[Capdist-announce] PR: March 28 + 29 'Motherhood Out Loud' to benefit WAM Theatre and Festival of Women Writers

Sun Mar 23 19:28:19 EDT 2014

Contact: Heather Flemming

heather at jayne-atkinson.com; 413.717.5088

*Jayne Atkinson and Susan Rose bring Motherhood Out Loud to the Berkshires*

*A benefit production on March 28 and 29 for WAM Theatre and the Berkshire
Festival of Women Writers featuring Jane Kaczmarek (MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE)
and Michel Gill (HOUSE OF CARDS)*

Great Barrington, MA, MARCH 24, 2014 - Two-time Tony nominee *Jayne
Atkinson* *(CRIMINAL MINDS, HOUSE OF CARDS)* will direct a benefit
production of MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD at Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn
Theatre in Stockbridge on *March 28th and 29th* as part of the Berkshire
Festival of Women Writers. Proceeds from the production, co-produced by
Atkinson and *Susan Rose*, will benefit WAM Theatre and the Berkshire
Festival of Women Writers.

The cast will feature *Jane Kaczmarek* *(MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE* and the
upcoming FOX sitcom *HERE'S YOUR DAMN FAMILY)*, *Michel Gill* *(HOUSE OF
CARDS)* and local guest artists *Amber Chand, Tammy Denease, Tyler Malik,
Corinna May, Rachel Siegel and Barbara Sims.* After successful productions
across the country, including an off-Broadway run at Primary Stages in New
York City, this will be its Berkshire premiere.

Performances will be held on Friday, March 28th at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday,
March 29th at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. There will be a post-show champagne
reception following the final performance on Saturday.

Additionally, there will be a panel discussion following the Friday evening
and Saturday matinee performances. WAM Theatre Artistic Director *Kristen
van Ginhoven* will moderate a panel discussion delving further into the
challenges and choices surrounding motherhood today.

Friday evening the panel will feature best-selling author *Luanne
Rice,*who wrote one of the monologues featured in the production. Ms.
Rice is a New York Times bestselling author of thirty-one novels, most
recently *The Lemon Orchard*. A number of Rice's novels have been adapted
for television, including *Crazy in Love* for TNT, *Blue Moon* for CBS, the
Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations of *Follow the Stars Home* and *Silver
Bells*, and *Beach Girls* as a summer drama series for Lifetime Television.
There are over twenty-five million copies of her books in print, with
foreign editions in more than 20 countries.

Other featured panelists will include the cast members, producer Susan
Rose, associate producer *Robin Gorman Newman*, director Jayne Atkinson and
the four local writers who have contributed pieces specifically for this
production; *Suzi Banks Baum, Anni Crofut, Hope Fitzgerald and Jana Laiz*.

 "Motherhood Out Loud" conceived by Susan R. Rose *(JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING
TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, HURLYBURLY, BLOODKNOT)* and *Joan Stein* *(SIDE MAN,
THE NERD, THE LONESOME WEST)*, is a culturally and gender diverse series of
monologues on the subject of motherhood, written by a host of celebrated
writers. The monologues traverse the experience of motherhood from birth,
sexuality, growing up and letting go to the inevitable role reversal that
occurs as we find ourselves parenting our parents. Playwrights include
Pulitzer Prize winner *Beth Henley*, *SMASH* creator *Theresa Rebeck*,
and *Marco
Pennette*, Executive Producer of *DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, UGLY BETTY* and
*KIRSTIE*. As part of its Berkshire premiere, this run of MOTHERHOOD OUT
LOUD will include monologues from local mothers Suzi Banks Baum, Anni
Crofut, Hope Fitzgerald and Jana Laiz.

Tickets run $35 - $50 and can be purchased by visiting
motherhoodoutloud.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006.

*About the Producers*

*Jayne Atkinson-Gill* has lived in the Berkshires for 6 years. She is a
mother, wife, and actress. She can be seen most recently in the Netflix hit
series HOUSE OF CARDS. She has performed locally at the Berkshire Theater
Festival and Berkshire Playwrights Lab. She most recently collaborated with
Kristen van Ginhoven to produce their 2013 fundraiser "Claiming Her Place"
- a lively panel discussion about the inequities that still exist in the
entertainment industry for women performers along with what it means to
step up and claim your place in your life. In addition to acting, Ms.
Atkinson also runs Jadana Productions, which specializes in entertainment
development. Her other areas of expertise include coaching for
professionals in the area of public speaking and project presentation,
directing and teaching. More at www.jayne-atkinson.com

*Susan Rose* is an award-winning theatrical and film producer and a
co-conceiver of Motherhood Out Loud, which has enjoyed great acclaim all
over the country and now is being translated and performed in several
languages. Upon graduating from college, Rose produced JOSEPH AND THE
AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at Fords Theatre in 1980. When it arrived on
Broadway, Rose was the youngest person to have produced a Broadway show,
and it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. Her other
Broadway producing credits include David Rabe's HURLYBURLY (Tony Award
nomination, Best Play), Athol Fugard's BLOODKNOT (Tony Award nomination,
Best Revival of a Play), and Larry Shue's THE NERD. Susan joined forces
with Dan Paulson in 1996, and they have produced movies for CBS, NBC,
Showtime and Lifetime. Several of their films, "Cooler Climate" and "Jack"
have won Emmy awards and various nominations. www.susanroseproductions.com

*About WAM Theatre*

WAM (Women's Action Movement) Theatre was co-founded in 2010 by Artistic
Director Kristen van Ginhoven. Inspired by the book "Half the Sky: Turning
Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas Kristof and
Sheryl WuDunn, WAM Theatre is based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. 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

*About the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers *The annual Berkshire
Festival of Women Writers is a collaborative, multi-venue event sponsored
by Bard College at Simon's Rock with many local partners, celebrated
county-wide in the month of March, Women's History Month. From politics to
publishing, the voices of women and girls continue to be under-represented
in the public sphere.  The Festival counters this trend by creating
multiple platforms for women to step into the spotlight, share their words
and inspire others to do the same. Events are open to the public and most
are free, thanks to the generosity of participants, venues, donors and
collaborators. www.berkshirewomenwriters.org

###
Kristen van Ginhoven
Artistic Director, WAM Theatre
www.kristenvanginhoven.com
www.WAMTheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com>
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