It’s the end of our inaugural year. Wow. It is incredibly difficult for me to really comprehend that in the past year, WAM Theatre has produced two successful professional theatrical events, collaborated with over 40 theatre artists, (over 80% of whom were female), raised over $15,000 in monetary and in-kind donations from over 150 donors and supporters and donated $2500 of that to two beneficiaries who create opportunity for women and girls. AND-we exceeded our ticket sale goals for our second event, paid a stipend to some of our professional artists and officially became a 501(c)3 non-profit organzation. Wow.

We read a book. We had an idea to use theatre to benefit women and girls. We created a double philanthropic model, launched a website and we did it. We ARE doing it and it is working…… Absolutely amazing.

A few of my highlights from the past year:

• Launching the website and the rest of our social media- Nick Webb designed a great WAM Theatre logo and he, Leigh and I worked hard in January to create a website, Facebook and Twitter page that we hoped would answer questions and interest people in our work. Given that we’ve had over 3500 unique visitors since Jan 1st and that we have over 500 Facebook Fans and 150 Twitter followers, I say so far so good…..
• Receiving a check from someone we did not know for the first time- The realization that the person chose to support our work because they loved what we were doing with WAM, not because they loved us (as many of our first donors did and still do, thankfully!) blew us away. It continues to blow me away.
• Seeing our first press feature in The Women’s Times in their April 2010 issue- Having never done marketing before, it felt absolutely amazing to have people contact me for interviews and then to see the articles in various places, GailSez.org, the cover of the Advocate Weekly, the Berkshire Living Daily Digest, a feature in the Berkshire Eagle, it all felt just amazing. That high did not diminish with our second event when we received even more interest and had radio and TV interviews and (thankfully for the most part positive) reviews for the first time. Long may that continue!!!
• Opening night of ‘A WAM Welcome’-the high I felt when the first ticket was sold at the door, to a woman who was treating her friend to the show, was amazing. I wish I had kept that first $20 bill!
• Making our first donation-Looking at the final budget and realizing that we were able to donate $1000 to Women for Women International because so many people had helped us achieve, actually exceed, our fundraising goals for ‘A WAM Welcome’-that was in incredible feeling. Our mission in action. What’s truly amazing is that it happened again with ‘Melancholy Play’. Exceeding goals feels really good.
• Our Theatresports fundraiser-That event, with MOPCO and RBIT facing off in a Theatresports Tournament was exactly the kind of atmosphere we want to create at every WAM event, audience members were talking and laughing, we oversold the event and everyone had a great, great time. It was a complete blast.
• Reaching our Kickstarter Goal- Receiving a donation for $500.00 near the end of our campaign from an anonymous donor and having so many other people donate amounts starting from $10 to help us raise over $3000 towards ‘Melancholy Play’. So, so grateful.
• Casting ‘Melancholy Play’-Leigh and I worked very hard to find the right cast and creative team for the show and finally, everyone said YES! Knowing that we had a truly terrific cast and creative team meant we knew we would create a great show, one of which we remain extremely proud and one that reflects WAM Theatre well.
• Loading into NEW STAGE Performing Arts-Seeing the window unit that Juliana Haubrich designed and her husband, Martin, built, hearing her say that it was WAM’s first set piece and knowing that it was just perfect for the show. We own a set piece! It’s the little things in life sometimes……
• Meeting cast members parents on opening night of ‘Melancholy Play’- Amazing to take in that WAM was responsible for those parents getting to see their children perform. The fact that they flew in from Kentucky and Wisconsin is mind-blowing. My parents even drove up from Canada to see our closing show of ‘Melancholy Play’, which was also the day they celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary. Pretty cool.

There have been so many memorable moments, too many to name, but those are some of the ones that jump to mind as I begin to process the success of our first year. As the president of the board, (who also plays roles as WAM’s graphic designer, resident lighting designer and most important of all, my incredible husband), Nick Webb, said in his letter for the ‘Melancholy Play’ program, “There will be many more seasons to come, but there is only one first”. And our first has been absolutely outstanding.

Giving life to WAM Theatre with Leigh, Nick and all the others who have been instrumental in making our first year such a success will remain one of the most gratifying experiences in my life. Onwards and Upwards!! Bring on 2011.

Written by Kristen van Ginhoven, co-Artistic Director of WAM Theatre. www.kristenvanginhoven.com