[Capdist-announce] PRESS RELEASE: WAM Theatre’s Production of ANN Adds Student Performance and Panel Discussions

[Gail Burns]

October 2, 2018

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/albums/72157693935189791

WAM Theatre’s Production of ANN

Adds Student Performance and Panel Discussions on

Women in Politics and Theatre as Activism

LENOX, MA (October 2, 2018) – A 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) and
starring Jayne Atkinson (House of Cards, Madam Secretary),  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.

This co-production with Dorset Theatre Festival is selling briskly.  Due to
this demand, WAM has opened a limited number of public seats for the added
Thursday, October 25th 10am student performance.

This is a limited engagement, with only eight performances in total. The
Dorset Theatre Festival limited engagement of ANN in August completely sold
out, so advance reservations for the WAM Theatre performances are highly
recommended.

Panel Discussions on Women in Politics and Theatre as Activism

In a year when so many women are running for office across all platforms,
ANN resonates profoundly with our current climate, and WAM has organized
two exciting panel discussions, along with a talkback with the star and
director, following matinee performances to explore these relevant themes
more deeply.

Sunday, October 21, following the 2 pm matinee

Panel Discussion on Women in Politics

A panel of women who have run for elected office will speak about the
particular challenges and opportunities for women in politics.  This panel
will include: Former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift (the only woman to
have served as Governor in our state’s history) and  Stephanie Bosley,
recent candidate for the First Berkshire District of the Massachusetts
House of Representatives and member of the 2018 LIPPI cohort at the Women’s
Fund of Western Massachusetts (LIPPI is one of the beneficiaries of ANN).

“I loved who [Ann Richards] was. She had that combination of being human,
warm and reassuring and at the same time saying, ‘Take that Hill!’ She was
an angel, a general, a mother and a leader. She had an enormous drive for
fairness. She felt government should reflect the population and should be
peopled by a group who looks like the population. She had a love of life,
humanity and the ideals of freedom for all.” - playwright Holland Taylor on
Ann Richards

Thursday, October 25, following the 10am student performance

Talk-Back with Jayne Atkinson and Director Kristen van Ginhoven



“It’s important to see a woman in a powerful role making good as well as
not so good choices. I look for multi-dimensional roles that have a journey
of self discovery and emerge stronger and more alive.  It’s important to me
that young people come and see ANN. Many of them will never have heard of
Ann Richards before, so it’s a chance for them to learn about her work as
well as see inside the life of a woman who was a successful and strong
political leader.” - Jayne Atkinson

“Books have been written, documentaries made but nothing truly captures the
life of my mother like ANN.” - Cecile Richards, daughter of Ann Richards,
and recently retired President of Planned Parenthood.

Saturday, October  27, following the 2 pm matinee

Integrating Activism into Artistic Choices

A panel of artistic leaders from local theatre companies will speak about
how they use their season of performances to engage their communities in
dialogue about social issues.  This panel will include: Amanda Rafuse, the
Director of Artistic Outreach for Northern Stage Company, Kristen van
Ginhoven, the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of WAM Theatre, and

Dina Janis, the Artistic Director of the Dorset Theatre Festival who will
moderate the panel and open up to questions from the audience.

“What spoke to me so much about this role when I read it was what Ann
[Richards] said about fairness. Her whole tone and what she created in
Texas – I just fell in love with her, and this is my way of being an
activist.” - Jayne Atkinson at the Dorset Theatre Festival panel discussion
on Women in Politics


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.

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.

Performances of ANN are scheduled for October 19-28, 2018, at Shakespeare &
Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA. Preview
tickets for the October 19 performance at 7:30pm are $25 & $30. Tickets for
the rest of the run start at $35. 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

Quick Facts

ANN

by Holland Taylor

Starring Jayne Atkinson

October 19-28, 2018

at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse

70 Kemble St, Lenox, MA

Creative Team

Director: Kristen van Ginhoven

Set Design: Juliana von Haubrich

Costume Design: Jess Goldstein

Lighting Design: Andi Lyons

Sound Design: M. L. Dogg

Wig Design: Paul Huntley

Stage Manager: Hope Rose Kelly

Performances:

Friday, October 19 at 7:30pm (Preview)

Saturday, October 20 at 7:30pm (Opening Night)

Sunday, October 21 at 2pm (followed by Women in Politics panel]

Thursday, October 25 at 10am (student performance, limited public tickets
available)

Friday, October 26 at 7:30pm

Saturday October 27 at 2pm [followed by Artistic Directors panel] and 7:30pm

Sunday, October 28 at 2pm (Closing)



No Berkshire, Senior, Teacher, or Military Discount

Student tickets are available for $15 each and may be purchased over the
phone at 413-637-3353 or in person at the Shakespeare & Company Box Office.
Student tickets are not available for purchase online.

About the Playwright: Holland Taylor

Holland 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 Ginhoven

WAM 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 Atkinson

Jayne 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.

About Beneficiary The Denise Kaley Fund

The 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

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/

OUR SEASON SPONSORS

Our 2018 sponsors include Adams Community Bank, Annie Selke, Baystate
Financial, Berkshire Bank Foundation, Berkshire Hand to Shoulder
Center, 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, Haven Cafe and Bakery,
Health Professional Counseling, 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 THEATRE

Based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, WAM Theatre is Where Arts and
Activism Meet. The award-winning 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 provided paid work to more than 200 theatre
artists and donated more than $41,500 to thirteen local and global
organizations taking action for women and girls in areas such as girls
education, teen pregnancy prevention, sexual trafficking awareness, midwife
training and more. 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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