Rock Critic</i>, will be at CTG and South Coast Rep next season; they have television projects in development with Fox TV Studios, Fox 21, and Condé Nast. As an actor Jessica appeared regularly on <i>Made in Jersey</i> (CBS). Other TV includes <i>The Mentalist</i>, <i>Bored to Death</i>, <i>Rescue Me</i>, <i>Law & Order: CI</i>. Film includes <i>The Namesake</i> (dir. Mira Nair) and several indies; she has four films coming out in 2014.</p>
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<p><b>Winter Miller</b> is an award-winning playwright and founding member of the Obie-recognized collective 13 Playwrights. Her drama <i>In Darfur</i> was inspired by what she saw as <i>New York Times</i> columnist Nicholas Kristof’s researcher at the start of the genocide in Darfur in 2004. She then traveled with Kristof to villages and refugee camps along the Chad/Sudan border after winning the 2006 "Two-Headed Challenge" commission from the Guthrie Theater and the Playwrights’ Center. <i>In Darfur</i> premiered at The Public Theater for a sold-out run; a subsequent staged reading in the Public's 1800-seat Delacorte Theater in Central Park – a first for a play by a woman – drew a standing-room-only crowd. Miller's plays include <i>The Penetration Play</i>, <i>The Arrival</i>, <i>Paternity</i>, <i>Amandine</i> and <i>Seed</i>. </p>
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<p><b>John Stanmeyer</b>, a Berkshire-based photographer, has worked extensively with <i>National Geographic</i> over the past decade. He has long focused on exposing social injustice, eradicating global poverty, promoting human rights, and raising awareness of vanishing cultures. His latest book, <i>Questions Without Answers</i> (Phaedon, 2012), chronicles the past 30 years of global conflict and change. Stanmeyer has received numerous honors for photojournalism, including the Robert Capa, NPPA, and National Magazine awards, and, most recently, the World Press Award, the most prestigious global recognition in photojournalism. </p>
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<p><b>Cynthia Wade </b>won the Academy Award in 2008 for her short documentary <i>Freeheld</i>, about a dying policewoman’s fight to leave her pension to her female life partner. Wade is now producing the Hollywood adaptation of this story, which stars Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, and Zach Galifianakis. In 2013 Wade received her second Oscar nomination for her HBO documentary <i>Mondays at Racine</i>, about a hair salon that caters to women undergoing chemotherapy. Her Clio-winning 2014 short film <i>Selfie</i> (shot at Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington), about girls’ body image and social media, went viral, capturing five million views within the first ten days of its internet launch and earned Wade and her subjects a slot on the <i>Today Show</i>. Wade’s work has been seen on HBO, Cinemax, PBS, MTV, Discovery, History Channel, A&E, Oxygen and LOGO; she has won more than 45 film awards worldwide. </p>
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<p>Van Ginhoven will engage the panelists in a discussion exploring art as a means to address social justice. The panelists will discuss their perspectives on the role of artist as activist and share stories of the challenges they have faced – and overcome – while using their art to explore daunting issues at home and across the world. </p>
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<p>Says van Ginhoven, “As an organization whose aims are to effect positive change through theatre, I couldn’t be more excited that this fifth season benefit celebration will showcase extraordinary artists striving to make the world a better place. Given the experience and caliber of the panelists, we are looking forward to sharing a meaningful and inspirational evening with our audience.”</p>
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<p>Tickets to <i>Change Makers</i>, a panel discussion and celebration of WAM Theatre’s fifth season, can be purchased in person or by calling the Mahaiwe box office at <a href="tel:413.528.0100" value="+14135280100" target="_blank">413.528.0100</a> or at <a href="http://www.mahaiwe.org" target="_blank">www.mahaiwe.org</a></p>
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<p><b><i>Change Makers</i></b>, WAM Theatre’s fifth season celebration, benefit, and panel discussion on creating positive change through the arts, hosted by actress Jayne Atkinson.</p>
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<p><b>Date & Time</b></p>
<p>Sunday, August 24 at 7 pm </p>
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<p><b>Location</b></p>
<p>The Mahaiwe Center for the Performing Arts, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA</p>
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<p><b>Ticket prices</b></p>
<p><i>Premium seating – Gold:</i> $125; includes post-show reception with the artist/panelists on the Mahaiwe stage.</p>
<p><i>Premium seating - Silver:</i> $75; includes $25 donation to WAM Theatre’s education program</p>
<p><i>Reserved seating:</i> $35 if purchased by July 31; $50 on or after August 1</p>
<p>Tickets can be purchased online at <a href="http://www.mahaiwe.org" target="_blank">www.mahaiwe.org</a>, in person or by calling the box office at <a href="tel:413.528.1800" value="+14135281800" target="_blank">413.528.1800</a>. </p>
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<p><b>Lead sponsors</b></p>
<p>Berkshire Magazine; Cohen Kinne Valicenti Cook, Attorneys; Greylock Federal Credit Union; Gogel & Gogel Law Firm</p>
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<p><b>Additional sponsors</b></p>
<p>Blue Q; Briarcliff Motel; Canyon Ranch; Cohen + White Associates; John Gotterer; DMD, Nina Molin, MD; Lenox Village Integrative Pharmancy; Rogovoy Report; Rook Wood Inn; Rouge Restaurant & Bistro. Fifth season events also partially supported by the Alford-Egremont, Pittsfield, Otis and Stockbridge Cultural Councils.</p>
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<p><b>About WAM Theatre</b></p>
<p>Based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, WAM (Women’s Action Movement) Theatre was co-founded in 2010 by Canadian director, actor, educator and producer Kristen van Ginhoven, who was inspired to take action by the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. 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. </p>
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<p>Over the past five years, WAM Theatre has donated more than $10,500 to six nonprofit organizations that help women and girls, and provided paid work to more than 100 theatre artists. In its fifth year, artistic director van Ginhoven has expanded WAM Theatre’s activities to include more performances in various venues, including educational outreach and the new Fresh Takes Play Reading Series at No. Six Depot Roastery and Café in West Stockbridge. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.WAMTheatre" target="_blank">www.WAMTheatre</a>.</p>
<br clear="all"><div><div dir="ltr">Kristen van Ginhoven<div><i>Artistic Director</i></div><div>WAM Theatre<br></div><div><div><a href="tel:518-243-9627" value="+15182439627" target="_blank">518-243-9627</a></div><div><br>
Celebrating our Fifth Season!</div><div><br></div><div>Check out the newly redesigned website: <a href="http://www.wamtheatre.com" target="_blank">www.WAMTheatre.com</a><br>
</div><div><br></div><div>Up Next: August 18/<i>Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England</i>- <a href="http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes/" target="_blank">Fresh Takes Play Reading Series</a></div><div><div><br><div>
<a href="http://www.wamtheatre.com/donate/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to make a secure donation to WAM Theatre</div><div><br><i>Thank you for your support!</i></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div>
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