[Capdist-announce] PRESS RELEASE: WAM Theatre Thrilled by Recent Grants and Nominations

[Gail Burns]

September 12, 2016

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/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WAM Theatre Thrilled by Recent Grants and Nominations

Lenox, MA [September 12, 2016] - The summer has been exciting for the team
at WAM Theatre as the seven year-old Berkshire-based theatre company has
received three substantial competitive grants, been honored by the National
Philanthropy Day Committee, been nominated for a Berkshire Trendsetter
Award and a Nonprofit Awareness Day Excellence Award and WAM’s Artistic
Director Kristen van Ginhoven was recently invited to attend the Women’s
Leadership Conference in San Francisco.

“Excellence comes in all shapes and sizes. This is what I was told when I
received the call informing me that WAM Theatre was awarded the Outstanding
Philanthropic Corporation award from the National Philanthropy Day
Committee. What a wonderful acknowledgement of our work!” exclaimed van
Ginhoven.  “WAM has been the lucky recipient of an incredible number of
awards and accolades this year. We feel lucky that our double philanthropic
mission has received such esteemed recognition. As a young, fast growing
company, we are incredibly grateful for these votes of confidence in our
work and look forward to our continued impact into the future.”

Rehearsals are underway for WAM’s co-production with the Berkshire Theatre
Group of The Bakelite Masterpiece by Kate Cayley, directed by van Ginhoven
and featuring  regional favorites David Adkins and Corinna May, which opens
at the Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge on October 1 and runs through October
23. In keeping with their double philanthropic mission, WAM Theatre will be
donating 25% of the box office proceeds from this production to their ninth
beneficiary, the Berkshire Immigrant Center and Suzi Banks Baum.  Call the
BTG box office at 413-997-4444 for tickets, or visit
www.wamtheatre.com/the-bakelite-masterpiece/ for more information.

Recent Grants

Massachusetts Cultural Council Cultural Investment Portfolio Gateway (CIP)
Grant

- $3,000

The Gateway Program is a highly competitive grant program which provides
two years of unrestricted operating support and is the prerequisite to move
into the Cultural Investment Portfolio. Only 17 groups received the Gateway
Grant this cycle, and only two from the Berkshires - WAM Theatre and The
Edith Wharton Restoration at the Mount.

Mass Humanities Project Grant- $5,000

WAM received a grant from Mass Humanities to support the educational
outreach project for The Bakelite Masterpiece.

The project will promote critical, reasoned and open-minded discussions of
the basic values around truth and reconciliation that are at stake both in
the play and in our world today. The project will include a lobby display,
notes in the program including suggestions for further reading, a
subsidized ticket program and a comprehensive post show conversation series
with the playwright and other notable humanities scholars.

Berkshire Bank Foundation, Inc. - $3,000 grant in support of the WAM
Theatre Girls Ensemble program

For the third year in a row, Berkshire Bank has awarded WAM Theatre a
grant. This year, the grant supports WAM’s unique Girls Ensemble Program.

The Girls Ensemble draw from schools and groups across the Berkshire
region. The selection process is by audition. The selected participants,
aged between 14-19, form an ensemble and use a devised theatre process to
create their own original piece of theatre.

The inaugural cohort successfully created and toured Miss Labeled in fall
2015. The second cohort auditions will be in December, with rehearsals
beginning in January 2017.

Awards & Nominations

Named Outstanding Philanthropy Corporation of the Year by the Western MA
Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals

This award recognizes WAM for demonstrating outstanding commitment through
financial support and through encouragement and motivation of others to
take leadership roles toward philanthropy and community involvement.

The National Philanthropy Day Committee received applications from
organizations that donate far more funds than WAM, but they were very
impressed with how many WAM Team Members and supporters were working so
hard to consistently donate money to organizations that benefit women and
girls, in addition to creating high quality theatre, and by WAM’s unique
approach to engaging the community in its philanthropic efforts.

The award ceremony will be held during a luncheon on Wednesday, November 16
th at The Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA.

Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven Nominated by 1Berkshire a 2016
Berkshire Trendsetter Award as Entrepreneur/Visionary of the Year

“These awards are our way of recognizing individuals and organizations
whose outstanding achievements and commitment have strengthened our economy
and helped the Berkshires grow.” 1Berkshire

Winners will be announced at Tanglewood on Thursday, September 15th at
1Berkshire’s “Celebrate the Berkshires” event.

Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven attends Women’s Leadership
Conference in San Francisco

Wellesley Centers for Women partnered with American Conservatory Theater
(A.C.T.) in 2013 to launch a research study into gender equity in
leadership opportunities in the nonprofit American theater. On August 22,
2016, the results of this study were presented to an invited audience,
including van Ginhoven, at the Women's Leadership Conference in San
Francisco, CA.

While the Berkshires is well represented in women’s leadership in the
theatre, the study has already provoked a wealth of dialogue on the
national lack of parity in theater leadership. An article summarizing the
report can be found here:
http://howlround.com/why-are-there-so-few-women-leading-theatres-and-what-can-be-done-about-it

As a result of attending the conference, WAM is in dialogue with other
attendees about hosting a Berkshire Leadership Summit for aspiring women
leaders in the non-profit theatre in Fall 2017.

WAM Theatre Nominated for Excellence by a Small Nonprofit at the Nonprofit
Awareness Day and Excellence Awards Ceremony in Boston

WAM representatives were honored to attend the June 27 Nonprofit Excellence
Awards with fellow Berkshire nominees: Nicole Eigbrett, Community Outreach
Director at Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, and Gwendolyn
Hampton-VanSant, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Multicultural BRIDGE.
A record number of nominations were received this year, and it is hoped
that an even greater number of Berkshire nonprofits will be finalists in
2017.

OUR SEASON SPONSORS

WAM Theatre is funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National
Endowment for the Humanities; and by the Massachusetts Cultural Council
Cultural. Our 2016 sponsors include the Adams Community Bank, Berkshire
Bank, Berkshire Magazine, Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing, Brabson Library
& Educational Foundation, Canyon Ranch, Custom Business Solution, Dylandale
Foundation, Feigenbaum Foundation, Garden Gables, Greylock Federal Credit
Union, Guido's Fresh Marketplace, International Schools Theatre
Association, Interprint, Dr. Jay Wise, DDS & Dr. Casey Jones, DMD,  Jon
Gotterer DMD, Keator Group, LLC, Lee Bank, Lenox Education Enrichment Fund,
Massachusetts Cultural Council, MAXYMILLIAN Technologies, Nina Molin MD,
No. Six Depot Roastery and Café, Petricca Industries, Pittsfield
Cooperative Bank, RB Design Co., The Rookwood Inn, Rouge Restaurant &
Bistro, Toole Insurance, A. von Schlegell & Co., The Sherman Investment
Group-RBC Wealth Management, and Zabian's Fine Jewelers.

WAM Theatre is also supported in part by grants from the Lenox,
Alford-Egremont, Pittsfield Cultural Council, Cultural Council of Northern
Berkshires , Washington Cultural Council, Monterey Cultural Council,
Stockbridge Cultural Council, West Stockbridge Cultural Council, Richmond
Cultural Council – local agencies that are supported by the Massachusetts
Cultural Council, a state agency.

ABOUT WAM THEATRE

Based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, WAM Theatre is Where Arts and
Activism Meet. The company was co-founded in 2010 by Canadian director,
actor, educator, and producer Kristen van Ginhoven. WAM’s vision is to
create opportunity for women and girls through the mission of theatre as
philanthropy.

Inspired by the book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for
Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, WAM donates a
portion of the proceeds from its theatrical events to organizations that
benefit women and girls.

Over the past six years, WAM Theatre has donated more than $21,000 to eight
nonprofit organizations and provided paid work to more than 175 theatre
artists. In addition to the main stage productions and special events, WAM
Theatre’s activities include a comprehensive educational outreach program
and the Fresh Takes Play Reading Series. For more information, visit
www.WAMTheatre.com

# # #

-- 
Gail M. Burns

*Marketing + Publicity Associate*
www.WAMTheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com/>
413-274-8122

*Our 7th Season:*Special  <http://www.wamtheatre.com/special/>| 24hr Project
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/2016-24-hour-theatre-project/> | Fresh Takes
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes-2016/> | Stars in the Orchard
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/stars-in-the-orchard-2016/> | Bakelite
Masterpiece <http://www.wamtheatre.com/the-bakelite-masterpiece/>

Make a donation now
<https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/WAMTheatreInc/donate.html> to WAM
Theatre!
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