[Capdist-announce] PR: WAM Theatre summer benefit features Jayne Atkinson and panel of award-winning artist/activists

Mon Jun 23 21:04:12 EDT 2014

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

Contact: Kristen van Ginhoven Artistic Director, WAM Theatre

www.wamtheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank>

kristen at wamtheatre.com; 518 243 9627

Press Photos can be found at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157645322064232

*Jayne Atkinson to Host WAM Theatre Benefit, Change Makers, *

*on August 24 at the Mahaiwe*

*Theatre company marks fifth anniversary season with panel discussion and
reception featuring extraordinary artists working for positive social
change*

LEE, MA (6/24/14) – WAM (Women’s Action Movement) Theatre will celebrate
its fifth season on Sunday, August 24, with *Change Makers*, 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.

The evening’s host, Berkshire resident Jayne Atkinson, is best known for
her roles in the series *House of Cards*, *Criminal Minds*, and *24*, and
for her Tony-Award-nominated turns on Broadway in *The Rainmaker* and
*Enchanted
April*. Atkinson served as the co-producer and host of WAM Theatre’s 2013
benefit, *Claiming Her Place*. Earlier this year she directed and
co-produced the sold-out *Motherhood Out Loud* benefit event.

Says Atkinson, “I am thrilled to host *Change Makers*, 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.”

An exceptional group of award-winning artist/activists who promote social
justice and human rights through their work comprise the *Change Makers*
panel:

*Jessica Blank* is author (with Erik Jensen) of *The Exonerated*, 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 *Aftermath*, 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, *How to be a Rock Critic*, 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 *Made in Jersey* (CBS). Other TV includes *The
Mentalist*, *Bored to Death*, *Rescue Me*, *Law & Order: CI*. Film
includes *The
Namesake* (dir. Mira Nair) and several indies; she has four films coming
out in 2014.

*Winter Miller* is an award-winning playwright and founding member of the
Obie-recognized collective 13 Playwrights. Her drama *In Darfur* was
inspired by what she saw as *New York Times* 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. *In Darfur* 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 *The
Penetration Play*, *The Arrival*, *Paternity*, *Amandine* and *Seed*.

*John Stanmeyer*, a Berkshire-based photographer, has worked extensively
with *National Geographic* 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,
*Questions
Without Answers* (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.

*Cynthia Wade *won the Academy Award in 2008 for her short documentary
*Freeheld*, 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 *Mondays
at Racine*, about a hair salon that caters to women undergoing
chemotherapy. Her Clio-winning 2014 short film *Selfie* (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 *Today
Show*. 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.

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.

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.”

Tickets to *Change Makers*, a panel discussion and celebration of WAM
Theatre’s fifth season, can be purchased in person or by calling the
Mahaiwe box office at 413.528.0100 or at www.mahaiwe.org

*Change Makers*, WAM Theatre’s fifth season celebration, benefit, and panel
discussion on creating positive change through the arts, hosted by actress
Jayne Atkinson.

*Date & Time*

Sunday, August 24 at 7 pm

*Location*

The Mahaiwe Center for the Performing Arts, 14 Castle Street, Great
Barrington, MA

*Ticket prices*

*Premium seating – Gold:* $125; includes post-show reception with the
artist/panelists on the Mahaiwe stage.

*Premium seating - Silver:* $75; includes $25 donation to WAM Theatre’s
education program

*Reserved seating:* $35 if purchased by July 31; $50 on or after August 1

Tickets can be purchased online at www.mahaiwe.org, in person or by calling
the box office at 413.528.1800.

*Lead sponsors*

Berkshire Magazine; Cohen Kinne Valicenti Cook, Attorneys; Greylock Federal
Credit Union; Gogel & Gogel Law Firm

*Additional sponsors*

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.

*About WAM Theatre*

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.

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 www.WAMTheatre.

Kristen van Ginhoven
*Artistic Director*
WAM Theatre
518-243-9627

Celebrating our Fifth Season!

Check out the newly redesigned website: www.WAMTheatre.com
<http://www.wamtheatre.com>

Up Next: August 18/*Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England*- Fresh
Takes Play Reading Series <http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes/>

Click here <http://www.wamtheatre.com/donate/> to make a secure donation to
WAM Theatre

*Thank you for your support!*
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