WAM Theatre Will Host 15th Anniversary Benefit in August

Join WAM Theatre at The Mount (Edith Wharton’s Home) on August 18, 2024 for a special 15th Anniversary Celebration featuring a one-night-only performance of Fragments of Outside,created and directed by WAM’s new Artistic Director Genée Coreno.

Heralding the arrival of WAM’s new Artistic Director, Fragments of Outside both celebrates the first 15 years of WAM’s commitment to women-centered stories and showcases the artistry of our new visionary leader. With this bold and genre-defying production, WAM aims to chart an exciting new course for the company's future.

Coreno’s performance Fragments of Outside tells the story of June Ashbury who departs Paradise in the wake of a climate event. As she traverses landscapes weathered by time and loss, June encounters a lone wolf and unearths fragments of a once-familiar world. Through a unique blend of storytelling, original score, puppetry, and site-specific performances, audiences will be guided through the storied grounds of The Mount, Edith Wharton's historic estate, in a theatrical experience like no other.

Set against the backdrop of the Berkshire landscape, the project delves into themes of environmental transformation from intimate shifts in familial dynamics to large-scale climate events. In the midst of uncertainty and vulnerability, humans take on mythic proportions, memories overshadow reason, and the remnants of the past shape our understanding of the present.

“The Mount is thrilled to support WAM Theatre's Anniversary Benefit,” said Sarah Margolis-Pineo, The Mount’s Director of Programs. “Our organizations are both built on championing the important creative work of women in the Berkshires and we share the value that art and culture are for all—​whether on the page or for the stage.”

In 2023, Genée Coreno initiated the development of Fragments of Outside through her theatre company, Fringe & Fur. This women-led creative endeavor was nurtured under the guidance of the 2023 Emergence Artist Residency Program at Culture Lab, LIC in New York City. As the project enters its second phase of development, the production team are refining certain elements to better connect with audiences in the Berkshires while preserving the essence of the original vision. 

“I am humbled to make my Berkshire-directorial debut at The Mount in Lenox. The history and landscape of The Mount has already influenced and extended the world of the play, inspiring an important conversation between landscape and story, ” said Coreno. “The creative challenge has been set! How will this company of creatives engage an audience to revisit a place as beloved as The Mount? How will the direction of the play draw new maps on the grounds?” 

Following the performance, WAM’s community of supporters will take to the terrace to toast to WAM’s new beginnings – inspired by renewed creative vision, leadership, and adventure. The event will feature fresh summer appetizers and specialty cocktails by Jeremy Kenny of Higher Bar Boutique Catering,  a committee curated silent auction, as well as the exclusive pop-up performance. 

WAM’s 15th Anniversary Benefit is made possible by WAM Theatre’s Benefit Committee Chairs Carolyn Butler and Arwen Lowbridge in concert with Benefit Committee Members: Kelly Binder, Deb Brothers, Nina Garlington, Donna Haghighat, Caroline Kinsolving, Sarah LaDuke, Shela Lavante, Edi Pasalis, Lindey Schmid, and Richard Tovell.  

As a member of the benefit committee, Carolyn Butler reflects on WAM Theatre's 15th Anniversary with pride and anticipation. “With Fragments of Outside, we honor our legacy of championing diverse voices and catalyzing social impact. Here's to 15 years of artful activism and to many more moments of inspiration and change ahead!”

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