WAM Theatre Receives Two Grants

WAM Theatre is delighted to announce they have recently been the recipients of two substantial grants - an unrestricTed Grant of $5,000 from the Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA) Charitable Foundation, and a $2,000 grant from the Dramatist Guild Fund in support of the company's 2017 Fresh Takes play reading series.

"All of us at WAM are honored by these year-end grants," said Kristen van Ginhoven, Artistic Director, "This year, WAM's mission and vision has been the lucky recipient of many incredible accolades and awards. These two grants, received at a time when equality for all is more vital than ever, are a strong nod of encouragement by our supporters at the banks and colleagues in the theatre to continue our work using theatre to benefit women and girls. We look forward to using these grants in 2017 to create as much opportunity as we can. Many thanks to the Massachusetts Bankers Association and the Dramatist Guild Fund for including WAM in their awards this year."

The MBA Charitable Foundation is supported by its 155 member banks throughout Massachusetts and New England. The MBA Charitable Foundation Awards are symbolic of the many individual donations banks make on a regular basis to organizations and causes in their local communities. In 2016, 37 year-end community grants totalled a record $155,000, distributed over eight geographic regions to deserving social service agencies.

WAM was nominated for an MBA grant by Victoria May, Vice President of Marketing, and Jay Anderson, President and CEO, at Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, and Lori Gazillo, Vice President, Foundation Director, at the Berkshire Bank Foundation. WAM is honored have received the generous support of both banks regularly over the past seven seasons.

"We feel a small measure of pride once again to be able to help these deserving non-profits," said Charles P. O'Brien, chairman of the MBA Charitable Foundation and president and CEO of the Adams Community Bank. Other Berkshire organizations receiving grants include Louison House, IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, and an honorable mention grant to the Berkshire Community Action Council.

Each year the Dramatists Guild Fund provides grants to nonprofit theaters and theatrical institutions across the country that develop and/or produce contemporary American plays and musicals in support of the American writer. WAM's Fresh Takes play reading series, launching its fourth season in 2017, introduces Berkshire audiences to ground-breaking works by established women playwrights who are contributing to the international conversation throughout the English-speaking theatre. WAM Theatre's Artistic Associate Molly Clancy, will be curating the series once again.

Support from all our individual and corporate donors, coupled with generous grants like these, enable WAM to continue its vision to create opportunity for women and girls through the mission of theatre as philanthropy. The company will announce their entire 2017 season on February 28.

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, Blue Q, Brabson Library & Educational Foundation, Canyon Ranch, Custom Business Solution, Dylandale Foundation, Feigenbaum Foundation, Garden Gables, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Guido's Fresh Marketplace, In Touch Printing, 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, Michele's Salon + Day Spa, 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, the Dr. Robert C. and Tina Sohn Foundation, 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.

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.

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