[Capdist-announce] PRESS RELEASE: WAM Theatre Announces Beneficiaries for Fall Mainstage Production

Mon Jul 30 09:16:06 EDT 2018

*July 30, 2018FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Gail Burns, Marketing and
Publicity Associatewww.wamtheatre.com
<http://www.wamtheatre.com>pr at wamtheatre.com <pr at wamtheatre.com>;
518.243.9627Press Photos can be found
at:https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/albums/72157671138181898
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/albums/72157671138181898>WAM
Theatre Announces  Beneficiaries for Fall Mainstage ProductionLENOX, MA
(July 30, 2018) – It was a picture perfect Berkshire evening on Wednesday,
July 25, as WAM Theatre supporters packed the bucolic grounds of the
Berkshire Equestrian Center in Richmond. They celebrated and supported the
company’s ninth season at WAM’s sold-out Midsummer Cocktail Party Benefit,
hosted by Berkshire favorite Ty Allan Jackson. The full house was in a
great mood enjoying the tasty hors d’oeuvres catered by SoMa and the
delicious apple cider donuts from neighboring Hillside Orchard. Many actors
and artists who have worked with WAM over the years mingled with the
guests, including Alexander Sovronsky, who provided live music. Live and
silent auctions added to the fun, in an event coordinated by Only In My
Dreams Events.The event raised more than $38,000 for WAM’s Education
programs and the company’s upcoming fall production of Ann by Holland
Taylor, starring Emmy-award winning actress Jayne Atkinson, and directed by
WAM Artistic Director, Kristen van Ginhoven. The highlight of the evening
was the premiere of WAM’s 2018 Girls Ensemble’s new devised theatre piece,
Seeking Justice. The 12 participants of this year’s cohort received a
standing ovation for their performance. Audience members were delighted to
hear that, thanks to WAM’s education sponsors, Girls Ensemble was a paying
summer job for the participants.Gala participants were the first to learn
the identity of the non-profits that will benefit from WAM’s fall
production of Ann. In keeping with its double philanthropic mission, WAM
Theatre will be donating 25% of the box office proceeds from Ann to its
14th and 15th beneficiaries, The Denise Kaley Fund and the Women’s Fund of
Western Massachusetts’ 2018 Leadership Institute for Political and Public
Impact (LIPPI).The 2018 beneficiaries were chosen after a rigorous
selection process, including a request for proposals and site visits,
overseen by a committee at WAM consisting of Kristen van Ginhoven, Margaret
Fluhr (WAM Volunteer), Wendy Healey (WAM Board of Directors), and Lia
Russell-Self (WAM Artist). The Denise Kaley Fund stands alone in their
mission to help women living with cancer  in Berkshire County pay for the
cost of life’s necessities as they undergo treatment and heal: heating oil,
groceries, car payments and repairs, rent, mortgage payments, babysitting
and medical expenses not covered by insurance, to name just a few. WAM’s
donation will provide emergency grants for women with cancer in Berkshire
County. The founders of the Denise Kaley Fund, Barbara Bonner, Ellen Boyd,
and Beth Rose, were on hand to speak on behalf of the Fund. Since 1997, the
Women’s Fund has been supporting women and girls in the four counties of
western Mass through grant making and leadership programs. Their Leadership
Institute for Political and Public Impact, or LIPPI, is a non-partisan
initiative that provides women with the tools, mentors, and confidence they
need to become our region’s community leaders and elected officials. LIPPI
trains women in the nuts and bolts of impacting policy from a citizen
perspective, and develops leadership confidence through 11 intensive
workshops held in over 10 months. WAM’s donation will provide scholarships
for Berkshire participants in the 2018 LIPPI cohort. LIPPI alumna Gwendolyn
Hampton Van Sant was on hand at the gala to share her inspiring story of
how the program impacted her work, and how WAM’s donation will make a
difference.About The Denise Kaley FundThe Denise Kaley Fund for Berkshire
Women with Cancer, administered through the Berkshire Taconic Community
Foundation, supports the day-to-day living expenses of those living with
cancer and have financial need. The fund covers the costs of
transportation, housing, food, utilities, child care, insurance payments or
anything that can help ease the struggles of women with cancer and allow
them to focus on healing. The Denise Kaley Fund is endowed so that its
support can continue annually and grow. The fund works hand-in-hand with
social service agencies throughout the county so that support is offered
exactly when and where it can do the most
good.https://www.berkshiretaconic.org/bGivebCurrentFutureDonors/DonorStories/DeniseKaley.aspx
<https://www.berkshiretaconic.org/bGivebCurrentFutureDonors/DonorStories/DeniseKaley.aspx>About
Beneficiary the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts’ 2018 Leadership
Institute for Political and Public Impact (LIPPI)Since 1997, the Women’s
Fund has been supporting women and girls in the four counties of western
Mass through grant making and leadership programs. Their Leadership
Institute for Political and Public Impact, or LIPPI, is a non-partisan
initiative that provides women with the tools, mentors, and confidence they
need to become our region’s community leaders and elected officials. LIPPI
trains women in the nuts and bolts of impacting policy from a citizen
perspective, and develops leadership confidence through 11 intensive
workshops held in over 10 months. https://www.mywomensfund.org/lippi/
<https://www.mywomensfund.org/lippi/>About WAM’s fall production of AnnA
one woman tour-de-force, Ann is a hilarious and spirited portrait of Ann
Richards, legendary Governor of Texas. Written by award-winning actress and
writer Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men),  Ann is an inspiring play that
brings us face to face with the complex, colorful, and captivating
character,  with a personality bigger than the state she governed. In a
year when so many women are running for office across all platforms, this
play resonates deeply with our current climate.Performances of Ann are
scheduled for October 19-28, 2018, at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer
Playhouse, 70 Kemble St, Lenox, MA. The brief August run at the Dorset
Theatre Festival is nearly sold out, but tickets are now on sale for the
October performances in Lenox. Preview tickets for the October 19
performance at 7:30pm are $25 & $30. Tickets for the rest of the run start
at $30. Mark your calendars because this is a production you will not want
to miss! For more information on WAM Theatre and Ann, visit:
wamtheatre.com/ann <http://wamtheatre.com/ann>Quick FactsAnnby Holland
TaylorStarring Jayne AtkinsonOctober 19-28, 2018at Shakespeare & Company’s
Tina Packer Playhouse70 Kemble St, Lenox, MACreative TeamDirector: Kristen
van GinhovenSet Design: Juliana von HaubrichCostume Design: Jess
GoldsteinLighting Design: Andi LyonsSound Design: M. L. DoggWig Design:
Paul HuntleyStage Manager: Emily ZepedaAbout the Playwright: Holland
TaylorHolland Taylor took Broadway by storm as writer and star of Ann, a
one-woman show about the late Texas Governor Ann Richards, which resulted
in rave reviews, a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress, and a filmed
version of the 2016 production in which Holland starred at ZACH Theatre in
Austin, Texas, bringing Governor Richards back home. The New Yorker has
called Holland Taylor "the first vaudeville Gentile we ever saw." Her New
York stage performances include Bess in Breakfast with Les and Bess, as
well as the original productions of Butley, opposite Alan Bates, and A.R.
Gurney's The Cocktail Hour. She still holds her head high after taking over
for Eve Arden, opening the historic flop Moose Murders. In Los Angeles she
has performed in Kindertransport, and played opposite Christopher Lloyd in
Yasmina Reza's The Unexpected Man at the Geffen. She has worked extensively
in film and television, appearing in Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the
Nile, To Die For, Next Stop Wonderland, One Fine Day, George of the Jungle,
The Truman Show, Happy Accidents, Spy Kids (2 & 3), Keeping the Faith,
Legally Blonde, and Baby Mama, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. On
television, Holland has been nominated for an Emmy seven times, winning
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for the sexually popular Judge Roberta
Kittleson on The Practice. Among her numerous series starring roles: The
Powers that Be, Norman Lear's short-lived but highly acclaimed political
satire; Bosom Buddies, with Tom Hanks; and, of course, the juggernaut, Two
and a Half Men, with her dear boys: Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and number 3
son, Ashton Kutcher. She has performed narrations for the Los Angeles
Philharmonic with Esa-Pekka Salonen and John Adams, and narrated the Harry
Potter Suite for John Williams at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Following
her Broadway run in Ann, Holland appeared in Kepler's Dream, an inspiring
film for a young audience, and in New York she played another character who
never leaves the stage and talks a LOT in Pulitzer prize-winner David
Lindsay-Abaire's dark comedy Ripcord, at the Manhattan Theatre Club.About
the Director: Kristen van GinhovenWAM Theatre: The Bakelite Masterpiece, In
Darfur (New England Premiere), Emilie (New England Premiere), The Old Mezzo
(World Premiere), The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls and Melancholy
Play Elsewhere: Disgraced, I and You (Chester Theatre), Waxworks (Williams
College), The Whale (Adirondack Theatre Festival), 10 Minute Play Festival
(Barrington Stage Company), Petticoats of Steel (Capital Repertory
Theatre), Footloose (Cohoes Music Hall), Children’s Hour (Siena College),
Vendetta Chrome(Emerson College). Selected assistant directing: The
Physicists, 42nd Street (Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada), Two Men
of Florence (Huntington Theatre) Sleuth, Absurd Person Singular(Barrington
Stage Company). Training: Dalhousie University (BA), Queen’s University
(BEd), Emerson College (MA). Et cetera: Kristen is a member of the Society
of Stage Directors and Choreographers and a theatre artist for the
International Schools Theatre Association. She was a member of the 2013
Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and is a member of the Michael Langham
Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival of Canada.
Kristen is the co-founder and Artistic Director of WAM Theatre. Website:
www.WAMTheatre.com <http://www.wamtheatre.com/>About Jayne AtkinsonJayne
Atkinson has enjoyed a long and varied career as an actress, director, and
producer. A graduate of Northwestern University and Yale Drama School, she
has appeared in regional theatre, off-Broadway, and Broadway. Jayne made
her Broadway debut in a revival production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons.
Other Broadway credits include The Rainmaker (Tony nomination), Our Town
with Paul Newman, Enchanted April (Tony nomination, Drama Desk nomination;
Outer Critics Circle Award) and Blithe Spirit with the wonderful Angela
Lansbury . She has also appeared off-Broadway in a number of productions,
including The Art of Success (Drama Desk nomination) and The Skriker (Drama
Desk nomination). Many may recognize Jayne from her film and television
roles. Her feature film credits include Free Willy 1&2, The Village and
Syriana. On television she is known for her guest appearances on the hit
series The X-Files, Gossip Girl, Chicago Med and The Good Wife, among
others. As a recurring character, she has played Karen Hayes on the
award-winning 24, Erin Strauss on Criminal Minds, Secretary of State
Catherine Durant on the popular Netflix Series House of Cards and most
recently she can be seen opposite Tea Leoni as Vice President Teresa Hurst
on Madam Secretary.Directing and producing credits include benefit
productions of Motherhood Out Loud and Can You Hear Me, Baby?, for WAM
Theatre and the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. She also runs Jadana
Productions, which specializes in entertainment development.  Her other
areas of expertise include coaching and teaching. In her spare time, she
promotes women’s causes, travels, participates in fundraisers. She is
married to actor Michel Gill. Together they have one son.OUR SEASON
SPONSORSOur 2018 sponsors include Adams Community Bank, Annie Selke,
Baystate Financial, Berkshire Bank Foundation, Berkshire Magazine,
Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing, Blue Q, Brabson Library & Educational
Foundation, Canyon Ranch, The Charles H. Hall Foundation, CWM Retirement
Plan Services LLC, Custom Business Solutions, Dr. Jay Wise, DDS and Dr.
Casey Jones, DMD, The Dylandale Foundation, The Feigenbaum Foundation,
Frankie's Ristorante Italiano, the Garden Gables Inn, Greylock Federal
Credit Union, Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, International Schools Theatre
Association, Interprint, Lee Bank, Maggie Barry, Massachusetts Cultural
Council, J.H. Maxymillian, Inc., Methuselah Bar and Lounge, Natracare, No.
Six Depot Roastery and Café, Onyx Specialty Papers, RB Design Co., The
Rogovoy Report, The Rookwood Inn, The Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn
Foundation, Rouge Restaurant & Bistro, Salisbury Bank, T Square Design
Studio, Toole Insurance, a. von schlegell & co.WAM Theatre is also
supported in part by grants from the Alford-Egremont Cultural Council,
Lenox Cultural Council, New Marlborough Cultural Council, Pittsfield
Cultural Council, Cultural Council of Northern Berkshires, Otis Cultural
Council, and Richmond Cultural Council – local agencies that are supported
by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. ABOUT WAM
THEATREBased 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 $41,500 to thirteen nonprofit organizations and provided
paid work to more than 200 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
<http://www.wamtheatre.com>###*

-- 
Gail M. Burns

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

My gender pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Our 9th Season:
Fresh Takes <http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes-2018/> | Alison Larkin
LIVE! <http://www.wamtheatre.com/alison-larkin-live/> | WAM Gala 2018
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/wam-gala-2018/> | ANN
<http://www.wamtheatre.com/ann/>

Make a donation now <https://www.wamtheatre.com/donateonline/> to WAM
Theatre!
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