FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
BSC Press Director Charlie Siedenburg
551-655-0968
BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY HIRES
CORINNE MILLER AS NEW DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND
KIM STAUFFER AS NEW DIRECTOR OF AWARD-WINNING PLAYWRIGHT MENTORING PROJECT
(PITTSFIELD, MA) Thursday, November 21, 2013 – Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, announce Corinne Miller as Barrington Stage Company’s new Director of Education and Kim Stauffer as Director of BSC’s Playwright Mentoring Project.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Corinne and Kim lead our Education programs, which are at the heart of our work in the Berkshire community. Our Education Department will continue to flourish under their strong leadership,” said Artistic Director Julianne Boyd.
Ms. Miller will oversee the planning and execution of all educational programming, ensuring the high standards of BSC’s existing programs are upheld and continuing to build more opportunities for young people to become involved with and enriched by their experiences with theatre. Working with Ms. Miller, Ms. Stauffer will lead BSC’s acclaimed Playwright Mentoring Project from October-April each year, working with more than 70 under-served youth ages 13-19 across Berkshire County.
Corinne Miller (Director of Education) holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Theater from New York University Steinhardt and a Bachelor’s degree in Theater from Skidmore College. She is a recent transplant from New York City where she served as the Assistant Director of Education for TADA! Youth Theater. While at TADA!, Corinne was responsible for developing and managing educational programs, which served over 10,000 youth in the NYC area each year. In 2004, Corinne founded Saratoga Stages, a children’s theater company in Saratoga Springs, NY, which provided musical theater training and performance opportunities for students ages 4-14. She served as the Artistic and Executive Director of the company for seven years during which time she directed and produced more than 25 youth theater productions. Corinne also has over 10 years of experience working as a teaching artist and youth theater director in schools and community centers throughout New York and New Jersey, including East Harlem Success Academy, John Robert Powers School, Schuylerville Elementary School, and the Children’s Theater Company in NYC.
Kim Stauffer (Director of Playwright Mentoring Project) brings 14 years combined experience as an educator, social worker, and professional actor to the Playwright Mentoring Project. She first arrived at BSC playing Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire in 2009 and shortly thereafter became a teaching artist in the education department, then the Director of PMP in the fall of 2013. She holds an MFA in acting from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a BA in social work from Eastern Mennonite University. Kim has directed and taught acting at institutions ranging from Eastern Mennonite University, UNC-G, various high schools, the United Nations School, and Smith College. As a social worker, she provided wrap-around services for teens in the juvenile court system, children on the autism spectrum and those with special needs. She has performed in theatres across the country including New York Classical, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Kansas City Repertory Theatre.
The mission of BSC’s Education Department is to awaken the minds, imaginations, and creative power of children and teenagers by providing opportunities for them to experience the joy of live theatre as performers, writers, technicians, and audience members.
BSC’s core education programs include KidsAct!, an acclaimed musical theatre program for children ages 8-15; Youth Theatre, designed to extend the professionalism of our Mainstage to local youth ages 15-19; Professional Internship Program, offering college students and recent graduates hands-on experience in the creation, carrying-out, and achievement of a professional theatre season; Musical Theatre Apprenticeship Program, providing college-aged students the opportunity to perform in major productions with top-level New York directors, choreographers and composers as well as attend master classes during Barrington Stage’s summer season; and the Playwright Mentoring Project (PMP), a six-month, out-of-school program that uses theatre as a catalyst to help under-served youth learn life skills that can aid them in developing positive self-images and developing conflict-resolution skills. PMP is the recipient of the nation’s highest honor for after school programs in arts and humanities, the Coming Up Taller Award, presented at the White House in 2007.
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) is now playing Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre. 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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