Two Women. Multiple Truths. One Landmark Supreme Court Case.
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LENOX, MA (March 3, 2020) – WAM Theatre is delighted to announce that tickets go on sale Tuesday, March 3, for their fall Mainstage production of ROE by Lisa Loomer, directed by WAM Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven. The production will run September 24-October 11, 2020, presented at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse in Lenox, MA.
ROE is an historically sweeping play with a large ensemble cast that illuminates the history of one of the most polarizing social issues of the modern era, the Roe v. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion. The play provides a reminder of the human stories behind the debates and how hard we have to work to compassionately communicate with people with whom we may disagree.
“I wanted people to feel, as they watched the play, that their point of view was represented, if nothing else because that helps people be more open and willing to hear another point of view,” playwright Lisa Loomer explained.
“WAM is thrilled to be sharing this story in this national election year. At a time when compassionate dialogue across differences is more challenging than ever, our hope is that ROE opens up informed and important conversations about reproductive health,” states van Ginhoven. “And, with ROE being a 12 person cast, we are thrilled to be able to work with more local theatre artists both onstage and offstage than ever before.”
ROE was commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2012 as part of its American Revolutions Cycle. It was developed at the University of Texas and The Kennedy Center (as part of DC’s Women’s Voices Festival) as well as at OSF’s Black Swan Lab before it played for 70 performances in Ashland and then had runs in Washington, DC (Arena Stage), Berkeley, CA (Berkeley Rep), and Sarasota, FL (Asolo Rep).
In keeping with WAM’s double philanthropic mission, a portion of the proceeds will be given to an organization taking action for women and girls. The beneficiary for ROE will be announced soon. To date, the company has donated more than $75,000 to 19 local and global organizations taking action for women and girls in areas such as girls education, teen pregnancy prevention, sexual trafficking awareness, midwife training and more.
WAM’s 2020 season kicks off with THE SUFFRAGE PROJECT in which WAM’s Ensembles, directed by Talya Kingston and Amy Brentano, will devise a performance that both celebrates of the centennial of women’s suffrage in the United States, while acknowledging its complicated history and the battles of citizenship still to be won. THE SUFFRAGE PROJECT will culminate in four performances in central Berkshire County June 4-7. For more information please visit: https://www.wamtheatre.com/suffrage-project/
The season concludes November 20-22 with three Fresh Takes staged readings of THE THANKSGIVING PLAY by Larissa FastHorse, a scathingly funny satire where we witness a group of “woke” white teaching artists scrambling to create a pageant that somehow manages to celebrate both Turkey Day and Native American Heritage Month. For more information please visit: https://www.wamtheatre.com/thanksgiving-play/
In addition to our Berkshire productions, this month WAM’s co-production of PIPELINE will be running March 5-29 at The Nora at Central Square Theatre in Cambridge, MA. For more information visit: https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/shows/pipeline/
For information on WAM’s full 2020 season visit: https://www.wamtheatre.com/2020-season/
AT A GLANCE
September 24-October 11, 2020
ROE
by Lisa Loomer
Directed by Kristen van Ginhoven
Presented at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse in Lenox, MA
https://www.wamtheatre.com/roe/
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Audience Advisory: Mature content.
In keeping with WAM’s double philanthropic mission, a portion of the proceeds will be given to an organization taking action for women and girls. The beneficiary for ROE will be announced soon.
ROE is sponsored in part by Maggie and Don Buchwald.
A ROE Community Engagement Project is funded by Mass Humanities.
Preview tickets to the September 24 & 25 performances are $15-$30. Tickets to all other performances start at $33.
No Berkshire, Senior, Teacher or Military Discount
Student tickets are available for $15 each and may be purchased over the phone at 413-637-3353 or in person at the Shakespeare & Company Box Office. Student tickets are not available for purchase online.
All tickets are available through the Shakespeare & Company box office: online at shakespeare.org, call 413-637-3353
If you wish to purchase tickets in person at the box office, be aware that hours and location change with the seasons. For up-to-date information visit: https://www.shakespeare.org/buy-tickets/policies
PERFORMANCES
Thursday, September 24, 7:30pm (Preview)
Friday, September 25, 7:30pm (Preview)
Saturday, September 26, 7:30pm (Opening)
Sunday, September 27, 2:00pm
Thursday, October 1, 7:30pm
Friday, October 2, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 3, 7:30pm
Sunday, October 4, 2:00pm
Thursday, October 8, 7:30pm
Friday, October 9, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 10, 7:30pm
Sunday, October 11, 2:00pm
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: LISA LOOMER
WAM Theatre: debut. Plays: Roe, Living Out, The Waiting Room, Distracted, Café Vida, Homefree, Expecting Isabel, Two Things You Don’t Talk About At Dinner, Birds, Maria, Maria, Maria!, and Bocón!, have been produced at such theatres as The Mark Taper Forum, Arena Stage, South Coast Repertory, The Kennedy Center, Seattle Rep, Denver Theater Center, Berkeley Repertory, OSF, Trinity Repertory, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, and, in New York, at The Roundabout, The Vineyard, Second Stage, Intar, and The Public. Her work has also been produced in Mexico, the Middle East, and Europe. Awards: two-time winner of the American Theatre Critics Award, and has also received awards from the Kennedy Center, the Pen Center, the Imagen Foundation, (Norman Lear Award), the Jane Chambers Award, and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, among others. Film/TV: Girl, Interrupted.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: KRISTEN van GINHOVEN
WAM Theatre: Ann (with Dorset Theatre Festival), The Bakelite Masterpiece (with Berkshire Theatre Group), In Darfur (New England Premiere), Emilie (New England Premiere), The Old Mezzo (World Premiere), The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls and Melancholy Play. Elsewhere: Ann (Arena Stage/Dallas Theatre Center, Laguna Playhouse), Disgraced, I and You (Chester Theatre), Waxworks (Williams College), The Whale (Adirondack Theatre Festival), 10 Minute Play Festival (Barrington Stage Company), Petticoats of Steel (Capital Repertory Theatre), Footloose (Cohoes Music Hall), Children’s Hour (Siena College), Vendetta Chrome(Emerson College). Selected assistant directing: The Physicists, 42nd Street (Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada), Two Men of Florence (Huntington Theatre) Sleuth, Absurd Person Singular (Barrington Stage Company). Training: Dalhousie University (BA), Queen’s University (BEd), Emerson College (MA). Et cetera: Kristen is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and a theatre artist for the International Schools Theatre Association. She was a member of the 2013 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and is a member of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival of Canada. Kristen is the co-founder and Artistic Director of WAM Theatre. Website: www.WAMTheatre.com
WAM 2020 Sponsors
WAM’s 2020 sponsors include Adams Community Bank, Berkshire Hand to Shoulder Center, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Blue Q, Blue Spark Financial, Brabson Library & Educational Foundation, Canyon Ranch, Chez Nous, Custom Business Solutions, The Dylandale Foundation, Frankie’s Ristorante Italiano, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, Haven Cafe and Bakery, Health Professional Coaching, Heller & Robbins, Interprint, J.H. Maxymillian, Inc., Lake House Inn. Lee Bank, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Only in My Dreams Events, Onyx Specialty Papers, Outpost Productions, RB Design Co., The Rookwood Inn, T Square Design Studio, Toole Insurance, and a. von schlegell & co.
WAM Theatre is also supported in part by grants from Alford-Egremont Cultural Council, Lenox Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cultural Council, Sandisfield Cultural Council, Washington Cultural Council, and the West Stockbridge Cultural Council – local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
ABOUT WAM THEATRE
WAM Theatre is a professional theatre company based in Berkshire County, MA, that operates at the intersection of arts and activism. WAM creates theatre for gender equity and has a vision of theatre as philanthropy.
In fulfillment of its philanthropic mission, WAM donates a portion of the proceeds from their Mainstage productions to carefully selected beneficiaries. Since WAM’s founding in 2010, they have donated more than $75,000 to 19 local and global organizations taking action for gender equity in areas such as girls education, teen pregnancy prevention, sexual trafficking awareness, midwife training, and more.
In addition to Mainstage productions and special events, WAM’s activities include innovative community engagement programs and the Fresh Takes Play Reading Series. To date, WAM has provided paid work to more than 400 theatre artists, the majority of whom are female-identifying.
As a civic organization that embraces intersectional feminism (feminism that acknowledges how multiple forms of discrimination overlap), WAM understands that to address one piece of systemic discrimination means we have to address them all. This is on-going personal and professional work at WAM for the staff and board.
WAM Theatre has been widely recognized for having a positive impact on cultural and community development in the region. WAM is the recipient of the Creative Economy Standout Berkshire Trendsetter Award and previously, was named Outstanding Philanthropy Corporation of the Year by the Western MA Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Kristen van Ginhoven, WAM’s Producing Artistic Director, was honored by the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association (BTCA) with the prestigious Larry Murray Award, presented at the discretion of the BTCA Board to a person or theatre project that advances social, political, or community issues in Berkshire County.