Pioneer Valley Theatre News February 16, 2023

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

Pioneer Valley Theatre Newsletter View this email in your browser February 16 - March 8, 2023 This weekend: Silverthorne's reading of The Building tonight, Clue at Exit Seven Players, and a lecture at Shakespeare & Company. And lots more coming soon! The next issue will include events from February 23 - March 15. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com Submit Your Theatre Event YOUR EVENT HERE $5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing! Email me to reserve your dates. Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Google Calendar Click to Access: Pioneer Valley Theatre Personnel Spreadsheet THIS WEEK IN THEATRE NEWS: from Howlround Restorying Our Past and Present, Imagining Our Future by Ronee Penoi From the article:  Osiyo and good morning, everyone. I’m Ronee Penoi, Laguna Pueblo and Cherokee, and like many here, I wear a lot of hats. I’m a presenter, an advocate for Indigenous peoples and decolonization, and a composer. This morning, however, I want to focus on us. I’ve had a lot of vulnerable conversations with folks in this room about how difficult the past few years have been in our field and in our world. There’ve been a lot of obstacles and necessary systemic change has been slow. But we continue to process, grieve, and heal as individuals and as an industry. We come together in moments like this to celebrate our wins and lift each other up. Any anxiety we’re feeling doesn’t diminish our strength. In fact, I think our courage to be vulnerable, to not know the answers, is just what we need. It might feel like we’ve missed our window after 2020, 2021, and 2022, but as they say, sometimes it can take a long time for conditions to be just right for change. Have you read an interesting article about theatre recently? Send it to me! pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com PERFORMANCES Silverthorne Theater Company, Inc. The Building, by Betel Arnold, a new play reading February 16 at 7:30 PM The Divine Theatre, 92 Race Street, Holyoke MA 01040 Silverthorne Theater Company presents a staged reading of Northampton playwright Betel Arnold’s newest play, The Building. Directed by Kyle Boatwright, the reading will take place at 7:30pm on Thursday, February 16th, 2023 at the Divine Theater at Gateway City Arts as part of Silverthorne’s free Theater Thursdays reading series, with a talkback to follow. Tickets are free, and Silverthorne welcomes donations so that we can continue making our work accessible to all. The Building follows lifelong Brooklyn resident Agnes as she attempts to get her granddaughter Catalina out of their apartment building and off to a renowned fashion design program in France to further her education. When Agnes discovers that Catalina has been secretly dating the son of a notorious drug dealer, Agnes becomes all the more desperate, enlisting the help of her friends and eventually squaring off with the building’s landlord—who turns out to be much more than he appears. Tickets The classic board game is brought to life in Clue! Six guests are invited to a dinner party thrown by an anonymous host. They are given aliases--Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, and Miss Scarlet. Though discouraged from revealing personal information, it is soon discovered that all of them have fallen victim to the same blackmailer, their very host of the evening. Each is presented with a weapon and an option: pay their extortionist double, or kill the innocent butler. What follows is a madcap, slapstick evening full of murder, mystery, and laughs as they seek to puzzle out the culprit amongst criminals. February 17-19, 24-26, 2023 Understudy performance on Friday, February 17! Purchase tickets: exit7players.org or 413-583-4301 Exit 7 Theater 37 Chestnut Street Ludlow, MA 01056 Cast List: Wadsworth: Joe Lessard Yvette/Scarlet US: Lila Oren-Dahan Peacock: Mary Marcil-Labbe Scarlet: Hannah Labreche White: Isabella Bonavita Mustard: Ryan Bird Plum: John Woytowicz Green: Joshua Prouser Cook/Peacock US: Taylor Raucher Boddy/Wadsworth US: John Scully Motorist/Clue Player/Green US: Devin Dumas Unexpected Cop/Mustard US: Andy Price Telegram Girl/Clue Player/Yvette US: Grace Peltier Clue Player/Plum US: Eric Macksoud Clue Player/White US: Jami Wilson Chief of Police: Bruce Torrey Directed by Krystle Bernier Stage Managed by Zack Kingsley Produced by Adam Malmborg and Chris Climo Shakespeare & Company has announced a new, free lecture series: Behind the Curtain, launching Saturday, Feb. 18, and hosted by Shakespearean scholar Ann Berman. Berman, who currently serves as Vice President of Shakespeare & Company’s Volunteer Company, holds a Master of Arts in Shakespeare Studies from King’s College, London through a program partnered with Shakespeare’s Globe. She will lead the series, often with directors, cast members, design-team members, or others joining as guest speakers, examining various themes surrounding Shakespeare’s works as well as other titles to be presented during the 2023 Season.  The inaugural Behind the Curtain lecture will be held Saturday, Feb. 18, at 10:30 a.m. at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre’s Jane Iredale Lobby, focusing on Romeo and Juliet, with an emphasis on how costume design can influence audience response. Shakespeare & Company Costume Director Govane Lohbauer will be the talk’s featured guest.  The series continues on Saturday, March 4 with a discussion of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to be staged at Shakespeare & Company from August 1 through September 10; Saturday, March 18, exploring the topic of Shakespeare and Jealousy, and Saturday, April 1, tracing the historical source material that informed The Contention: Henry VI, Part II. All Behind the Curtain talks are free, but reservations are required. For more information or to reserve a ticket, visit shakespeare.org. About Shakespeare & Company Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training opportunities year-round, and attracts more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists. About Ann Berman  Ann Berman holds a Master of Arts in Shakespeare Studies from King’s College, London, through a program that partnered with Shakespeare’s Globe. She also holds a Master's of Education in Special Education from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in English from SUNY Binghamton. Prior to relocating to Berkshire County, she served as a longtime volunteer with the Actors’ Shakespeare Project in Boston, and taught Shakespeare’s plays at the Life-long Learning at Regis College program (LLARC), in tandem with what play ASP was performing at the time. Now a resident of Lee, Mass., Berman is also an active member of The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College (OLLI). THE GLASS MENAGERIE NEXT UP AT MAJESTIC THEATER FEBRUARY 23 THROUGH APRIL 2   A classic American drama takes center stage at the Majestic Theater when The Glass Menagerie is presented February 23 through April 2.  Tennessee Williams’ play about family and the fragility of memory is part of the Majestic’s 25th Anniversary Season of theater and live performances at the West Springfield venue.   The Glass Menagerie tells the tale of Amanda Wingfield, the faded Southern Belle, who is desperate to marry off ailing daughter Laura, and worries about wayward son Tom.  Saddled with the obligations left to him by his absent father, Tom, who also acts as the play’s narrator, arranges for an acquaintance, a gentleman caller, to pay a visit to Laura and sets off not only her own, but her mother’s hopes for a romantic future.  This memorable play is set in St. Louis during the Great Depression and is widely considered to be one of the most significant plays of the 20th century.   Danny Eaton is producing director, while Rand Foerster is directing the play.  Associate Producing Director/Stage Manager is Sue Dziura, and Stephen Petit is production manager.  Aurora Ferraro is associate production manager, and Josiah Durham is technical director/set designer.  Dawn McKay is costume designer, and Daniel Rist is lighting designer.  Scenic Artist is Bev Stevens Browne.   Cast members include Robbie Simpson (Tom), Cate Damon (Amanda), Abigail Milnor-Sweetser (Laura), Tosh Foerster (Jim) and Ann-Marie Messbauer (Musician).  Understudies include Chris Rojas (Tom/Jim), Myka Plunkett (Amanda) and Caelie Scott Flanagan (Laura).   Ticket prices range from $29 - $35 and can be obtained by visiting or calling the box office at (413) 747-7797 during hours of operation (Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.)   Audience members are required to wear a mask while in the building unless actively eating or drinking in the café.  Doors to the theater will open one hour before the start of a show, which is also when the café opens.  For more information, visit www.majestictheater.com My H8 Letter to the Gr8 American Theatre by Diana Oh February 24, 25, March 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 PM Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre 122 Green Street, Northampton, MA.  The Smith College Department of Theatre presents My H8 Letter to the Gr8 American Theatre by Diana Oh ’08 in Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre on February 24, 25, March 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 pm. NYC Queer Icon, Contemporary Artist and Musician Diana “Zaza” Oh returns to Smith to direct their new play-extravaganza that satirizes the Great American Theatre—the galas, diversity panels, white leads—using humor, A List of Things, music, and flamingos. My H8 Letter is a call for evolution crossed with a Queer dance club inspired by a kindergarten classroom hiding behind a stage reading. There is a "before" and an "after" My H8 Letter to the Gr8 American Theatre, and liberation is on the other side of it. Tickets online at smitharts.booktix.com.General Admission: Adults $10, Students/Seniors 65+: $5 FREE for Smith Students A Persian myth we can connect to: UMass Theater's Aurash is a story about an ordinary person's heroism February 24, 25 and March 1, 2, 3, 4 at 7:30 p.m. February 25 at 2:00 p.m. The Curtain Theater, Bromery Center for the Arts $15 general admission, $5 students and seniors  Aurash is a Persian story of an ordinary person in an extraordinary situation, who found the spirit to carry out a heroic act that changed a country's future. In the months since Iranian director Behnam Alibakhshi proposed it for the 22-23 UMass Theater season, it has become ever more shatteringly relevant as a tribute to the courageous women and men fighting for freedom in his home country. This stage version of Aurash, presented Feb. 24-March 4, is an hour-long immersion in a foundational Persian myth. Graduate student Alibakhshi has created a production that draws richly on the theater and storytelling traditions he grew up with and blended them with western theater forms. Audience members will see a set and costumes that reflect color palettes common to Iran; they'll hear Persian music as they enter the space, and they'll see actors moving in ritualized ways. The story of Aurash the Archer (sometimes spelled Arash) began as an oral tradition in Persia (now known as Iran) and was written down over 1000 years ago. After a long and bloody war, an archer was charged with shooting an arrow that would determine the future boundaries of Persia, bringing a peaceful and prosperous age to the country. In the original telling he was a noble, but in this adaptation by Bahram Beyza’ie, one of Iran's leading playwrights, he is an ordinary man of modest background. Alibakhshi has cast a woman as one of the actors who portrays Aurash, something he had considered even before the current protests began. Woman have been a part of protests in the country for a long time, he noted, despite pushback from the regime and the tremendous risk to themselves and their loved ones. "I think they are the bravest women in the world," Alibakshi said. Iran has a long and rich cultural history. Alibakhshi noted that ancient Persian documents contain some of the first discussions of human rights. He is critical of the current government.  "Where are those cultural values right now?" he asked. The myth of Aurash "is reminding people of a glorious past that we have lost." Alibakhshi hopes audience members — and not just those from Iran — see something to inspire them in the story of this ordinary person who finds the spirit to act heroically. Purchase your tickets now! Tickets are available through the Fine Arts Center box office WINTER SALON 2023 Monday, February 27th 7-9pm HCC's MGM Culinary Arts Institute 164 Race St Holyoke, MA FREE TO ATTEND, but we appreciate advance sign ups.  As always, our scheduled presenters will be followed by an open mic. We welcome and encourage you to bring something to share.   Learn more and register to attend at www.playincubation.org/salon. The Department of Film Media Theater at Mount Holyoke College is delighted to announce our third season production, Ike Holter’s Exit Strategy. At once funny, angry, warm, and sad, this timely and poignant drama deals with an inner-city public school on the brink of extinction. The fictional Chicago-based Tumbldn High School is severely underfunded and undermined. The impending closure thrusts its vice principal, teachers, and a student into a battle to save their beloved institution. Will the bonds forged in this battle be enough to rescue their school from extinction? “...Holter's beautifully written piece crackles with energy and passion - it hearkens back to those early British plays by Harold Brenton and David Hare in the way it combines issues and politics with emotion and personality.” - Stage Raw. Directed by Michael Ofori. Exit Strategy runs from March 2-5, 2023. Dates: Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 pm Friday, March 3 at 7:30 pm Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 pm Sunday, March 5 at 2:00 pm Location: Rooke Theater at Mount Holyoke College Lower Lake Road, South Hadley, MA 01075 Ticket prices:   $10 general admission, $8 students https://mhc.ludus.com/index.php AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES Play Incubation Collective Ukrainian Theatre Fundraiser Audition February 16 at 6:00 PM Ethel: The Barn Theatre, Southampton Auditions for reading of I'm Fine, a new play by Nina Zakhozhenko. Roles for 2 F/2M, ages 18-30. The reading will happen on March 26 and will be part of a fundraiser for Ukrainian playwrights. Auditionees should prepare a dramatic monologue (can be read). Email Jay at j.p.goldenboy17@gmail.com to make an appointment Interested in performing at a Play Incubation Salon this year? We are seeking artists who are interested in sharing 10 minutes or less of a work in progress that has the potential to spark civic dialogue, and for which they desire feedback/input from an audience primarily comprised of other artists. Use this link to our salon submission form where, in addition to sharing information about what you’d like to present, you will be prompted to submit the questions they would like to pose to the audience in advance. The audience will be guided through 10 minutes of feedback where they aim to only answer and address the questions that the presenting artists has asked. There is more detailed information about this on the salon registration page. You can access a video with more details about the salon, as well as a link to the registration form for info about feedback, at www.playincubation.org/salon. If you’d like to view a sample salon, you can do so here! What can you share in 10 minutes? Here are some examples: 2-3 new songs 1-3 poems A chapter or partial chapter of a novel A monologue A 10 minute scene from a play A 10 minute scene from a video piece A dance piece or a 10 minute portion of a dance piece Important News about Upcoming Renovations and Building Use at 33 Hawley Street As many of you know, the Northampton Community Arts Trust (the organization that owns, develops and maintains 33 Hawley) was awarded a federal earmark in 2022 that will allow the Trust to add to the capabilities of this already outstanding community art space. This round of renovations will provide 33 Hawley with a brand new art gallery, a finished lobby with an upgraded box office area and a concessions stand, a proper green room and dressing rooms downstairs, and more!  The construction is scheduled to begin in March 2023. The building will be closed (no one but construction staff allowed onsite) Mondays thru Fridays from 7:30am-3:30pm. The Northampton Center for the Arts will continue to program the Flex, Eli's Room, and Carole's Dance Studio M-F after 4pm on weekdays and all day on weekends. This arrangement is currently scheduled to continue through the end of August 2023. A.P.E.'s Workroom will be closed for renovations until 2024. Keep an eye out for programming from The School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, the company-in-residence at A.P.E. Northampton Open Media (NOM) will close its location at 33 Hawley Street to the public from March 1, 2023 through December 1, 2023. NOM will keep public hours at its home location inside the same building as Northampton High School at 380 Elm St., Northampton, at the rear of the building. Starting in September 2023, and continuing for a few months, 33 Hawley will be completely shut down until renovations are completed. There will be no spaces to rent or any on-site programming from September 2023 until work is finished. We are all hopeful and expecting that the building will be fully open for business again in January 2024. At that point, we look forward to many more years of uninterrupted artistic programming with and for our community! WORKSHOPS & CLASSES Registration opens on Monday, February 6th for PIC Kids Summer! At PIC Kids Summer, young artists (ages 7-11) will go on an adventure through the creative process as they explore theater, movement, and music. Each week follows a different theme, and all weeks will culminate in a sharing of the young artists' original work on Fridays at 2:30. We are pleased to announce that we've added an additional week!  JULY 17-21       Make 'Em Laugh JULY 24-28      Growl and Groove JULY 31-AUG 4   Soundscapes and Sorcery AUGUST 7-11     Five Day Play 9am-3pm each day  $325/week Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity, 130 Pine St, Florence​ Registration opens Monday, February 6th! Learn more. By popular demand, WAM Theatre is thrilled to announce the return of its acclaimed Elder and Teen Ensembles. This Spring,  WAM invites Berkshire-based women over 65 and teens ages 13-18 to join the company on a  journey of empowerment through creativity, teamwork, and devised theatre. WAM’s Elder Ensemble launched with a Meet & Greet in December; WAM is currently accepting applications for its 2023 Teen Ensemble now through March 10. WAM Elder Ensemble Devised Theatre and Creative Collaboration for Women over 65 years Led by WAM Teaching Artists Kaia Jackson and Co-facilitator TBC March 14 - April 25, 2023 At The WAM Theatre Creative Hub, 55 Main Street, Lenox, MA WAM Teen Ensemble  A paid theatre workshop for young people aged 13-18 Led by WAM Teaching Artists Kaia Jackson and Maizy Scarpa. April 18-21, 2023 at The WAM Theatre Hub, 55 Main Street, Lenox, MA Apply online at: https://forms.gle/CWaqrwuKMavzAwpe9.  Application deadline: March 10, 2023 Tuesdays | 3-5pm PST / 6-8pm EST / 11-1am GMT | February 28th - April 5th | On Zoom | Open to 8 Participants Sundays | 11-1pm PST / 2-4pm EST / 7-9pm GMT | March 6th - April 10th | On Zoom | Open to 8 Participants $295     About the Class A Very Special Writing Class (or Claire’s Writing Cult), is a playful and challenging class with weekly exercises and writing prompts — that run the gamut from surreal to straightforward, very deep to very dumb — will encourage you to get out of your head, delve into your unconscious, and develop your authentic voice, leading to vulnerable, funny, fierce, strange, and surprising work. Each week, we’ll subvert elements of memoir, theater, fiction, and other genres to help inspire creativity, with a curriculum that’s designed for artists of all kinds: writers, comedians, performers, filmmakers, visual artists, and non-artists interested in exploring creative expression. Dropouts, shut-ins and people picked last in gym class are welcome!* *Jocks, geniuses and the well-adjusted are also welcome. This is an inclusive class. Sign Up! 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 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 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 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 © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences  *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*