This week: The Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare & Company, and a reading at the LAVA Center. And don't forget all the improv happening all summer long at Happier Valley Comedy!
The next issue will include events from July 25 - August 14. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at pioneervalleytheatre@gmail.com
William Shakespeare’sThe Comedy of Errors takes over Shakespeare & Company’s outdoor mainstage this summer, directed by Kate Kohler Amory July 18 through August 18 at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre.
The Bard’s fast-paced and farcical story of mistaken identities begins with two sets of twins separated by a storm at sea and culminates in a raucous series of misunderstandings and mishaps. Amory’s production is set in the seaside Vaudeville of New York City, 1912 – a mystical and sometimes strange place filled with as much magic and mischief as sailors and sea captains.
“Coney Island vaudeville was an escape and a destination, where the turmoil of American culture at the turn of the century could be seen through frivolity, farce, and play,” said Amory.
“Setting this turn of the 16th Century comedic gem at the turn of the 20th Century, I hope to highlight many of the play’s resonances for our own turn of the 21st Century. It is a fitting setting for Aegeon, and us, to encounter both the farce and the tragedy of his situation.”
Actor, educator, and emerging director Lauren Davis, the inaugural Tina Packer Women of Will Directing Fellow, serves as Assistant Director. The Fellowship was established by actor John Douglas Thompson in 2023, to honor Packer and her groundbreaking career as a Shakespearean, theater artist, and theater leader. It is awarded to a female-identifying emerging theater director with a passion for Shakespeare. In addition to serving as Assistant Director to Amory on The Comedy of Errors, Davis will observe as Packer directs an enhanced staged reading of The Winter’s Tale in August.
Sponsored by Scott and Roxanne Bok, The Comedy of Errors will be outdoors at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre with tickets ranging from $22 to $72; preview performances are 10% off and student tickets are $22. On select evenings, food trucks will be on-site for pre-show purchases from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Card-to-Culture tickets are available for $5 for WIC, EBT, and ConnectorCare families.
To purchase tickets, visit shakespeare.org, or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353.
New play fest at The LAVA Center continues with staged readings of new plays by Silvia, P.H. Crosby and Jean Minuchin on Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 20
WHAT: On the Boards ’24: a festival of new play readings by (mostly) local playwrights: Man and His Shadow by Silvia, Modern Times by P.H. Crosby and American Stink Bug by Jean Minuchin
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20, 7 p.m.; also available online on demand for one month
The LAVA Center is proud to present our second annual festival of new play readings by (mostly) local playwrights, “On the Boards ’24,” which continues Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13, 7 p.m. with staged readings of new works by Silvia, P.H. Crosby and Jean Minuchin.
Man and His Shadow was written and directed by Silvia and performed by Shannon Edward Chabot, Kimberly Salditt-Poulin, Christine Mirabal and Sandy Wang
Man and his Shadow is a short play in progress that deals with the story of a man whose Shadow abandons him for being arrogant and possessive. He is also abandoned by his Pencil and his Girlfriend, for the same reasons.
Modern Times was written and directed by P.H. Crosby and performed by Trouble Mandeson, Elizabeth LaPrade, Jerry Marcanio, John Reese, Jayse Matrishon, Amie Hyson, Christine Mirabal and Maya Winfrey.
Characters of different ages, races and genders cope with rapidly-changing workplace expectations and norms.
P.H. Crosby writes poetry, fiction and drama. Crosby’s Work has appeared in Rattle; War, Literature and the Arts; Blue Unicorn and other venues, and adaptations of “The Odd Women” and “Bartleby the Scrivener” were produced at The LAVA Center in 2022–23.
American Stink Bug was written and performed by Jean Minuchin and directed by Bri Boehm.
This is the first section of a play in progress in which a bug clown provokes through grotesque whimsy, and confrontation. The protagonist, Stink Bug, has been sent by nature to evaluate the merits of the human race.
We’d like to thank Steve Franklin for his help with props.
Jean Minuchin runs The World and Eye Arts Center, which produces hands-on workshops and programming focused on social issues through the arts. As a performance artist she uses a multidisciplinary approach to create a hybrid form of visual theater. American Stink Bug is her latest and most complex play to date.
Jean says, “Working towards ‘On the Boards’ has allowed me to move forward on a rewrite of my play and try the first section out on an audience. I also had the good fortune of finding Bri Boehm to collaborate with as my director which has been invaluable in shaping the piece for performance.”
Bri Boehm is a director, illustrator, theater educator, and storyteller with training from the Atlanta Shakespeare Company and Pace University. Bri is informed by a background in puppetry, directing devised theater, and Shakespeare scholarship, as well as a passion for accessibility and education.
Admission is on a sliding scale of $5–20 ($1–2 for Card to Culture participants). Advance tickets are now available at https://www.tixtree.com/o/lava.
The schedule for the rest of the festival:
Friday–Saturday, July 26–27, 7 p.m. — staged reading:
Inheritance, written and directed by Nina Gross
July plays will also be viewable online for one month each, with closed captioning.
On the Boards ’24 is made possible by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the local cultural councils of Amherst, Bernardston, Buckland, Conway, Deerfield, Gill, Greenfield, Leyden, Northfield and Shelburne.
Happier Valley Comedy Presents Not In Charge
Jul 20, 2024 at 7:00 PM
The 3rd Saturday of every month at 7pm
Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley
Improv Comedy Inspired by True Stories Don't miss this talented group of friends in an improvised show inspired by true stories from the cast! Not In Charge is Mandy Anderson, Maddy Benjamin, Sally Ekus, Julie Waggoner, Jim Young, and Kate Zak. NEXT SHOW: Saturday, July 20th at 7pm Happier Valley Comedy Theater 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE AND AT THE DOOR FOR $15
First it was Northampton in 2022, and now in 2024... it's time for Easthampton to get Hedwig's Angry Inch!
K and E Theater Group Presents Hedwig and the Angry Inch at
CitySpace Easthampton Blue Room
July 25-27, 2024, for 3 Performances Only!
Innovative, heartbreaking, and savagely funny, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the landmark rock’n’roll musical by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask that broke the mold and captured Broadway. This genre-bending, fourth-wall-smashing musical sensation, with a pulsing score and electrifying performances, tells the story of Hedwig Schmidt, an East German punk rock goddess whose botched sex change operation left her with just “an angry inch.” Now, she and her band are out to right many wrongs. This landmark musical won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 2016.
K and E Theater Group's production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch features Eddie Zitka as Hedwig, Kelly Gagner as Yitzhak, and David Webber as The Angry Inch. The band is led by musical director Devi Badea, and features Justin Rodzen, Charlotte Ross, and Mitch Tilghman. K and E Theater Group Artistic Director Eddie Zitka directs the production.
Performances are:
Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Friday, July 26, 2024 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 27, 2024 at 7:30 PM
All performances are at the CitySpace Easthampton Blue Room, located at 43 Main Street in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Tickets are $25 with applicable fees and are general admission.
* This production contains mature themes, explicit language, and sexual content. Recommended age is 14+. Stage effects include strobes and bright moving lights. Runtime is 105 minutes with no intermission.
Tickets and performance information for Hedwig and the Angry Inch are available at www.KETG.org.
Shakespeare & Company presents the World Premiere of Carey Crim’sThe Islanders, directed by Regge Life July 25 through August 25 at the Tina Packer Playhouse.
Originally staged at Shakespeare & Company in 2022 as a reading in the Plays in Process series, The Islanders tells the story of two denizens of an underpopulated island in the Great Lakes: Anna (Michelle Mountain) and Dutch (“ranney”). For different reasons, Dutch and Anna have each retreated from mainstream society, but begin to forge a connection – however tenuous.
Director Regge Life said he hopes The Islanders provides a blueprint for anyone who may now be questioning their identity and place in a turbulent world.
“Is now the time to retreat to an island of contemplation, or to stand tall right where you are, in the face of uncertainty?” he asked.
This production is sponsored by Greg Lipper and Kate Kohler Amory. Tickets range from $22 to $72, and preview performances on July 25, 26, and 27 are 10% off.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353.
Real Live Theatre
When The Mind's Free world premiere
Friday & Saturday, July 26-27 and Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 1-3 at 7:30pm; Sundays, July 28 & August 4 at 2:00pm; ALSO Tuesday July 30 1pm (Northampton Senior Center)
The Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Montague, MA 01376
RLT premieres our original piece of devised dance-theatre When The Mind’s Free, which follows a contemporary lesbian couple and their adult daughters as they navigate Alzheimer’s disease and addiction, and seek light in their darkest times.
Each performance concludes with a facilitated community conversation calling forth the lived experiences of audience members impacted by the themes of the play, providing a safe space where people can feel grief, hope, recovery, and a sense of belonging and community.
Friday & Saturday, July 26-27 and Thursday, Friday, Saturday, August 1-3 at 7:30pm Sundays, July 28 & August 4 at 2:00pm
When The Mind's Free has been developed over a five-year period of improvisation and in conversation with Shakespeare’s King Lear, as well as in consultation with memory care organizations, caretakers, families, and individuals dealing with memory loss.
Masks will be required for audiences Sunday, July 28 & Saturday, August 3; masking is optional at all other shows. This play includes Mature Content (simulated sexual intimacy, strong language, allusions to drug use).
PLUS: NORTHAMPTON SENIOR CENTER PERFORMANCE & COMMUNITY CONVERSATION OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON TUESDAY, JULY 30TH AT 1:00PM, FEATURING A RESPITE ROOM
Respite Room available for older adults with cognitive challenges or dementia to allow caregivers the opportunity to attend the play. The Respite Room will be staffed by professionals from Cooley Dickinson’s Pioneer Valley Memory Care Initiative. Space in the Respite Room is limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis.
Directed by: Toby Vera Bercovici
Featuring: Carolyn Goelzer*, Myka Plunkett, Annelise Nielsen, Liz Stanton*, Linda Tardif *Member Actors' Equity Association
Design & Production Team: Choreography by Annelise Nielsen, Lighting Design by Ezekiel Baskin, Sound Design & Composition by Samuel V. Perry, Costume Design by Mikayla Reid, Stage Management by Nat Solomon, Produced by Ellen Morbyrne for RLT
Photos by Ellen Augarten and Katie Gay
TICKETS for Shea shows
www.reallivetheatre.net
www.sheatheater.org
PRICES: $25-$50, with a Pay-What-You-Can option for anyone
Special Note for Audiences: If you or the person you're caring for has Alzheimer's/dementia, and you worry if you/your loved one will be welcome at our Shea Theater performances, please know that EVERYONE IS WELCOME, EXACTLY AS THEY ARE. Crying, sounding, laughing, getting up and leaving partway through, re-entering after a break in the lobby - this is all welcome. This story is about a family going through painful times, but it is also about their beautiful and joyful moments as well. All experiences and feelings are welcome in our audiences.
Keep Your Heart Open: A Performed Staged Reading of a Musical Memoir
by Marcia Gomes
Venue: A.P.E. Gallery, 126 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060
July 26, 2024, 7PM & July 27, 2024, 3PM
with talk back after performances
$10-$20 suggested donation
Keep Your Heart Open: An Urgent, Healing Family Conversation
Four generations of Black single mothers in one family join forces to free the youngest generation of children from a cycle of intergenerational trauma and pain. Through compelling storytelling, moving original songs, and dance, the path to healing becomes more clear, and the wisdom of the ancestors guides the way to joy. Featuring music and story by Marcia Gomes, composer, singer, actor, playwright and performances by:
Angélica Canlas Castro, singer, actor
Michelle Dowd, singer, actor
Evelyn Harris, singer, actor
Olivia Ilano Davis, choreographer
Hala Lord, singer, actor
Angie Shyr, pianist
Available Potential Enterprises, Ltd. (A.P.E.) is an artist-led, artist-centered 501(c)3 non-profit organization supporting contemporary artists working in all disciplines by stewarding the spaces in which they create, perform and exhibit their work. A.P.E is dedicated to fostering relationships, encounters, and exchanges that nourish the capacity for imagination. http://www.apearts.org; 413.586.5553
This event is made possible in part through a grant from Scarlet Sock Foundation.
Happier Valley Comedy
The Happier Valley Championship Show
Jul 27, 2024 at 7:00 PM
The 4th Saturday of every month at 7pm
Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley
"Whose Line Is It Anyway?" meets The Super Bowl! Two funny teams face off in this fast-paced short form improv comedy show. Games are inspired by audience suggestions and participation and even scored by an audience panel of judges to see who can win the ultimate prize: YOUR LAUGHTER! (And some old trophies we found in someone's attic.) Our player roster includes Hillary Bucs, Chris "Tina" Cronin, Katharine Daube, Ben May, David Milgrim, Chris Mirabal, Dave Ruderman, Holly Ruderman, and Ivy Weiskopf. Our next show: Saturday, July 27th at 7pm Happier Valley Comedy Theater 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE AND AT THE DOOR FOR $15
TheatreTruck and Historic Northampton present
The Mill Project: woman, work & resistance August 1 - 11, 2024
Staged at the historic Shepherd Barn at 66 Bridge Street, Northampton, Mass.
directed by Brianna Sloane
designed by Elizabeth Pangburn
featuring Tahmie Der, Emma Friend, Tracy Grammer, Jess Rawlings, and Christine Stevens
stage managed by Nikki Beck
Historic Northampton is pleased to present The Mill Project: women, work & resistance, a play with music by TheatreTruck, originally performed in 2017 and updated to reflect new scholarship.
The Mill Project remembers and embodies women's experiences of work and resistance in the textile mills of nineteenth-century New England through a performance-collage drawn from letters, newspapers, pamphlets and etiquette books. Woven into a tapestry of primary source text, original music and movement, the play stages the mill operatives' lived experiences and the rhetoric of womanhood, independence, enslavement, and abolition that surrounded them.
Sliding scale admission: $15, $25, & $50
Content Advisory: The play includes themes of death, pregnancy, and abortion and is recommended for adult audiences.
Happier Valley Comedy
The Understudies Improvised Musical
Aug 3, 2024 at 7:00 PM
The 1st Saturday of every month
Happier Valley Comedy, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley
It's the opening night of a brand new musical! Unfortunately, the show was never written or rehearsed. This is the moment we've been training for. Be part of the fun as the determined Understudies create an entire musical from scratch, with a little help from the audience. The Understudies are Scott Braidman, Kelsey Flynn, Paul McNeil, Mosie Senn-McNally, and Maile Shoul. With music by the amazing Jeff Kimball! NEXT SHOW: Saturday, August 3rd at 7pm HVC Theater, 1 Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA
January 6 Productions is seeking actress 35-55 to portray “Liz Cheney” in “January 6: the Sex Strike”, a wild satirical comedy.
In Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata”, written 2,500 years ago, the women of Athens begin a sex strike against their warrior-men demanding the end of the 27 year war against Sparta. The Peloponnesian War ended shortly thereafter. What would happen if the Women of America started their own sex strike to end our War on Democracy? Will the unlikely alliance of Liz Cheney, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ruth Bader Ginsburg prevail against the likes of Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani? This show is risqué.
Auditions now by appointment in Northampton, rehearsals in August in Southampton and performances in September in Greenfield. Stipend: $200
To schedule an audition, obtain sides or for more details please contact Rick Malone at rickmalone@ymail.com
WORKSHOPS & CLASSES
WAM Theatre is bringing back their free devised theatre workshops this summer:
Ideado Teatro en Español con Maizy Broderick Scarpa y Gabriel CiFuentes, Sábado 20 de julio, 4:30-6:30pm, Centro creativo WAM, 55 Main Street, Lenox. Ofrecido en asociación con Latinas 413 y con el apoyo de Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
Join The LAVA Center in downtown Greenfield every Saturday this summer for art, music and theater! Our “summer@lava” series features new visual and performing arts and workshops, and happens every Saturday midday, so you can come after your weekly trip to the farmers market, and then hit up the rest of downtown’s cafes, restaurants, library, bookstores and shops afterwards! And best of all — all summer@lava programming is all FREE, funded by the Crossroads Cultural District and the Mass Cultural Council.
Improv workshops
Join local improv veteran Henry Balzarini every 2nd and 4th Saturday, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., all summer through September for free improv workshops! Using improv games, we will become a fast thinking, in the moment, loose goose brigade.
August 10 and September 14: 2nd Saturdays are for experienced improvisers to join in, share games, and brainstorm.
July 27, August 24 and September 28: 4th Saturdays are for everyone! — all are welcome, from brand-newbies to the most seasoned veteran, for a series of new improv games every time.
Our summer@lava programming is FREE, funded by the Crossroads Cultural District and the Mass Cultural Council. Donations are always welcome!
Shakespeare & Company's free Behind the Curtain lecture series resumes on Saturday, April 6, led by Shakespeare scholar Ann Berman.
Featuring directors, cast, and design team members as guests, Berman examines various themes surrounding both the Shakespeare and contemporary productions slated for Season 2024 through talks designed to be accessible, engaging, and interactive.
Berman holds a Master of Arts in Shakespeare Studies from King’s College, London, and explores topics ranging from historical parallels in Shakespeare’s plays to the effect costumes, scenic design, lighting, and more can have on audience response to a performance.
This season will include seven Behind the Curtain lectures held from April through August; Spring talks will be held in the Jane Iredale Lobby at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, while Summer sessions will be held outdoors at the tented Rose Footprint Theatre in the Rose Meadow.
Behind the Curtain lectures for the 2024 Season include:
Saturday, July 27– Flight of the Monarch: Penning New Plays with playwright Jim Frangione
Saturday, August 10 – The Winter's Tale with Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer
All Behind the Curtain lectures are free, but tickets are required. For more information, visit shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353.
Is your tween or teen finding that this summer is longer and hotter than they anticipated? Are they (or you) starting to regret not signing up for more activities this summer? Not to worry. PIC's got you covered! We still have a few spots left in PIC Kids Ensemble: Our Dreams! from August 12-16. Each session takes place in the state-of-the-art (aka well air conditioned) Workroom at 33 Hawley Street in Northampton. Get them out of the heat and into a highly collaborative, creative, and fun-filled week of theater making. Click the button for more info and to register!
Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training will host its 9-Day Intensive at its Lenox campus from Thursday, August 22 through Saturday, August 31.
Designed for mid-career actors, educators, directors, and others seeking professional and artistic development, the 9-Day Intensive is inspired by Shakespeare & Company’s Month-long Intensive. Director of Training Sheila Bandyopadhyay said the workshop offers participants an opportunity to immerse themselves in Shakespeare training and make connections with like-minded artists in a robust, accessible format.
“We regularly hear from artists in the mid-stages of their career that they wish they could attend our renowned Month-long Intensive in the winter, but their schedules simply do not permit them to do so,” said Bandyopadhyay. “For those out there who are juggling teaching, acting, directing, parenting responsibilities, and the like, the 9-Day Intensive is ideal.”
The daily schedule includes classes in Linklater Voice, Movement, monologue and scene work, and the format and tuition include admission to three Shakespeare & Company shows staged at the height of its 2024 performance season.
Tuition is $1,495 with partial scholarships available for BIPOC artists. Early payment, alumni, and union member discounts are also available. Limited on-campus housing is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information or to apply, visit shakespeare.org or call 413.637.1199, ext. 114.
