[Capdist-announce] PR: WAM Theatre ends year with sold out houses and $3400 donation

Mon Dec 2 12:19:12 EST 2013

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

Press images available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157635251271398/>

Contacts:

Kimberly Rawson, Publicist, (413) 445-4467; karawson at gmail.com

Kelly Galvin, Assistant to the Artistic Director, (518) 243-9627;
kelly at wamtheatre.com

*WAM Theatre ends year with sold out houses and $3,400 donation to Emilie
beneficiary*

*2013 season brings successful collaborations and educational outreach for
WAM *

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (December 2, 2013) — WAM Theatre made a gift presentation
of $3,400 to the Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program for Girls (ROPE)
following the sold-out closing performance of *Emilie: La Marquise du
Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight* by Lauren Gunderson on Sunday, November
24 at 2pm.

Over 800 people enjoyed the performance, which led to three sold out houses
and WAM Theatre’s largest donation yet to a beneficiary. ROPE is WAM’s
sixth beneficiary, having donated funds from previous productions to Shout
Out Loud Productions, Berkshire United Way’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Initiative, Edna’s Hospital in Somaliland, The Women’s Fund of Western
Massachusetts and Women for Women International.

The $3,400 gift presentation to ROPE, a skills based program for young
women in Berkshire County with a particular focus on young women of color,
will fully fund the Northeast college tour taken by ROPE participants at
the culmination of their program. ROPE was founded and is run by Pittsfield
community leader Shirley Edgerton.

WAM’s production of *Emilie* opened on Nov. 9 to critical accolade and
enthusiastic audience response, both at the performances and on social
media. *Emilie* is “totally entertaining ... stunningly beautiful … and
brilliantly staged,” says Berkshire On Stage and Screen.

Jeffrey Borak of The Berkshire Eagle praised it as “….highly
imaginative…highly theatrical…”

“It is wonderful, wonderful – did I say wonderful? ... This play
is extraordinary, a must see,” says Richard DiMaggio of Did You Weekend?

“*Emilie* is a fascinating play for those whose interests go deeper than
the fluff so often served up today. For characters who have depth, feeling
and intelligence, there’s no better evening of theatre that I can think
of,” note Gail M. Burns and Larry Murray of Berkshire On Stage and Screen
in a joint review.

The Northeast regional premiere of “Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends
Her Life Tonight”, written by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Kristen van
Ginhoven, ran from Nov. 7 through 24 at the St. Germain Stage in the
Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden St., Pittsfield.

*2013 Season*

The 2013 season for WAM began in February with “10x10on10”, a collaboration
with Alchemy Initiative and the “One Billion Rising Dance Party”, a
collaboration with various community organizations including the Elizabeth
Freeman Center and HAVEN, both part of the 10x10 Festival in Pittsfield.

March brought the “Half the Sky” Film Screening and Panel, as part of the
Berkshire Festival of Writers, co-presented with Sisters for Peace at the
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.

May showcased the 3rd Annual 24hr Berkshire/Capital Region 24hr Project,
co-produced with the Mop & Bucket Improv Theatre Company and hosted by
Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady.

Summer brought WAM Theatre’s first benefit evening, “Claiming Her Place”,
hosted by Jayne Atkinson at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great
Barrington. A celebrity panel, featuring Lauren Ambrose, Michael Gill,
Marin Mazzie, Linus Roache and Debra Jo Rupp, discussed the challenges
women face in the entertainment industry.

The year ended with audiences raving about WAM Theatre’s critically
acclaimed Northeast regional premiere of *Emilie*, calling it ‘"everything
I want in a theatre experience.”

WAM Theatre also launched an Education Outreach program in 2013 that
included two projects: an afterschool theatre project at Girls Inc. in
Pittsfield and an educational outreach program related to their production
of *Emilie* that included five participating organizations, BART Charter
School, Flying Cloud Institute, Girls Inc., Multicultural BRIDGE and ROPE,
and brought nearly 100 underserved audience members into the theatre.

“We are extremely delighted by the success of our 2013 season”, said
Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven. “Sincere thanks go to all who
support our work and made it possible for us to have such an impact this
year. We are excited to launch into our five-year anniversary season next
year!”

Established in 2009, WAM Theatre is a comparative newcomer to the area’s
performing arts scene. Under the artistic direction of van Ginhoven, the
company has rapidly become a strong community presence through its mission
to create theatre for everyone that benefits women and girls. “In a
relatively short time, WAM has sent shockwaves throughout the Berkshire
theatre community,” notes Berkshire Fine Arts in a recent review. WAM
Theatre has been hailed for its “superb casts, equal of any we see at the
four major theaters in the summer” (Berkshire On Stage and Screen) and its
unique dual mission: “Two birds, one stone; theatre for cause, cause for
theatre” (Did You Weekend?).

*About WAM Theatre*

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 2010 by professional theatre artists Kristen van Ginhoven and Leigh
Strimbeck.

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 2010, WAM Theatre has donated more than $10,500 to its beneficiaries.
For more information, see 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

*Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight* playing November
7-24<http://www.wamtheatre.com/emilie-the-marquise-du-chatelet-defends-her-life-tonight/>

Click here <http://www.wamtheatre.com/donate/> to make a secure donation to
WAM Theatre
*Thanks for your support!*
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