May 26, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gail Burns, Marketing and Publicity Associate
www.wamtheatre.com
[email protected]​
; 518.243.9627
Press Photos can be found at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wamtheatre/
JAYNE ATKINSON TO DIRECT WAM THEATRE’S NEXT PLAY READING
Jacqueline E. Lawton’s ​
Noms de Guerre ​
Opens Pre-Season for​
Lift Ev’ry Voice Festival
LENOX, MA (May 26, 2015)— WAM Theatre is pleased to announce that ​
Jayne Atkinson​
will be
directing the next play in their ​
2015 Fresh Takes Play Reading Series​
,​
Noms de Guerre ​
by ​
Jacqueline
E. Lawton.
The reading​
will be the inaugural event in this year’s ​
​
Lift Ev’ry Voice Festival​
, which celebrates
African-American Culture and Heritage in the Berkshires. This year the Festival is celebrating the
150th anniversary of the passage of the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery in the United States.
For more information on the Festival visit http://liftevryvoice.org.
“We are so pleased that WAM Theatre has partnered with us this year and are confident that ​
Noms
de Guerre​
will provide a strong start to the Festival,” said Don Quinn Kelley, Co-Chair of Lift Ev’ry Voice
2015. “Since 2010 we have believed that people can, and will, partner to celebrate all Americans
being free. Partnering is our way of connecting across communities in the Berkshires and contributing
to local economies at the same time.”
WAM Theatre will present the reading on ​
Sunday, June 14 at 3:00 p.m. ​
at ​
No. Six Depot Roastery and
Café​
, 6 Depot Street in West Stockbridge, MA. The first two Fresh Takes reading of 2015 have sold
out, as did all five of the readings in 2014 inaugural season, confirming Berkshire audiences embrace
contemporary plays written by women and focusing on the unique stories of women and girls.
Noms de Guerre is a haunting, lyrical and passionate story of friendship, love and politics. Mira is a
rising star in the Republican Party, but her campaign against women’s reproductive rights puts her at
odds with her best friend, Jude, an award-winning journalist. At home, Mira struggles to run a
campaign for Governor and help her war hero husband, Douglas, adjust to civilian life. When Jude
discovers that Douglas is linked to a massacre of Afghan civilians, Mira is thrown into a whirlwind of
political intrigue and must decide whether to hold on to her career or save her husband. Noms de
Guerre is a socio-political drama that addresses the damaging impact of PTSD on veterans and their
family.
The cast of ​
Noms de Guerre ​
features ​
Shanae Burch ​
(WAM Theatre’s ​
Waxworks​
), ​
James Gaudreau
(Confetti Stage’s ​
A Street Car Named Desire​
),​
Christina Gordon​
​
* (WAM’s ​
In Darfur,​
The Public
Theatre’s ​
Good People),​
Concetta Russo​
​
(​
​
Shakespeare & Company’s Northeast Tour of Hamlet​
),​
Erica
​
Tryon* ​
(​
WAM Theatre’s​
Everywoman, ​
Capital Repertory Theatre’s ​
To Kill a Mockingbird) ​
Kevin Craig
West​
(Capital Repertory Theatre’s ​
Metamorphoses, ​
Williamstown Theatre Festival’s​
Cousin Bette​
).
Acclaimed actor ​
Jayne Atkinson​
will direct the reading, and Jessica Sovronsky (Shakespeare &
Company’s ​
Romeo & Juliet​
)​
will be the Stage Manager.
Director Jayne Atkinson is a Berkshire favorite and an internationally acclaimed film, theatre and
television actress. She is a​
WAM advisory board member and was the host of the our 2013 Benefit
​
Claiming Her Place​
. She is perhaps best known for her roles on ​
House of Cards​
,​
Criminal Minds​
and ​
24
as well as her Tony Award-nominated roles in ​
The Rainmaker​
and ​
Enchanted April​
.
Jacqueline E. Lawton was named one of the top 30 national leading black playwrights by Arena Stage’s
American Voices New Play Institute. She received her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas
at Austin (Hook 'em Horns!), where she was a James A. Michener Fellow. She participated in the
Kennedy Center’s Playwrights’ Intensive (2002) and World Interplay (2003). Her plays include: ​
Anna
K​
;​
Blood-bound and Tongue-tied​
;​
Deep Belly Beautiful​
;​
The Devil’s Sweet Water​
;​
The Hampton Years​
;
Ira Aldridge: the African Roscius​
;​
Lions of Industry, Mothers of Invention​
;​
Love Brothers Serenade​
;​
Mad
Breed​
;​
Noms de Guerre​
; and ​
Our Man Beverly Snow​
. Website: ​
http://www.jacquelinelawton.com/
Noms de Guere ​
is the third presentation in the ​
2015 ​
Fresh Takes​
Play Reading Series​
, which gives a
stage to ground-breaking works – which have been successfully presented elsewhere but are new to
our Berkshire audiences – that tell women’s stories. Featuring local established and emerging actors
and directors, the series explores the work of provocative contemporary voices. The series includes a
post-reading discussion and will encourage feedback on which plays audience members would like to
see WAM Theatre produce.
There are only 25 tickets available for this reading. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling
1-800-838-3006 or going online to
http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes-play-reading-series-2015. Due to the limited availability,
advance booking is highly recommended. Food and drink will be available for purchase at the café
prior to the reading, which will begin in the gallery at 3:00 p.m.
The 2015 ​
Fresh Takes ​
Play Reading series is curated by WAM Theatre’s Artistic Associate Molly Clancy.
Future readings include:
● Noms de Guerre​
by Jacqueline Lawton, directed by Jayne Atkinson (June 14, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.
– a part of the Lift Ev’ry Voice Festival)
● The Pulitzer Prize-winning ​
Water by the Spoonful​
by Quiara Alegría Hudes, directed by Molly
Clancy (August 16, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.)
●
The Effect​
by Lucy Prebble, directed by WAM Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven
(September 13, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.)
Find out more about the series at​
http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes-play-reading-series-2015
​
About WAM Theatre
Based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, WAM Theatre was co-founded in 2010 by Canadian
director, actor, educator, and producer Kristen van Ginhoven to create professional theatrical events
for everyone, with a focus on women theatre artists and/or stories of women and girls.
WAM Theatre also has a philanthropic mission, inspired by the book ​
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression
into Opportunity for Women Worldwide​
by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, and donates a
portion of the proceeds from its theatrical events to organizations that benefit women and girls.
Over the past five years, WAM Theatre has donated more than $15,000 to seven nonprofit
organizations and provided paid work to more than 100 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
###