[Capdist-announce] PRESS RELEASE: Berkshire Event January 21 in Solidarity with Women's March

Gail Burns gail at wamtheatre.com
Thu Jan 12 11:20:27 EST 2017


January 12, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Gail Burns, Marketing and Publicity Associate

www.wamtheatre.com

pr at wamtheatre.com; 413-274-8122

Press Photos can be found at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/sets/72157648698789976/>


Berkshire Area Event in Solidarity with January 21 Women’s March on
Washington

LENOX, MA (January 12, 2017)—A local steering committee, including Kristen
van Ginhoven, co-founder and Artistic Director of WAM Theatre, and
community members Jayne Benjulian, Lynn Festa and Mary Lincoln, are
organizing a free local event in solidarity with the January 21 Women’s
March on Washington. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the
Berkshire Theatre Group’s Colonial Theatre on South Street in Pittsfield
will be open from 10 am-2 pm to provide a positive place where people can
gather in support of the DC march.

“This event is free and people are welcome to stay the whole time or come
and go between 10am-2pm,” van Ginhoven said. “We will be streaming the DC
Rally from 10am-1pm in the theatre, along with having some other action
oriented activities in the lobby. We are having a curated program from
1pm-2pm inside the theatre that will highlight readings from the
Constitution and original writing created especially for this event by
local writers. The committee came together to organize this event because
we wanted to offer a local alternative for everyone who can’t make it down
to DC but wanted to support the March.”

Schedule of Events:

10am-1pm:

   -

   Colonial Lobby: Art Display/Support Wall, #WhyIMarch photo booth, Info
   Table, Food and more
   -

   Colonial Theatre: Streaming of DC Rally


1pm-2pm:

   -

   Colonial Theatre: Rock the Constitution, a thought-provoking staged
   reading curated by local writer Jayne Benjulian


Thanks to collaboration with the Women’s March on Washington- National team
and the Women’s March on Washington-Massachusetts Chapter team, rally
coverage from Washington will be live-streamed throughout the event.  Rupar
Parmar, a lead team member of the Massachusetts Chapter, will be curating
the streaming content.

“In addition to the DC Rally, we hope to connect with Berkshire
representatives who are on the ground in DC, via Facebook Live and
Twitter,” said Rupar Parmar, Co-Lead of the Women’s March on Washington-
Massachusetts Chapter.

That’s A Wrap Café in Pittsfield will have a take-out table and The
Colonial Bar will be serving coffee, tea, and snacks for folks who want to
stay on site for lunch.

Also in the lobby, WAM Theatre Associate Artist Juliana von Haubrich has
devised a variation on the spontaneous interactive art project which
blossomed in the New York City subways in the weeks since the presidential
election. Attendees will be invited to finish two statements — "I
support..." and "I will..." — on Post-it notes, which will be displayed in
the Colonial lobby that day and then travel to other locations in the
County in the coming weeks and months.

People are welcome to bring their own related signs and displays, as used
in the recent Four Freedom March, or other marches. Those will be displayed
in the Lobby for all to enjoy throughout the day.

There will be a #WhyIMarch photo booth, where people can take a photo that
will get posted to social media immediately to join the plethora of other
people around the world who are participating in Sister March events.

An information table will provide attendees with ideas and opportunities
for future civic engagement, plus an opportunity to sign up for the Women’s
March on Washington-Massachusetts Chapter eblast, to stay informed on
future related events.

A January 21 March on Washington- Berkshire County Keepsake magnet will be
on sale for $5 to help cover the costs of the event. While an anonymous
donor rented the Colonial, other costs associated with hosting the event
have been covered by the steering committee.  Anyone wishing to help offset
those costs will be encouraged to buy a keepsake magnet.

Then, to complete the event, from 1-2 pm inside the theatre eleven actors
and writers will Rock the Constitution, a spirited staged reading curated
by Jayne Benjulian. During this final hour, the actors and writers will perform
monologues they’ve written especially for this event and will perform
portions of the U. S. Constitution like you’ve never heard it before. Local
luminaries appearing include MaConnia Chesser, Joan Coombs, Lori Evans,
Corinna May, Brenny Rabine, Jennifer Browdy, Sheela Clary, Barbara Newman,
Grace Rossman, Rachel Siegel and Lara Tupper.

“This local gathering is an official Sister March. Sister Marches are
solidarity events inspired by the Women’s March on Washington and are
organized by volunteers around the world. On January 21, there will be
100’s of Sister Marches throughout the world,” said Lynn Festa and Mary
Lincoln, steering committee members. “We are so proud to be part of this
global effort for equal rights for all.” All 50 states and Puerto Rico are
confirmed to have at least one grassroots-led march event on that day, as
well as 55 global cities on six continents, from Tokyo to Sydney, Nairobi
to Paris to Bogotá. More information on Sister Marches can be found at
https://www.womensmarch.com/sisters

PUBLIC CALL FOR ART: If you are an artist in Berkshire County or Western MA
and would like your art featured digitally during our event please email
berkshireswomensmarch at gmail.com

ART GUIDELINES: file format in jpg, png or PDF format; empowering,
inspiring, positive themed; include your first and last name and include a
quote with #WHYIMARCH.

DISCLAIMER: By emailing your art work you give permission to Women's March
on Washington and Massachusetts to feature your art at the event and on
social media. Credit to artist and your quote will be included.
Tiny.cc/WOMAWAMA <http://tiny.cc/WOMAWAMA>

MORE EVENT INFO: http://www.wamtheatre.com/january-21-gathering/

RSVP (Not required, but will be used by National for global numbers
tracking purposes):
https://actionnetwork.org/events/womens-march-pittsfield-ma-2

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.

Since 2010, WAM Theatre has donated more than $30,000 to eleven 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
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