[Capdist-announce] Fwd: PR: WAM Theatre announces cast for New England premiere of 'In Darfur'

Tue Oct 7 10:58:24 EDT 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gail Burns, Marketing and Publicity Associate

www.wamtheatre.com

pr at wamtheatre.com; 518.243.9627

Press Photos can be found at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157648406784701/

*WAM Theatre Announces Cast and Creative Team of In Darfur*

*Previews begin October 30; Opening night is November 1*

LEE, MA (10/7/14) – WAM Theatre’s Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven is
pleased to announce the cast and creative team for the New England premiere
of *In Darfur*, by Winter Miller. A timely, compelling drama, *In Darfur*
will run from October 30 – November 16 at Shakespeare & Company in the
Berry Family Studio of the Elayne P. Bernstein Center. Tickets are now
available for purchase. Opening night, which is already sold out, is
Saturday, November 1. *Press performance is Sunday, November 2 at 2:30.
RSVP required. *

Van Ginhoven is thrilled to announce the cast of *In Darfur*, the powerful
and provocative tale of three lives that intersect in the most challenging
of circumstances: a camp for internally displaced persons.

   - *Sipiwe Moyo,* who has performed Off-Broadway in *Prometheus Bound* at
   Classic Stage Company and *Trojan Women* at The Classical Theatre of
   Harlem, as well as on the James Spader NBC drama *The Blacklist*, will
   play Hawa, a Darfuri woman who has lost nearly everything yet maintains a
   quiet dignity in the face of constant peril.

   - *Rich Lounello*, who has appeared in *Take Me Out* and *M. Butterfly*
   at Capital Repertory Theatre and *Laughter on the 23rd Floor* at
   Oldcastle Theatre, and has wrapped film projects with Dan Stevens (*Downton
   Abbey*) and Kate Flannery (*The Office*), takes on the role of Carlos,
   an aid worker striving to save the lives of Darfuri refugees and protect
   them from other ever-present threats.

   - *Tricia Alexandro*, who has appeared in Off Broadway productions with
   The Barrow Group, Looking Glass Theatre, and Gene Frankel Theatre, as well
   as in several independent films, takes on the role of Maryke, a journalist
   pursuing a front-page story to call attention to a humanitarian crisis.

Rounding out the cast are *Christina Gordon* (The Public Theatre and
Shadowland Theatre; television’s *Guiding Light*); *Shannon Harris* (HERE
Arts Center, Midtown International Theatre Festival); *marcus d. harvey*
(Old Vic, London and various NYC stages); and *Warren Jackson* (Alabama
Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Chicago’s Court
Theatre).

van Ginhoven says, “WAM Theatre has worked hard to find the ensemble of
actors who will bring this story to life. These seven accomplished
professional actors bring not only their talent and technique to this
project, but also their deep passion to share this story with our
audiences. I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome them to the Berkshires
and to WAM Theatre.”

For full bios, please see www.WAMTheatre.com/In-Darfur

Playwright *Winter Miller* was inspired to write *In Darfur* by the turmoil
she witnessed as *New York Times* columnist Nicholas Kristof’s researcher
at the start of the Darfuri genocide in 2004. After winning the 2006
“Two-Headed Challenge” commission from the Guthrie Theater and the
Playwrights’ Center, Miller traveled with Kristof to villages and refugee
camps along the Chad/Sudan border. *In Darfur* premiered at The Public
Theater in Manhattan for a three-week 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.

WAM Theatre’s New England premiere of *In Darfur* runs from October 30
through November 16 at Shakespeare & Company’s Berry Family Studio in the
Elayne P. Bernstein Center. Previews are October 30 & 31; opening night is
Saturday, November 1. Performances take place on Friday and Saturday
evenings at 7 pm and Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $15-$40 and
are available for purchase in person or by phone at the Shakespeare & Co.
box office: 413-637-3353. Tickets are also available at
www.tickets.shakespeare.org with a per ticket charge of $4.50 for online
purchases.

*Quick Facts*

*In Darfur*, a play by Winter Miller, will receive its New England premiere
as WAM Theatre’s fifth annual fall production.

*Cast:*

Tricia Alexandro

Christina Gordon*

Shannon Harris*

marcus d. harvey*

Warren Jackson*

Rich Lounello*

Sipiwe Moyo*

*Member of Actor's Equity Association

*Creative Team:*

Director: Kristen van Ginhoven

Coordinating Producer Jessica Provenz

Assistant Director: Molly Clancy

Scenic Designer:  Juliana von Haubrich

Costume Designer: Govane Lobhauer

Sound and Projections Designer: Brad Berridge

Lighting Designer: Natalie Robin

Fight Director: Doug Seldin

Movement Director: Megan Reisel

Technical Director: Sam Craig

Production Manager: Christopher Donovan

Stage Manager: Laura Gomez

Assistant Stage Manager: Melissa Rao

*Theatrical run*

October 30 – November 16, 2014

Previews: Thursday, October 30 & Friday October 31, 7 pm

Opening night: Saturday, November 1, 7 pm (SOLD OUT)

Sunday, November 2, 2:30 pm

Friday, November 7, 7 pm

Saturday, November 8, 7 pm

Sunday, November 9, 7pm

Friday, November 14, 7pm

Saturday, November 15, 7pm

Sunday, November 16, 2:30pm

*NOTE:* Each performance is followed by a conversation with a noted expert
in the diverse themes presented in the play. The list of speakers will be
announced shortly.

*Location*

Shakespeare & Company’s Elayne P. Bernstein Center, in the Berry Family
Studio (Studio 3), 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA

*Tickets*

Price: $15 – $40

Tickets can be purchased in person or by phone at the Shakespeare & Co. box
office: 413-637-3353.

Tickets are also available at www.tickets.shakespeare.org with a per ticket
charge of $4.50 for online purchases.

*Philanthropic beneficiary*

In keeping with WAM Theatre’s double philanthropic mission, 25% of the box
office proceeds from this production will be donated to the Mother of Peace
Illovo orphanage in South Africa, where 13 women have dedicated their lives
to raising children who have lost their families. By selecting the Mother
of Peace Illovo as this year’s philanthropic beneficiary, WAM honors and
celebrates the selfless dedication and important work of these women.

*Production sponsors*

Producer sponsor: Greylock Federal Credit Union

Lead partners, In Darfur Education Outreach program: Berkshire Bank, and
Garden Gables Inn.

Leader sponsors: Interprint and Pittsfield Cooperative Bank.

Patron sponsors: Adams Community Bank, Customs Business Solutions and Red
Lion Inn.

Supporter sponsors: Abbie von Schlegell, Regina Burgio and Dr. Jay Wise,
DDS.

Media sponsors: Berkshire Magazine and the Rogovoy Report.

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 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 organisations that benefit women and
girls.

Over the past five years, WAM Theatre has donated more than $10,500 to six
nonprofit organisations 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 Six Depot Roastery and Café in West Stockbridge. For
more information, visit www.WAMTheatre.com

*About Shakespeare & Company*

Located in The Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, Shakespeare & Company
is one of the largest Shakespeare Festivals in the country, founded in 1978
by Tina Packer.  The organization attracts more than 60,000 patrons
annually, with a core of over 150 artists and more than 30 full-time staff.
The Company develops and performs Shakespeare, classics, contemporary, and
new plays of social and political significance, generating opportunities
for collaboration between actors, directors and designers of all races,
nationalities and backgrounds. Shakespeare & Company embraces the core
values of Shakespeare’s work: collaboration, commitment to language,
visceral experience and classical ideals, expressed with physical prowess
and an embodied contemporary voice.

The Company offers one of the most extensive actor training programs by a
regional theatre in the country, where professionals from all over the
world come to train with the Organization known for its original, in-depth,
classical training and performance methods. Shakespeare & Company is also
home to an award-winning and nationally recognized theatre-in-education
program, one of the largest in the Northeast; it reaches more than 45,000
students annually with innovative performances, workshops and residencies.
For more information, please visit www.shakespeare.org.

# # # # #

-- 
-- 
Gail M. Burns

*Marketing + Publicity Associate*
WAM Theatre
413-458-4246
gail at WAMTheatre.com
WAMTheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com>

Celebrating our Fifth Season!

Up Next:
October 30-November 16- *In Darfur <http://www.wamtheatre.com/in-darfur/>*

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