[Capdist-announce] RELEASE: WAM Announces 2012 Season plus AD goes to Stratford

Wed Feb 8 10:31:45 EST 2012

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

upon receipt

*Contact: Corissa Bryant
*

*www.wamtheatre.com*

*413.652.2349*

*kristen at wamtheatre.com <kaitlynkristen at wamtheatre.com>*

* *

*Photos available at:*

* http://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre *

*WAM Theatre announces 2012 Season *

*24hr Project, WordxWord Festival, The Old Mezzo plus AD goes to Stratford*

After a successful second year that included presenting *The O Solo Mama
Mia Festival*, which benefited the training of a community midwife at
Edna’s Hospital in Somaliland, the first *24hr Capital Region/Berkshires
Theatre Project, *which involved over 50 theatre artists,* *and *The Attic,
The Pearls and Three Fine Girls *which led to a $1750 donation to the
Berkshire United Ways’ Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative,* *WAM Theatre
is pleased to announce it’s 2012 Season.

The second* 24hr Berkshires/Capital Region Theatre Project*, co-produced
with MOPCO, will take place on April 13 + 14 at Shakespeare and Company in
the Bernstein Theatre complex with a public performance taking place at 8pm
on Saturday, April 14. It will again involve over 50 professional theatre
artists from the Berkshires of MA and the Capital Region of NY and will
showcase five new works by women playwrights with everything written,
rehearsed and performed in 24hrs. For more info:
http://www.wamtheatre.com/2012-24hr-berkshirescapital-region-theatre-project/

In August, WAM will create a new piece of devised theatre entitled ‘Women &
Technology’ during the WordxWord Festival in Pittsfield. WAM will spend
five days as artists in residence, opening up the devising process to the
public and completing their residency by presenting a public performance of
the material created during the festival. The piece will center around the
impact of technology on young women’s lives and will include interviews
with community members as springboard material.  The project will be
directed by WAM co-founder Leigh Strimbeck and marks WAM’s official launch
of devising original works of ensemble theatre that center around issues of
importance in the lives of women. This project is sponsored in part by a
grant from the Pittsfield Cultural Council.

Jim Benson, founder of WordxWord and WAM Theatre board member says, “Part
of WordxWord’s mission is presenting new works, and new performers.  WAM’s
new project 'Women and Technology' is a perfect example of that.  This
piece will be current in real-time, and will have a lot to say about where
we are, and will question a lot of our assumptions about what role
technology and staying current with technology is doing to us.”

In the fall of 2012 WAM will present the World Premiere of *The Old
Mezzo*by Berkshire based writer Susan Dworkin. The play concerns
the political awakening of a great opera singer, who must risk her fame and
success to preserve the freedom that is so essential to the arts. The
beneficiary for this production will be a Berkshire based women’s
organization. Ms. Dworkin is best known for her books *The Viking in the
Wheat Field* and *The Nazi Officer’s Wife *as well as her play *All Day
Suckers*.

Kristen van Ginhoven, WAM’s Artistic Director says, “We look forward to
collaborating with more local professional artists in the 24hr Project, to
creating our first official devised theatre project at the WordxWord
Festival and to ending our third season with the World Premiere of a play
by a local playwright that will benefit a local women’s organization. We
are so grateful for all the incredible support WAM has received since
launching two years ago and are excited for the WAM Adventure to continue
in 2012!”

Additionally WAM announces that Artistic Director, Kristen van Ginhoven,
has been selected for a spot in the Stratford Festival of Canada’s Michael
Langham Workshop for Classical Direction. While at Stratford Kristen will
assistant direct 42nd Street, directed by Gary Griffin. Link to Stratford
Press Release: *http://www.stratfordfestival.ca/media/media.aspx?id=646<http://www.wamtheatre.com/blog/wams-artistic-director-goes-to-stratford/>
*

“The WAM Theatre Board congratulates Kristen on this prestigious
opportunity”, says Nick Webb, President of the Board. “We look forward to
all she will bring to WAM from her time at the Stratford Shakespeare
Festival.”

For more information: www.WAMTheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com/>

ABOUT WAM Theatre:

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. WAM's philanthropic mission is two-fold; first, producing
theatrical events for everyone, with a focus on women theatre artists
and/or the stories of women and girls; second, to donate a portion of
proceeds from those events to organizations that benefit women and girls.
WAM Theatre is based in the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Capital
Region of New York State. www.WAMTheatre.com

###

Kristen van Ginhoven
Artistic Director, WAM Theatre
518-243-9627
www.WAMTheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com>
http://www.facebook.com/WAMTheatre
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