WAM Theatre Raises Funds for THE BAKELITE MASTERPIECE, Educational Programs

Thunderstorms rumbled through Richmond in the afternoon, but by 6:30 pm it was a picture perfect Berkshire evening on Thursday, July 14. Jugglers and a brass band welcomed the supporters of WAM Theatre as they packed the bucolic grounds of Hilltop Orchards in Richmond to celebrate and support the company's seventh season at the company's successful Stars in the Orchards Benefit Night.

The full house was in a great mood enjoying the tasty hors d'oeuvres catered by the Orchards and wine made on site at Furnace Winery, amid the vibrant musical stylings of the Expandable Brass Band. WAM's inaugural 2016 Girls Ensemble cohort performed excerpts from their popular new work Miss Labeled, which toured local schools this spring. Live and silent auctions added to the fun and the event, produced by Gwendolyn Tunnicliffe, WAM Theatre's new Philanthropy and Outreach Coordinator, raised more than $18,500 for WAM's Education programs and the company's upcoming fall play The Bakelite Masterpiece by Kate Cayley.

But the highlight of the evening was the opportunity to get a sneak peek at scenes from The Bakelite Masterpiece, co-produced with the Berkshire Theatre Group, performed by actors Corinna May and Jim Frangione, Co- Artistic Director of the Berkshire Playwright's Lab, filling in for his friend David Adkins, who will be playing the role in the fall but was unavailable to read at the WAM benefit. Gala participants also learned the identity of the charities that will benefit from the production. In keeping with their double philanthropic mission, WAM Theatre will be donating 25% of the box office proceeds from The Bakelite Masterpiece to their ninth beneficiary, the Berkshire Immigrant Center and Suzi Banks Baum.

As WAM Artistic Director, Kristen van Ginhoven, said at the benefit, "In searching for our 2016 beneficiaries, I looked at The Bakelite Masterpiece from my personal perspective as the daughter of Dutch immigrants directing a play about a painting and a country working to rebuild after conflict. And so the Board and I selected Suzi Banks Baum for her project empowering women artists in Armenia, and the Berkshire Immigrant Center for their work helping women and their families navigate a path to a new life with permanent residence and safety in the United States."

The company also announced the winners of the inaugural WAMily Awards. So many people and organizations are incredibly generous advocates of WAM Theatre, and this year the company has created a way to publicly recognize a few of them annually with these awards. The 2016 honorees are Vicki Bonnington, Bruce Garlow, and Greylock Federal Credit Union, all of whom were in attendance to receive their awards and the gratitude of the assembled crowd.

The mission of the Berkshire Immigrant Center (BIC) is to welcome new immigrants and refugees and to provide them with the tools and services needed to integrate into the fabric of their new community. BIC serves 800 immigrants and their families each year. Each year hundreds of thousands of immigrants seek assistance across the US with humanitarian based immigration law. These are mostly women and children and what they all have in common is that they are seeking refuge and protection from violence they have experienced abroad or even here in the US at the hands of an abuser. Unfortunately BIC is not funded to assist these clients; they are often among the most vulnerable and regardless of whether an attorney is involved or not- often require the most help and are unable to compensate the Center for our services. They are dedicated to continue helping these women and their families navigate a path to permanent residence and safety in the US. WAM's donation will make it possible for the Berkshire Immigrant Center to provide this much needed help to these women and their families. berkshireic.com

Suzi Banks Baum is a writer, artist, actor, teacher, and community organizer. She is editor and publisher of An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice. She lives in Great Barrington and produces Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others for the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. In March of 2016, Suzi visited Gyumri, Armenia interviewing women artists through affiliation with National Geographic photographer, John Stanmeyer and 4Plus, an Armenian organization of female documentary photographers. During her visit, Suzi learned that the cultural expectations of women form a restrictive structure within which they struggle to include art making in their lives. Giving these women voice, telling their stories, and empowering them to begin to tell theirs is essential to enhancing the quality of Armenian women's lives. Suzi's project is blossoming into a residency in Gyumri in October 2016 to continue interviewing women, and leading a multidisciplinary workshop to gather stories and teach the artists the ancient practice of book building. WAM's donation will help make this trip and compensation for the female artists possible. www.suzibanksbaum.com

Tickets for The Bakelite Masterpiece are now on sale on the WAM website. The end of World War II. Holland is in chaos. The artist Han van Meegeren is arrested. His crime? Selling a long-lost painting by the Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer to Hermann Goering, Nazi leader. His defense? It was a perfect forgery painted by him. His proof? In front of his prosecutor (art historian and resistance fighter) Geert Piller, he must paint another flawless Vermeer to save his life. A play that debates beauty, faith, memory and the reconstruction of a country. The cast features Corinna May and David Adkins.

Performances are scheduled for September 29-October 23 on the Larry Vaber Stage at the Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Theatre, 6 East Street, Stockbridge, MA. The opening performance will be Sunday, October 1 at 7 pm. Tickets are $15-$40. See www.wamtheatre.com/the-bakelite-masterpiece for more information.

Tickets are being sold through the Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) box office and can be purchased in three easy ways: by calling the BSC box office at 413-997-4444, going in person during box office hours, or buying online through the BSC ticketing page.

Based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, WAM Theatre was co-founded in 2010 by Canadian director, actor, educator, and producer Kristen van Ginhoven to create professional theatrical events for everyone, with a focus on women theatre artists and/or stories of women and girls.

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

Over the past five years, WAM Theatre has donated more than $15,000 to seven nonprofit organizations and provided paid work to more than 100 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.

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