FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BSC Press Director Charlie Siedenburg, 551-655-0968
BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY RECEIVES GRANT FROM
THE BERKSHIRE BANK FOUNDATION IN SUPPORT OF
PLAYWRIGHT MENTORING PROJECT AND STUDENT MATINEES
(PITTSFIELD, MA) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, is pleased to announce the receipt of a $20,000 grant from The Berkshire Bank Foundation.
$15,000 of this grant will help support BSC’s nationally acclaimed Playwright Mentoring Project (PMP), and $5,000 will help underwrite the cost of tickets for Berkshire County public junior and senior high school students to attend the fall production of Arthur Miller’s An Enemy of the People (running October 2–19).
“Berkshire Bank has been a supporter of Barrington Stage’s from the very beginning,” said Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. “We’re honored by their continued support, especially for our educational programs, which are making a difference in the lives of Berkshire County youth.”
Now entering its 14th year, PMP is a six-month theatrical arts program for at-risk youth in Pittsfield and North Adams, Mass. Through careful instruction from artistic mentors, peer mentors and playwrights, participants learn the fundamentals of theatre and improvisation. PMP uses theatre as a means of self-exploration and self-expression as the participants learn important conflict/resolution skills. The students then write and produce their own original plays based on their life stories and struggles. The proceeds from this grant will expand the program, so new and returning participants can take advantage of this highly beneficial and award-winning program. In 2007, PMP received the national “Coming Up Taller Award” from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the nation’s highest honor for after-school and out-of-school programs.
Each year, BSC’s fall play aims to reflect the schools’ literary curriculum, spurring discussion by tying the playto relevant social issues. Along with the designated matinees, students will experience educational talkbacks with the cast and creative team about the artistic process and the significance of the material. This grant from Berkshire Bank will help underwrite student tickets.
About The Berkshire Bank Foundation
Berkshire Bank Foundation Inc. and Berkshire Bank Foundation – Legacy Region, Inc., the charitable arms of Berkshire Bank, are leaders in philanthropy and community involvement. The foundations demonstrate their commitment to the communities where the bank does business through their grants, scholarships and volunteer programs. All of these efforts fulfill the bank’s goal to help create healthy, vibrant, sustainable communities where educational and economic opportunities are available for everyone. The foundations’ mission is to strengthen and improve the quality of life by supporting important programs that will enhance opportunities for children and adults.
About Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company, a professional award-winning Equity regional theatre located in the heart of the Berkshires, in Pittsfield, MA, was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. Barrington Stage’s mission is three-fold: to present top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways to bringing new audiences into the theatre—especially young people. Barrington Stage garnered national attention in 2004 when it workshopped, and premiered William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s musical hit The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which later transferred to Broadway, where it won two Tony Awards. In 2009/2010 Barrington Stage produced the world premiere of Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session, which later moved Off-Broadway and played for two years. St. Germain’s Becoming Dr. Ruth (which premiered at BSC as Dr. Ruth, All the Way in 2012) played Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in fall 2013. Barrington Stage was voted “Best Live Theatre” by The Berkshire Eagle readers in 2011 and 2012 and was named “Best Theatre Company” in Metroland’s Best of the Capital Region 2009-2012.
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