WAM Theatre Acts Out and Speaks Up!
WAM Theatre is based in Berkshire County.
Parity in positions of power and leadership is one of the Women’s Fund strategic pillars for advancing gender and racial equity in our region. To us, that means facilitating an increase in female representation in all positions of power and leadership across Western Massachusetts.
We are proud of the committee members who participated in this year’s trust-based philanthropy process to award funds for the crucial healing and recovery work throughout the four counties of Western Massachusetts.
How is your organization making a difference for women and girls in Western Massachusetts?
WAM Theatre is a professional theatre company based on the ancestral homeland of the Mohican Tribe now known as Berkshire Country in Western Massachusetts, USA, that operates at the intersection of arts and activism. WAM creates theatre for gender equity and has a vision of theatre as philanthropy.
Every time an audience comes together for a theatrical event, a community is formed. WAM engages that community by producing theatrical events for everyone, with a focus on women theatre artists and/or stories of women and girls. A portion of proceeds from theatrical events is donated to organizations that work to benefit the lives of women and girls in our communities and worldwide.
In fulfillment of its philanthropic mission, WAM donates a portion of the proceeds from their Mainstage productions to carefully selected beneficiaries. Since WAM’s founding in 2010, they have donated more than $80,000 23 local and global organizations taking action for gender equity in areas such as girls’ education, teen pregnancy prevention, sexual trafficking awareness, midwife training, and more.
How is your organization working toward meeting the goals of our parity in positions of power and leadership pillar?
Through theater and in the theater we strive for equality in opportunity and treatment.
We are champions for human rights, working to create change by creating opportunities for women and girls which lifts all of humanity. We work diligently and tirelessly for fairness and equal access through our dual mission of theatrical and philanthropic endeavors.
We make an impact locally and globally: We recognize that we are part of a myriad of communities and we, therefore, create change by telling stories about and across local, global, gender, ethnic, artistic, and international communities.
We stand up with integrity, honesty, and respect: Our conviction and integrity guide what we do and how we do it, every day. We adhere to the highest standards of professionalism and personal responsibility. WAM Theatre provides philanthropy through the arts by using theatre to benefit women and girls worldwide. Our patrons and community partners support women and girls by supporting the arts– we call this Double Philanthropy.
Can you share any stories of success?
WAM Theatre answered a call to offer mentorship and advocacy for the careers of young women of color by lifting them up into positions of emerging leadership, with our 2020 apprenticeship program that forged ongoing mentorship with six emerging BIPOC theatre artists as they launched their careers. The initial paid apprenticeship was around our production of ROE, which became a digital production due to Covid-19 social distancing.
A recent University of Albany graduate was our Artistic Apprentice for ROE, (she went on to become our Artistic Assistant in a year-long salaried WAM Team member) recalls that she loved “being able to have a hand in both technical and performance aspects of theatre because it allows me to learn more about the entire process. With Acting, I’m able to transform and step away from my own life. Assistant Directing has allowed me to understand just how many moving parts there are to a piece of work, which has been eye-opening. Both areas of theatre make me feel like a true collaborator and I’m grateful for that.”
Likewise one of our Design Apprentices, a recent UMass Amherst MFA alumna (who went on to design the set for our mainstage production of KAMLOOPA) remembers that: “With ROE, I felt like my little quarantine bubble finally exploded to bring me back into the world, to give me a chance to act upon what’s happening in our society.”
What does this year’s gender equity work hold in store for us?
For 2022, we challenged ourselves to think of the art of gathering as an integral part of our storytelling. You’ll see this in the way we are collaborating with sister social-justice organizations, like the Women’s Fund, and different arts venues crisscrossing the Berkshires throughout the year. We matched plays with venues and partners that allow each one to be a unique and exciting event.
This year, our Performance Season and Community Engagement Program centers on women taking control of their own lives. From North Adams to Pittsfield, Lenox to Great Barrington, WAM will present ground-breaking narratives that place complex women center stage. In 2022 WAM will bring to our community:
A mainstage production of Cadillac Crew is an electrifying new play by Tori Sampson, that takes you from the Civil Rights Movement to the present day. This poignant play, underwritten by the Women’s Fund, illuminates forgotten leaders who blazed the trail for desegregation and women’s rights.
Fresh Takes Play Reading Series of three powerful stories presented in three different venues with different community partners. The first, The New Galileos by Amy Berryman follows three female scientists–a marine biologist, a glaciologist, and a soil expert–who are being held hostage by their government because of their work fighting climate change. Next up, Bright Half Life by Tanya Barfield, presented in celebration of Pride Month, takes us back and forth in time in a relationship between Vicky and Erica, from the first meeting to marriage, children, skydiving, and the infinite moments that make a life together. And finally, Escaped Alone, written by celebrated playwright Caryl Churchill, places four older women center stage to explore global disaster over afternoon tea.
For WAM’s Community Engagement this season we bring back our acclaimed Teen Ensemble and Elder Ensemble, two special groups, one of the curious young artists and another centering creative women 65+, both to explore and imagine new ideas for the future. Additionally, we offer three new FREE online workshops in Improv and Playwright; and a Spotlight Series that will take audiences behind the scenes and inside the creative process of our season’s artist-activists.
Do you have volunteer opportunities that you want to share with the friends of the Fund?
The community can support WAM Theatre by becoming a volunteer. WAM’s large and active group of volunteers has been vital to our success. Whatever your skills, interests, and availability, there’s a place for you on the WAM Team. Our committees include Communications, Ushering, Hospitality, and Special Events. For more information visit our volunteer page by clicking here or contact our Managing Director, Molly Merrihew, at molly@wamtheatre.com to get involved.
