Western Mass Theatre News

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Western Mass Theatre News August 1, 2024

Your source for theatre events in Western Massachusetts.

Western Mass Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser August 1 - 21, 2024 Little change this week: this is now Western Mass Theatre News! Two main reasons: I'm happy to move away from the name "Pioneer" - and Connecticut River Valley, while geographically accurate, is a little confusing (the newsletter doesn't include events in Connecticut.) And secondly, this newsletter now covers Berkshire County as well! Believe, I thought about bringing back West Mass, but I'll try this for awhile instead. I'm updating social media and website handles, please be patient (and let me know if you find any broken links, etc.)  The next issue will include events from August 8-28. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at westernmasstheatre@gmail.com Submit Your Theatre Event Real Live Theatre presents When The Mind's Free August 1-4 at the Shea Theater  Tickets for Shea Shows and More Information YOUR EVENT HERE $5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing! Email me to reserve your dates. Click to Access: Western Mass Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet PERFORMANCES Real Live Theatre When The Mind's Free world premiere Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 1-3 at 7:30pm; Sunday August 4 at 2:00pm The Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Montague, MA 01376 RLT premieres our original piece of devised dance-theatre When The Mind’s Free, which follows a contemporary lesbian couple and their adult daughters as they navigate Alzheimer’s disease and addiction, and seek light in their darkest times.  Each performance concludes with a facilitated community conversation calling forth the lived experiences of audience members impacted by the themes of the play, providing a safe space where people can feel grief, hope, recovery, and a sense of belonging and community.  When The Mind's Free has been developed over a five-year period of improvisation and in conversation with Shakespeare’s King Lear, as well as in consultation with memory care organizations, caretakers, families, and individuals dealing with memory loss.  Masks will be required for audiences Saturday, August 3; masking is optional at all other shows. This play includes Mature Content (simulated sexual intimacy, strong language, allusions to drug use).  Directed by: Toby Vera Bercovici  Featuring: Carolyn Goelzer*, Myka Plunkett, Annelise Nielsen, Liz Stanton*, Linda Tardif *Member Actors' Equity Association  Design & Production Team: Choreography by Annelise Nielsen, Lighting Design by Ezekiel Baskin, Sound Design & Composition by Samuel V. Perry, Costume Design by Mikayla Reid, Stage Management by Nat Solomon, Produced by Ellen Morbyrne for RLT  Photos by Ellen Augarten and Katie Gay TICKETS for Shea shows www.reallivetheatre.net www.sheatheater.org  PRICES: $25-$50, with a Pay-What-You-Can option for anyone  Special Note for Audiences: If you or the person you're caring for has Alzheimer's/dementia, and you worry if you/your loved one will be welcome at our Shea Theater performances, please know that EVERYONE IS WELCOME, EXACTLY AS THEY ARE. Crying, sounding, laughing, getting up and leaving partway through, re-entering after a break in the lobby - this is all welcome. This story is about a family going through painful times, but it is also about their beautiful and joyful moments as well. All experiences and feelings are welcome in our audiences. TheatreTruck and Historic Northampton present The Mill Project: woman, work & resistance August 1 - 11, 2024 Staged at the historic Shepherd Barn at 66 Bridge Street, Northampton, Mass. directed by Brianna Sloane designed by Elizabeth Pangburn  featuring Tahmie Der, Emma Friend, Tracy Grammer, Jess Rawlings, and Christine Stevens stage managed by Nikki Beck Historic Northampton is pleased to present The Mill Project: women, work & resistance, a play with music by TheatreTruck, originally performed in 2017 and updated to reflect new scholarship. ​The Mill Project remembers and embodies women's experiences of work and resistance in the textile mills of nineteenth-century New England through a performance-collage drawn from letters, newspapers, pamphlets and etiquette books. Woven into a tapestry of primary source text, original music and movement, the play stages the mill operatives' lived experiences and the rhetoric of womanhood, independence, enslavement, and abolition that surrounded them. Sliding scale admission: $15, $25, & $50 Content Advisory: The play includes themes of death, pregnancy, and abortion and is recommended for adult audiences. Tickets Available Here Chester Theatre Company presents Will Sacrifice (World Premiere) August 1–August 4  Written by Julie McKee Directed by Keira Naughton Bridget’s fraught marriage to Nigel, a cramped NYC apartment, and her stagnant career convince her to search for a country escape in the post 9/11 real estate gold rush in the Catskills. Armed with a limited budget and plenty of nervous enthusiasm, she enlists the aid of Mr. Sunshine to help her realize her dream. A comedy. https://chestertheatre.org/event/will-sacrifice/ William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors takes over Shakespeare & Company’s outdoor mainstage this summer, directed by Kate Kohler Amory through August 18 at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre. The Bard’s fast-paced and farcical story of mistaken identities begins with two sets of twins separated by a storm at sea and culminates in a raucous series of misunderstandings and mishaps. Amory’s production is set in the seaside Vaudeville of New York City, 1912 – a mystical and sometimes strange place filled with as much magic and mischief as sailors and sea captains. “Coney Island vaudeville was an escape and a destination, where the turmoil of American culture at the turn of the century could be seen through frivolity, farce, and play,” said Amory. “Setting this turn of the 16th Century comedic gem at the turn of the 20th Century, I hope to highlight many of the play’s resonances for our own turn of the 21st Century. It is a fitting setting for Aegeon, and us, to encounter both the farce and the tragedy of his situation.” Actor, educator, and emerging director Lauren Davis, the inaugural Tina Packer Women of Will Directing Fellow, serves as Assistant Director. The Fellowship was established by actor John Douglas Thompson in 2023, to honor Packer and her groundbreaking career as a Shakespearean, theater artist, and theater leader. It is awarded to a female-identifying emerging theater director with a passion for Shakespeare. In addition to serving as Assistant Director to Amory on The Comedy of Errors, Davis will observe as Packer directs an enhanced staged reading of The Winter’s Tale in August. Sponsored by Scott and Roxanne Bok, The Comedy of Errors will be outdoors at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre with tickets ranging from $22 to $72; preview performances are 10% off and student tickets are $22. On select evenings, food trucks will be on-site for pre-show purchases from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Card-to-Culture tickets are available for $5 for WIC, EBT, and ConnectorCare families. To purchase tickets, visit shakespeare.org, or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353. Shakespeare & Company presents the World Premiere of Carey Crim’s The Islanders, directed by Regge Life through August 25 at the Tina Packer Playhouse. Originally staged at Shakespeare & Company in 2022 as a reading in the Plays in Process series, The Islanders tells the story of two denizens of an underpopulated island in the Great Lakes: Anna (Michelle Mountain) and Dutch (“ranney”). For different reasons, Dutch and Anna have each retreated from mainstream society, but begin to forge a connection – however tenuous. Director Regge Life said he hopes The Islanders provides a blueprint for anyone who may now be questioning their identity and place in a turbulent world.  “Is now the time to retreat to an island of contemplation, or to stand tall right where you are, in the face of uncertainty?” he asked. This production is sponsored by Greg Lipper and Kate Kohler Amory. Tickets range from $22 to $72, and preview performances on July 25, 26, and 27 are 10% off. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353. Silverthorne Theater Company The final show of our summer season, Smart People, opens on August 2nd! Directed by Michael Ofori, performances will take place at the Perch at Hawks & Reed in Greenfield, from August 2nd - 10th. As Obama runs for his first term in office, four Harvard-connected elites seek out meaningful work, human connection, and clarity around the elephant in the room that is race in America. Valerie Johnston (Kyle Boatwright) campaigns for Obama while trying to put her Acting MFA to work. Jackson Moore (Silk Johnson) saves lives in the ER and his neighborhood clinic. Ginny Yang (Yurika Ohno) is a champion for the mental health of all Asian American women, except maybe her own. Brian White (David Keohane*) uses science to prove that white people are racist and somehow surprises himself. A hilarious mashup of these four flawed individuals leads to painful missteps and new understandings as their lives intertwine. Get your tickets and today and don't miss Smart People! Get Tickets for Smart People Happier Valley Comedy The Understudies Improvised Musical Aug 3, 2024 at 7:00 PM The 1st Saturday of every month Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley It's the opening night of a brand new musical! Unfortunately, the show was never written or rehearsed. This is the moment we've been training for. Be part of the fun as the determined Understudies create an entire musical from scratch, with a little help from the audience. The Understudies are Scott Braidman, Kelsey Flynn, Paul McNeil, Mosie Senn-McNally, and Maile Shoul. With music by the amazing Jeff Kimball! NEXT SHOW: Saturday, August 3rd at 7pm HVC Theater, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA More information Shakespeare & Company, in association with Great Barrington Public Theater, presents Jim Frangione’s Flight of the Monarch, directed by Judy Braha Saturday, August 3 through Sunday, August 25 at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. This darkly comic play tells the story of two siblings, Sheila (Corinna May) and Thomas (Allyn Burrows), both born and raised in a small New England fishing village where they still live. It delves into what we owe to the people who know and love us best, and how family members’ needs and desires may push the boundaries of what we can be expected to do for others. Braha added the work explores how each sibling approaches adversity, but also how their lives are intertwined. "The siblings ride an emotional roller coaster as they attempt to decode the past and find their way into a future of their own making," she said. "There are moments of deep reflection, antipathy, and humor as the siblings navigate the challenges, both physical and cognitive, of growing older.” This production is sponsored by Shari and Steve Ashman and The Jacob Burns Foundation. Tickets range from $22 to $72; preview performance tickets on Saturday, August 3 are 10% off. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit shakespeare.org, or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353. Join PIC for the second and final of our 2024 Roving Salon and Social gatherings. As always, these are free to attend. No advanced registration required. Sunday August 4th, 7:30-9:30. UMass Bromery Center for the Arts, 151 Presidents Drive, Room 413 Featuring excerpts from works-in-progress by Kate Brandt, Harley Erdman, Jill Franks, Jo-Ann Hart, and Edie Meidav, as well as an open mic, in which anyone is welcome to share an original song, monologue, scene, poem, dance, and more, and plenty of socializing time.​ *A note on parking and finding Room 413: For parking for Bromery Center for the Arts: For all events in the Randolph W. Bromery Center for the Arts, free and secure parking is available on Massachusetts Avenue in university Lots 34, and 71 after 5 p.m. and all day on weekends. Accessible parking is available in the South Entrance Lot in front of the Bromery Center when the appropriate license plate or placard is displayed. For more information on parking options near Bromery Center, please visit the UMass interactive parking map. For finding BCA 413: Please look for the “Arts Bridge” entrance to the Bromery Center for the Arts, located in the front left corner of the building (the corner nearest the bus kiosk on the Haigis Mall).  Once inside, take the elevator or the green stairwell up to the 4th floor. CitySpace Najla Saïd: PALESTINE Aug 17, 2024 at 7:30 PM 43 Main Street, Easthampton, MA 01027 Easthampton for Peace presents in collaboration with CitySpace, Najla Saïd in PALESTINE. In Palestine, actor/playwright Najla Said provides a unique passage into one of the most volatile and historic corners of the earth. With compassion, humor, and honesty she makes a case for Palestinian and Arab points of view in ways that truly allow them to be heard. The performance will be followed by a talk back and dialogue with Najla. Doors at 7:00pm | Show at 7:30pm | 16+ Tickets here Tickets: $15-$25 Theater Between Addresses Shabbtai Tsvi: Staged Reading Aug 18, 2024 at 2:00 PM Yiddish Book Center, 1021 West St, Amherst Shabbtai Tsvi by Sholem Asch  Translated Yiddish-to-English and adapted by Weaver  Directed by Yankl Krakovsky  Music composed by Rebecca Mac  This 1908 play, never before performed in its entirety, tells the story of the meteoric rise and tragic fall of Shabbtai Tsvi, the 17th century Ottoman Jewish mystic whose messianic aspirations attracted a following of thousands of Jews from every corner of the earth. Shabbtai Tsvi takes place throughout the Yiddish Book Center grounds and orchard, and the audience is free to explore the environment freely throughout the play. As an audience member, it is your choice how you engage with the mass feeling of messianism; will you stand on the edges and watch, or join in the dance of liberation?  This outdoor immersive reading runs roughly 90 minutes. Tickets are a sliding scale with 100% of each ticket going directly to compensating the artists involved in the production. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.  The Yiddish Book Center will be open 10-4, and attendees are encouraged to visit the Center prior to the performance.  Performance will take place on Sunday, August 18 at 2 PM Tickets ACCESSIBILITY: This performance will be processional, and will require audience members to move over uneven ground between areas where scenes will be staged. Standing and moving among the performers is encouraged, but chairs will be available for audience members who need to sit between moments of procession. It is likely to be hot, sunny and buggy, so please wear appropriate clothing, apply sunscreen and bug spray, and check thoroughly for ticks afterwards. Bathrooms and water will be available inside the Yiddish Book Center. In case of extreme weather, our backup location will be the Kligerman-Greenspun Performance Hall inside the Yiddish Book Center. If we perform inside, per Theater Between Addresses policy, masks will be mandatory and provided. AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES The Valley Players, the Pioneer Valley’s newest community theater group, have announced open auditions for their first production, Nick Payne’s award-winning play of love, loss, and parallel universes, Constellations. Auditions will be held Monday, August 12 and Tuesday, August 13, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, at the Munson Memorial Library (1046 South East Street, Amherst, MA). Auditions slots must be booked in advance at valleyplayers.org. No preparation or prior performance experience is required. All auditioners will read from excerpts from the script. Though the play is written with two characters, the Valley Players production is looking to cast eight actors, four in each role. Constellations is a spellbinding romantic journey that begins with a simple encounter at a barbecue between a physicist and a beekeeper but then defies the boundaries of the universe we think we know by delving into the infinite possibilities of their connection. Branching across multiple timelines, the play asks questions about destiny and chance, love and death, and how the relationship between two people might change with the change of just a single word or decision. The New York Times describes Payne’s play as “the most sophisticated date play Broadway has seen” and “supremely articulate.” “This story of parallel universes is universal in every sense of the word,” the Times concludes. “Smart” and “superb,” raves The Guardian, and Variety calls it “sweet and strangely haunting.” “A singular astonishment,” praises The New Yorker, “at once eloquent and mysterious …a wholly satisfying and complete emotional journey…The well-judged dialogue, at once terse and trenchant, finds its own characteristic poetry.” The show goes up October 11–20 at the Munson Library with a pay-what-you-can ticket price. “Our aim is to make theater affordable and accessible for everyone,” explained Valley Players president, Matteo Pangallo. “Another core aspect of our mission is to make community theater that gives back to the community,” he added, “which is why a portion of net ticket revenue will be donated to a charity or nonprofit doing important work to serve our neighbors in the Valley.” The Valley Players is an entirely volunteer-run nonprofit group that relies on the contributions of donors and business sponsors. All contributions are tax-deductible and go fully and only to support the organization’s mission and programming. Anyone who wants to donate or become a business sponsor, or find more information about the group, can do so at valleyplayers.org. The mission of the Valley Players is to enrich the quality of life in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts by producing nimble, meaningful, and accessible community theater. WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Happier Valley Comedy Intro to the Joy & Ease of Improv for BIPOC Students Aug 3, 2024 at 10:00 AM Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley 10am-12pm  No charge (Workshop fees are supported by HVC's Equity Pricing Fund)  Would you like to feel more connected to your community? Are you looking for a place to meet new friends? Has life gotten too serious and you’re looking to add some FUN into your life? Does the idea of performing in front of people scare the dickens out of you? Have you ever watched improv and thought, "I could never do that!"? Have you ever watched improv and thought, "Heck, I could definitely do that!"? Do you not give a flying fig about improv comedy but want to learn some tricks to become more confident speaking in public and more mindful in the moment? Interested in checking out what's going on at Happier Valley Comedy?  If you answered yes to any or all of these questions and identify as BIPOC, this workshop is for you. It's designed especially for improv newbies, improv-curious, and anyone who wants to step outside their comfort zone in a space of supportive bravery and laughter.  Once you get started, you'll see it's not that scary after all. Pam and Angélica lead you through a gentle, easeful, and mindful introduction to improv comedy in a positive and accepting atmosphere where failure is impossible. Our main focus is to have as much joy and ease as humanly possible in two hours. (The person who has the most fun wins!)  No experience necessary. Being funny is NOT required. The only requirement is a willingness to learn something new and have as much fun as possible. https://www.happiervalley.com/intro-to-improv-for-bipoc.html Shakespeare & Company's free Behind the Curtain lecture series resumes on Saturday, April 6, led by Shakespeare scholar Ann Berman. Featuring directors, cast, and design team members as guests, Berman examines various themes surrounding both the Shakespeare and contemporary productions slated for Season 2024 through talks designed to be accessible, engaging, and interactive. Berman holds a Master of Arts in Shakespeare Studies from King’s College, London, and explores topics ranging from historical parallels in Shakespeare’s plays to the effect costumes, scenic design, lighting, and more can have on audience response to a performance. This season will include seven Behind the Curtain lectures held from April through August; Spring talks will be held in the Jane Iredale Lobby at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, while Summer sessions will be held outdoors at the tented Rose Footprint Theatre in the Rose Meadow. Behind the Curtain lectures for the 2024 Season include: Saturday, August 10 – The Winter's Tale with Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer Saturday, August 24 – Three Tall Persian Women; guest to be announced All Behind the Curtain lectures are free, but tickets are required. For more information, visit shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353. Spend your summer Saturdays at LAVA with new free art, music and theater! WHAT: summer@lava: free visual and performing arts and workshops all summer long WHEN: every Saturday midday, June 22–September 28 WHERE: The LAVA Center, 324 Main St., Greenfield https://thelavacenter.org/summer/  Join The LAVA Center in downtown Greenfield every Saturday this summer for art, music and theater! Our “summer@lava” series features new visual and performing arts and workshops, and happens every Saturday midday, so you can come after your weekly trip to the farmers market, and then hit up the rest of downtown’s cafes, restaurants, library, bookstores and shops afterwards! And best of all — all summer@lava programming is all FREE, funded by the Crossroads Cultural District and the Mass Cultural Council. Improv workshops Join local improv veteran Henry Balzarini every 2nd and 4th Saturday, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., all summer through September for free improv workshops! Using improv games, we will become a fast thinking, in the moment, loose goose brigade. August 10 and September 14: 2nd Saturdays are for experienced improvisers to join in, share games, and brainstorm. August 24 and September 28: 4th Saturdays are for everyone! — all are welcome, from brand-newbies to the most seasoned veteran, for a series of new improv games every time. Our summer@lava programming is FREE, funded by the Crossroads Cultural District and the Mass Cultural Council. Donations are always welcome! Is your tween or teen finding that this summer is longer and hotter than they anticipated? Are they (or you) starting to regret not signing up for more activities this summer? Not to worry. PIC's got you covered! We still have a few spots left in PIC Kids Ensemble: Our Dreams! from August 12-16. Each session takes place in the state-of-the-art (aka well air conditioned) Workroom at 33 Hawley Street in Northampton. Get them out of the heat and into a highly collaborative, creative, and fun-filled week of theater making. Click the button for more info and to register! Learn more and register Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training will host its 9-Day Intensive at its Lenox campus from Thursday, August 22 through Saturday, August 31.  Designed for mid-career actors, educators, directors, and others seeking professional and artistic development, the 9-Day Intensive is inspired by Shakespeare & Company’s Month-long Intensive. Director of Training Sheila Bandyopadhyay said the workshop offers participants an opportunity to immerse themselves in Shakespeare training and make connections with like-minded artists in a robust, accessible format.  “We regularly hear from artists in the mid-stages of their career that they wish they could attend our renowned Month-long Intensive in the winter, but their schedules simply do not permit them to do so,” said Bandyopadhyay. “For those out there who are juggling teaching, acting, directing, parenting responsibilities, and the like, the 9-Day Intensive is ideal.” The daily schedule includes classes in Linklater Voice, Movement, monologue and scene work, and the format and tuition include admission to three Shakespeare & Company shows staged at the height of its 2024 performance season.  Tuition is $1,495 with partial scholarships available for BIPOC artists. Early payment, alumni, and union member discounts are also available. Limited on-campus housing is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information or to apply, visit shakespeare.org or call 413.637.1199, ext. 114. Submit your workshop, class, audition, performance, or any other theatre opportunity here! Pioneer Valley Theatre Companies Academy of Music Theatre Amherst Community Theater Arena Civic Theatre A.C.T. Youth Theatre Black Cat Theater Chester Theatre Company CitySpace Cold Spring Community Theatre Completely Ridiculous Productions Drama Studio Double Edge Theatre Easthampton Theater Company Eggtooth Productions Exit 7 Players Ghost Light Theater Greenfield Community College's Theater Department Hampshire Shakespeare Company Happier Valley Comedy Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center Human Agenda Theater Ja'Duke Center for the Performing Arts K and E Theater Group Ko Theater Works/Ko Festival of Performance Majestic Theater Mount Holyoke College Rooke Theatre No Theater Northampton Community Arts Trust Northampton Playwrights Lab PaintBox Theatre Panopera Pauline Productions Performance Project Phantom Sheep Players Play Incubation Collective Real Live Theatre Red Thread Theater Royal Frog Ballet Serious Play Theatre Ensemble Shakespeare Stage Shea Theater Arts Center Silverthorne Theater Smith College Department of Theatre South Hadley Players St. Michael's Players Starlight's Youth Theatre, Inc. Strident Theatre Theater Between Addresses TheatreTruck Turbulent Times Theater UMass Department of Theater UMass Theatre Guild Unity House Players Valley Light Opera Valley Players Ware Community Theatre Westfield Theatre Group Wilbraham United Players World and Eye Want to know even more about events in the Pioneer Valley and beyond, including reviews, interviews, and previews? Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar In the Spotlight, Inc. Berkshire on Stage Stagestruck ArtsBeat TV/Radio and News Column Local Theater Critic Max Hartshorne Copyright © 2024 Pioneer Valley Theatre, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive the Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter. This newsletter is published weekly on Thursdays and all information about upcoming performances and auditions is reader submitted. The newsletter is limited to information about theatre in the Pioneer Valley. Our mailing address is: Pioneer Valley Theatre 12 Chapman Avenue Easthampton, MA 01027 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences