Molly is a young theatre professional and artist living in the Berkshires. She holds her B.A. in Theatre and English from SUNY Potsdam. Molly works at Shakespeare & Company as the Publicity & Playbill Director, and at WAM Theatre as the Artistic Associate. This season, Molly is curating our Fresh Takes Play Reading Series and we took a few minutes to ask her about her experiences and the exciting plans she has in store for Fresh Takes audiences
WAM: Were you involved in any way in the first season of Fresh Takes last year?
Molly Clancy: Yes, last year I assistant directed the How The World Began and Seven Homeless Mammoth Wander New England readings. It was incredible to be in the room observing the directors – Tracy Liz Miller and Megan Sandberg-Zakian – collaborating on two new plays. Both plays were so intelligently written and deeply felt. Fresh Takes had me hooked right away!
WAM: What did you like best about the first season?
Molly: Kelly Galvin curated the series last year, and I loved seeing how she put the season together. It was incredibly dynamic and featured many local artists. The season sold out so it was clear to me the readings were in demand by our Berkshire audiences. In an area where we are so saturated with theatre, I was very interested in figuring out what made the series unique. I think a lot of the credit is due to our Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven’s overall vision for WAM Theatre’s double philanthropic mission, and also Kelly recognizing the need for more access to new works written by women. The playwrights featured in the Fresh Takes series are prominent names in the theatre world– but they are often new to our audiences.
Two other great features of the series are its intimate setting at No. Six Depot Roastery and Café, and the post-show discussion with the cast and director. It allows WAM artists to talk directly to our audiences, and get to know our patrons on a different level – it feels almost like a book club. I loved experiencing the way each reading formed a community and created a space for conversation.
WAM: When Kelly left to work on her MFA at Boston University, what inspired you to take on this new adventure?
Molly: I didn’t want the series to get lost. It was really important to me that Fresh Takes became a staple for WAM Theatre and the Berkshire community. Kelly and I met a few times to chat about Fresh Takes and it really inspired me to take the lead as the Curator. WAM’s mission of telling the stories of women and girls resonates strongly with me, and soon enough Kristen and I were in conversations about scripts and booking space for 2015.
WAM: What is your theme or emphasis for this season and how does it differ from last year?
Molly: The emphasis for this season is sharing ground-breaking works that tell women’s stories and that are new to our Berkshire audiences. We are continuing last year’s emphasis on featuring local established and emerging actors and directors, and exploring the work of provocative, contemporary voices.
WAM: What were your goals in selecting the plays?
Molly: I knew we wanted a diverse line-up of ground-breaking works written by women, and to create a dialogue between our audience and artists. For this year’s process I started by looking at lists of scripts and playwrights WAM has been considering producing over the past few years, as well as exploring new scripts that fit WAM’s mission and vision. I spent a lot of December and January reading scripts. Once I found the scripts that best fit WAM’s artistic perspective, I focused on the Fresh Takes season as a whole, making sure we had a well-rounded selection of plays. Next, Kristen and I solidified the direction of this years reading series, and I began the process of reaching out to agents and playwrights. I’m so proud of the selections this year, and I’m really looking forward to hearing from our audiences.
WAM: You will be directing the Pulitzer Prize-winning Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes in August. What attracted you to this play?
Molly: Water by the Spoonful weaves parallel stories of a young Iraq veteran with the on-line lives of a group of recovering addicts who meet regularly in a chatroom. The play captured me in its honest artful storytelling. Ultimately, it’s a story about the struggle to find your place in the world. It’s urgent and raw, it’s a place many of us have been, a collision of family, community and self.
WAM: Playwright Jacqueline E. Lawton will be in town for the June 14 reading of her play, Noms de Guerre, which will be directed by Jayne Atkinson, and the event will be a part of the Lift Ev’ry Voice Festival. How did that come about?
Molly: Yes! I’m thrilled to have Jacqueline and Jayne involved in Fresh Takes this year, and part of WAM Theatre’s first collaboration with Pittsfield’s Lift Ev’ry Voice Festival. The Festival celebrates African-American Culture & Heritage in the Berkshires. Jacqueline was named one of the top 30 national leading black playwrights by Arena Stage’s American Voices New Play Institute, and will join Jayne, a member of the WAM Theatre Advisory Board and a Berkshire resident and favorite on and off stage, in the rehearsal room. I’m really looking forward to the performance and the post-show discussion with both Jayne and Jacqueline.