My Highlights-End of Year Blog Post-Kristen

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

SHOW WEEK!

Well, it sure has been awhile since we blogged………

But-this week deserves a quick entry! Over the past weeks we have spent hours in the theatre preparing for our production of ‘Melancholy Play’. It is amazing to me that exactly a year ago I was attending the Women’s Fund of Western MA annual dinner. The idea for WAM Theatre was already in progress, but Leigh and I had not chosen our beneficiaries and after that Annual Dinner, I called Leigh and said, “This organization is inspiring-we have to do something for them” and voila-they became our first local beneficiary! Over the past months, I have been communicating with Marjorie Hutter, Director of Philanthropy at the Fund, about putting on ‘Melancholy Play’ and on Friday, at our opening night, I will finally meet her in person! The whole journey of WAM Theatre this year has been out of this world-like a dream coming true. To think that we launched WAM in January of 2010 and here we are in November producing our second event and our first full-length production is unbelievable-especially when I really sit back and think about how many people have helped us reach this point: our donors, our cast and creative team, our families, our mentors to name only a few….

So-here we are, after months of planning, about to have our opening weekend. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that opening night is nearly sold out. Wow. That completely blows my mind. But then I think about how hard everyone involved has been working on the show and to spread the word and I think-well, maybe in this case, hard work does pay off!

I cannot express how excited I am about this event. It feels incredible that WAM exists, that we are producing a full production and that by doing so, we are taking action to uplift the lives of women and girls by donating a portion of our proceeds to the Women’s Fund of Western MA. Our mission in practice. It’s actually happening…..amazing.

This blog was written by an extremely excited co-artistic director and director of ‘Melancholy Play’: Kristen van Ginhoven

The Berkshire Forums – Enlightenment in the Berkshires

Written by Kaitlyn Squires, WAM Theatre’s Marketing Associate. The blog, with photos taken by Kaitlyn at the Forum, can also be found on her website: http://eideticberkshire.com/2010/09/the-berkshire-forums-enlightenment-in-the-berkshires/

Today I spent day 3 at the very first Berkshire Forums that is being held at the Colonial Theatre on South Street in Pittsfield. When I had first heard about it I wasn’t really sure what to expect until I started reading over the schedule. It turns out there were some amazing panels of entrepreneurial successful people here to talk about some of the things that made them that way.

The whole conference was very tuned into twitter as well, the hastag #berkforum has become quite popular today thanks to people like Nancy Fitzpatrick and Eugenie Sills tweeting some of the topics being discussed. I have to say it was quite inspiring to be in a building with so many people that have had a goal and worked very hard and successfully to accomplish.

Helena Frucio hosting the panel at the forums

Some of the topics included “The Psychology of the Serial Entrepreneur”, “The Commerce of Culture”, “The Impulse to Innovate”, “Cleantech”, “Philanthropic Power”, and “Negotiating the Changing Media Landscape”. Some of the panelists included Michael Zivyak Founder of Berkshire Living, Mitch & Seth Nash Founders of Blue-Q, Nancy Fitzpatrick of the Fitzpatrick Companies, Kevin Sprague of Studio Two, Seth Rogovoy of Berkshire Living, Jennifer Dowley President of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Charlie Deitz of WAMC, Stuart Chase of the Berkshire Museum, Eugenie Sills Founder of The Women’s Times, Martin Baron Editor of The Boston Globe and tons more of extremely talented and influential people.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend on both Wednesday and Thursday of the Forums held at the beautiful Colonial Theatre! I was there as a representative of WAM Theatre and to learn as much as I possible could from all of the talented people that had come to offer their knowledge to the rest of us! A lot of the topics talked about are things that directly relate to me. I always thought that the ideas that I come up with or the composition of my photographs were obvious but then I realized that a good part of the population does not think like me. I have some how figured out how to tap into my motivating creative juices naturally(although with lots of hard work!) without even realizing what I was doing. This is similar to what was discussed during “The Psychology of a Serial Entrepreneur”. Thanks to all of the dedicated tweeters I have some great quotes to share with you and reflect a bit on!

The ceiling at the beautiful Colonial Theatre!

“People who are successful aren’t looking at the clock, they’re looking to get it done.” – Richard Stanley Managing Partner of the Beacon Cinema. I probably couldn’t agree more with this! I have yet to really consider myself “successful” but I do find that I never ever stop “working”. As I work on one project excited about whatever the finished product or outcome will be I somehow always end up with more tasks to do that relates in some way to the original project. I am extremely motivated to facilitate change and that motivation leaves me hungry in a sense to keep working.

“It’s amazing how strong of an instinct survival is.” –Mark Volpe, Boston Symphony Orchestra. Another great quote from this panel, I think that any true entrepreneur has a very strong will to succeed or survive in what ever their field is but only those with the strongest survival instincts will succeed because those are the people constantly innovating new ideas and technologies to advance their companies and projects. There are many business owners who start their companies and do what they have to do to turn a profit, then you have those who take their profit and use it to fund new ideas that will launch them to an entire new level.

One of the topics I felt most strongly about was the Education Round Table. Commentated by Dr. Sanjoy Mahajan they discussed some of the key problems that teachers and students face in the current education system. I have always personally felt that the education system is totally obsolete. I feel like school not only left me completely unprepared for real life but that the way the information was presented was completely inapplicable to my life. I never really understood why teaching wasn’t more focused on projects and concepts that applied all of our topics in a way that can be clearly show us how useful these tools are. Dr Sanjoy and the panelists discussed this problem and the issues with standardized testing. It was absolutely refreshing to hear such proactive ideas from people in such great positions to make a difference in the way we learn!

The Philanthropic Power Panel at the Forums

Another panel that I particularly enjoyed was the Philanthropic Power. Working with WAM Theatre has definitely raised my awareness about the amount of effort and business strategy that goes into a non profit organization. “Fundamentally a non profit knows what it’s doing because it’s focused on it’s mission” – Kevin Sprague. I have to say I think Kevin is really a smart businessman and he explained to us that the language you use can make a big difference. You should look at your non profit just like any business, you should have a strong strategy and product otherwise you will not succeed.

I really could talk forever about some of the amazing insights I have gained over the past few days but you can check out the tweets from the event by searching the hastag #berkforum! I want to thank everyone involved in putting this together and making it happen. Events like this are truly what we need in the area to continue to learn and grow. I feel so blessed to be part of this amazing transformation here in Pittsfield and I hope to play a larger part in the future as I myself learn and grow thanks to the help of the people like those of the Berkshire Forum. Can’t wait for next year!

NOTE: WAM is thrilled to have Kaitlyn on board and thrilled she could attend the Berkshire Forum as our representative. We definitely agree with her final thought-Can’t wait for next year!

Our Theatresports Triumph!

On Monday, July 26, 2010, WAM Theatre co-hosted a Theatresports Tournament Fundraiser with NEW STAGE in Pittsfield, MA at the NEW STAGE Performing Arts Center at 55 North Street (above the Beacon Cinema). RBIT, the Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe, and MOPCO, The Mop and Bucket Improv Company from the Capital Region, ‘faced off’ in a friendly Theatresports Tournament to raise funds for WAM Theatre’s November production of Sarah Ruhl’s contemporary farce ‘Melancholy Play’, which will take place at NEW STAGE.

I had the idea to ask RBIT and MOPCO to participate a few months ago. I thought since WAM is based in both the Berkshires of MA and the Capital Region of NY, it would be fun to have improv troupes from each region face off against each other. I knew both troupes had experience with Theatresports and so, when they both agreed to participate, I was thrilled. Little did I know what a success it would be!

It completely SOLD OUT. Nicki Wilson, artistic director of NEW STAGE, and Leigh and I were beyond thrilled! We had to bring in extra chairs-a great feeling. It was such fun to stand there in the room seeing all these people having a blast, including our three celebrity judges; Daniel Klein, Seth Rogovoy and Megan Whilden. Leigh and I both commented afterwards that the atmosphere in that room was exactly the kind of energy we want at WAM events: lots of laughter, audience members from all over engaging with each other and the performers and everyone having a great time together all for a good cause. We created a community together in that room and everyone could feel it. It was awesome to have representatives (performers and audience members) from other theatre companies present; Walking the Dog, BSC, BTF, Oldcastle, Shakespeare and Company, Main Street Stage, plus others I’m sure I’m forgetting. It was also amazing to see WAM/NEW STAGE/RBIT/MOPCO fans all coming together to join in the fun! A great, great event all around.

Needless to say, we are all hoping that RBIT and MOPCO decide to face off again next summer as we’d all love to see if RBIT are able to hold on to their win (by a mere two points) or whether MOPCO will be able to mop the floor with RBIT!!!

Thanks to everyone for an incredible night.

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

The Last Standing Protestor-A Guest Blog

Brenny Rabine, actor, writer, improviser, trainer and new WAM Theatre board member, wrote the following blog about her experience being part of WAM’s first event, ‘A WAM Welcome’ in April 2010.

The short play, THE LAST STANDING PROTESTER, finds a woman standing in protest without picket signs, without slogans, and without anthems. During the course of the play, she invites the audience to tell her what “hauls them under with despair.” Her mission is to carry whatever it is–from endangered marine life to cell phones–for them on her protest. She faces down oncoming tanks and fighter planes. In the last moments of the play, the audience finds her collapsed in exhaustion, struggling to stand, her outstretched hand toward them, as she asks from the floor, “Would you please help me up?”

As part of WAM’s inaugural production, “A WAM Welcome,” I was honored by the opportunity to work with Kristen van Ginhoven on THE LAST STANDING PROTESTER by Lydia Stryk. Our production benefitted Women for Women International, and I walked away feeling like I’d won the lottery. The piece stretched me as an actor and recharged my sense of responsibility. Kristen inspired me with her intelligence, kindness, talent, and commitment to WAM.

I still consider what this play taught me about speaking up.

The eponymous protester cajoles the audience, begs them, pities them, demands them to tell her what hauls them under with despair. Kristen and I considered her tactics and her motives. Each question we asked begged another. Who protests today? Where? Why? How does this woman expect to make an impact by merely standing? What compels a person to stand for EVERYTHING? We wanted our audience to respond (actively!) to us, to offer their despair, in fact. We considered how I might improvise with anything the audience offered.

Kristen was clear, explaining that this character was not “crazy,” even though we had a hard time wrestling with her willingness to (literally) sacrifice herself in her mission. “We can’t make her crazy,” Kristen directed. “She is really asking, and she could be any one us.”

My friend Rachel saw the play, and she asked me (and I think this is verbatim), “Was your character supposed to be crazy? ‘Cause I didn’t think she really was crazy, even though she was doing this crazy thing, asking strangers for their despair.” I considered Rachel’s observation a rave review, of sorts. I’d accomplished Kristen’s direction, and Kristen was right. “Crazy” is too easy to dismiss, and we respected the protester’s demand that we all, at the very least, bring our despair to consciousness.

No matter how earnestly I sought the audience’s input, no one uttered a word during any of the performances. Rachel admitted to me that she wanted to say something. She squirmed, asking herself, “Am I supposed to speak up?” The more I asked her to tell me, the more uncomfortable she felt by not answering. Rachel admitted, “I even knew what I would say! I just didn’t know if I really should.” (Or, as I heard her to be saying, Brava!)

The play continues to give me both permission to speak up (if I needed it) and the responsibility to speak up (as the world needs it). Thank you, thank you, Kristen, for welcoming me to WAM.

WAM is thrilled to welcome Brenny to our board. For more information on Brenny’s work as a performer, go to http://www.brennyrabine.com/wb/

How to raise kids who choose to give back: A guest blog

Kristen met with Joanna Krotz, author and advocate, entrepeneur and speaker, earlier in July. Joanna agreed to have two of her blogs reprinted on our WAM Website. We hope you enjoy them.

HOW TO RAISE KIDS WHO CHOOSE TO GIVE BACK

I’ve been doing some research to talk about raising kids amid abundance and it’s dawned on me (not for the first time) that the two areas of education most critical to raising independent, self-sufficient kids who demonstrate both self-esteem and responsibility are (1) financial literacy and (2) philanthropy.

That is: kids who can comfortably manage money and are engaged in giving back to the community, however community is defined.

Yet those two arenas of knowledge are never remotely covered in any school course or curriculum, from kindergarten through graduate school.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea for parents to provide their offspring with lessons in both the emotional and transactional reach of money and giving, right alongside the stream of piano lessons and gymnastics, soccer and Little League?

As an example of the kind of rewards such lessons can yield, there’s philanthropist Ann Lurie in Chicago, who regularly appears on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the 50 most generous Americans.

Ann told me:

Surprise, Surprise: Education Men is Key to Gender Equality: A Guest Blog

Kristen met with Joanna Krotz, author and advocate, entrepeneur and speaker, earlier in July. Joanna agreed to have two of her blogs reprinted on our WAM Website. We hope you enjoy them.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE: EDUCATING MEN IS KEY TO GENDER EQUALITY

A bevy of research projects into how public policies can enlist men and boys in the struggle for gender equality are currently under way in Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, China, Croatia, India, Mexico, South Africa and Tanzania, with more countries in the pipeline.

The goal, according to the International Center for Research on Women, the organization conducting the research, is to provide “insights on how to achieve large-scale impact in promoting more cooperative and equitable relations between women and men, reducing gender inequities and calling attention to men’s gender-related vulnerabilities.”

And findings from the projects, just released in a sort of interim report card, recommend a host of comprehensive policies that could engage men and boys in ways that benefit both sexes.

The report offers eight recommendations for policies that can achieve those aims, including these highlights:

What does it actually mean to achieve one’s potential?

This week, the news broke that Jenny Gersten was named Artistic Director of Williamstown Theatre Festival. Since then, I have not only been thinking about how amazing it is to that a woman was chosen for this prominent position, I have also been thinking about the fact that she is 41. Wow. An Artistic Director and a Working Mom. and 41. Did I mention she’s 41. A helluva accomplishment.

I’m going to be 38 in two weeks and I spend a lot of time wondering if I’ve ‘accomplished enough’, personally and professionally. I wonder if Ms. Gersten ever wonders that? I imagine she probably does. Many people I know do. Perhaps at whatever level you are at in this world, just ‘starting out’ or having already achieved ‘success’, one likely always wonders if there is more they can accomplish. Or do they?

Is it women who often wonder what more they can do to achieve their potential? Is it artists? Is it people who are ‘conscious’, passionate, ambitious? Is it just me? I certainly know it isn’t just me or just women, as I have many, many friends of both genders who lament about what more they can do to achieve their potential in their lifetime. I have many artist friends who suffer deep mental distress at how hard they work, and how lucky they have to be, in order to have some chance to do what they love and have some sort of standard of living. The artist path is certainly not an easy path for any person to choose. Yet, so many of us keep doing it. So many of us continue to struggle with all the consequences that come with the artist life because we know the deep joy that counters the distress when we do get the chance to work and live well, when we do manage to achieve that precious balance. Regardless of the level of achievement, be it Williamstown or WAM, it feels good. Doesn’t it?

Which makes me wonder why I’ve spent the last two days feeling slightly down about my ‘lack’ of ‘success’ as a near 38 year old as compared to Ms. Gersten’s apparent ‘abundance’ of ‘success’ as a 41 year old. I know that it simply has to do with the ‘level’ of her success and I recognize it’s all (mostly) in my head. Because, in the grand scheme of things, her success is no different than mine just because she is now AD of a theatre with a large budget and profile and I have recently co-founded a theatre company with a (very, very) small budget and a (so far) small profile. An accomplishment is an accomplishment.

I would love to sit down for tea with her someday in a lovely café somewhere in the beautiful Berkshires and see where she stands on it all. In the meantime, I’m over the moon that I have someone like her to look up to and be inspired by and I can’t wait to follow her and a new chapter at Williamstown.

Watch out world, I have three years and two weeks to go until I’m 41 so watch me go! WAM WAM WAM!

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

Women of Influence

At Russell Sage College, we like to use the term “Women of Influence”  for the students.  It describes the kind of women we want to graduate from this small women’s college in Troy, New York.  The term gets me thinking about who the women of influence have been in my life, the ones who got me going, the ones who kept me going, and the ones I think of today when I need inspiration.

I am fortunate:  there are too many to mention in one writing.  But, like many, I start with my mother.  One of my first memories is seeing her in community theatre production of SKIN OF OUR TEETH, as Sabina, “Oh, oh, oh six o’clock and the master’s not ‘ome yet!”  She was standing in doorway – with no walls around it.  She was all lit up; she was different, she was powerful up there.  And the rest, as they say, is (my) history.

In 9th grade Dottie Weiner was my English teacher, and she directed the school plays.  Clearly she saw something in me I did not yet see in myself.  She welcomed me to the school in a way that no one else had (my family has just moved back East from Las Vegas) and the Drama Club was my home at school for the next three years.   But I remember her classes as much as I remember her direction.  We had to write an essay on “There is no coming to consciousness without pain.” (I think that was Bernard Malamud?).  I never forgot the bliss of trying to sort that out in my mind, the bliss of having someone teach to the mind I felt I had, and of course, the lesson of that damned quote.

Because I’m writing on women here, I am excluding two very fine English teachers in 8th & 9th grade, and two very disturbing acting teachers I encountered during my college years.  Taking time to recall that I was in school during the pre-sexual harassment years, suffice it to say that it was a relief when we had women running the classes because we didn’t have to defend ourselves from advances, and no woman teacher that I ever met showed up on a student’s doorstep expecting to be let in at 11 at night.  I am relieved for the students today.  They have a language and a grievance process for something that, back in the day, we just had to deal with if we wanted to study at certain places with certain teachers.

One of the biggest influences for me, in the shortest amount of time, was Anne Bogart. 

Thoughts on ‘Mirror, Mirror’ pre-’A WAM Welcome’-Guest Blog

The MIRROR, MIRROR cast has had 4 performances this week, from March 31- April 2. Here are some thoughts from Kyrie Ellison, one of our cast members:

At Russell Sage College, we are all told daily that we are “women of influence”. I can personally attest to the power and truth of that statement after touring the show Mirror, Mirror to various high school audiences around New York and Massachusetts. It was wonderful, seeing the faces light up as many took in the information we were trying to spread to each and every person in the audience, and it made the show even more delightful to the cast presenting it. I can’t tell you how many times I went back stage to hear someone in the cast saying “I like this audience the best. They are really responding to what we are saying”. Show after show, the audience’s got more and more responsive, whether it was dabbing at tears in the corner of their eyes, or rolling in the aisles from yet another funny joke delivered when they least expected it.

Touring is completely new to me. As a freshman, this has been my first opportunity to be a part of anything as inspirational as this. I remember seeing a performance of Mirror, Mirror when I was a junior in high school, and it brought up some interesting questions. I really began looking at myself from the inside out and not picking apart every “flaw” in my body. My hope for the tour is that I helped to inspire someone else to start thinking that way too.

The fact is that it’s hard to know if you really get through to an audience based on applause or laughter.