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LENOX — WAM Theatre announces the opportunity for young artists in Berkshire County, ages 15-19, to apply for its Teen Ensemble program. This initiative invites participants to devise and perform an original piece in downtown Lenox over Memorial Day weekend.
Since 2014, WAM Theatre has engaged teenagers in creating performances that address activist themes through devised theatre, a collaborative process incorporating writing, improvisation, games, movement, brainstorming, and more.
The 2024 program, based at WAM’s Creative Hub in Lenox, is titled “Immersive Performance for Changemakers.” The ensemble will undergo training in devised theatre techniques with the aim of producing short, site-specific performances. The program begins with a Theatre Skills & Activist Training week from April 16-19, coinciding with the spring break for area schools. “That week is when Teen Ensemble artists become a company and develop a shared toolbox which they’ll use to build their performance,” says Maizy Broderick Scarpa, WAM’s Director of Community Engagement and co-facilitator of the ensemble.
Participants will reconvene for the Site-Specific Performance Weekend from May 24-26, during Berkshire Arts Week. “As a devised theater lover, I deeply believe in the mana (power) of telling stories from one’s own experience as a way to ignite positive change in the world. I am excited to uplift the stories from this cohort of Teens to create some magic for our community. Mahalo (thank you),” shares Malia’Kekia Nicolini, co-facilitator of the ensemble.
WAM Theatre does not require theatre experience for participation. Applicants may be invited for a brief interview to facilitate mutual understanding and to address any questions. The program seeks individuals with enthusiasm, a creative impulse, and a desire to advocate for meaningful causes. The application deadline is March 17, with further details available on WAM’s website.
Selection criteria will focus on age, availability, understanding of collaboration, and the value of community in art-making. “It’s important for the ensemble members to embrace difference as a strength. We need folks who care about the world around them, who listen to each other and to their community, and who are ready to speak up when the situation demands,” adds Scarpa.
This paid opportunity includes a stipend for participants. Parents, counselors, teachers, and community leaders are encouraged to nominate students who excel in collaborative creative environments.
Applications and nominations can be submitted online at www.wamtheatre.com/engage/teen-ensemble/ or via email to [email protected].
Questions, and requests for assistance with the application, should also be directed to [email protected]
AT A GLANCE
WAM Teen Ensemble 2024
Immersive Performance for Changemakers
April 16-19 and May 24-27 (Hours outlined in application linked below)
Led by WAM Teaching Artists Maizy Broderick Scarpa and Malia’Kekia Nicolini
at The WAM Theatre Hub, 55 Main Street, Lenox, MA
More info: www.wamtheatre.com/teen-ensemble/
Apply online at: https://forms.gle/CWaqrwuKMavzAwpe9.
Application deadline: March 17, 2024
More about WAM’s Teaching Artists
Malia’Kekia Nicolini (‘O ia/She/They) is a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) teaching artist, choreographer, artistic director and gratitude enthusiast based in the Berkshires. ‘O ia is delighted to be a Teaching Artist for the Teen Ensemble at WAM! Malia’Kekia is the Co-Founder of B4 The Other Creations which travels throughout the US/internationally offering professional development and educational residencies. B4’s intimate work is led through movement, not lecture, and grounded in a Pedagogy of Play. Most recently, Malia’Kekia co-facilitated the Black and Indigenous Futures Convening with Howlround Theater Commons and ArtsEmerson. As an interdisciplinary artist, ‘o ia weaves all their experience together to empower students with radical joy. BFA (Music Theater), MBA (Mindfulness in Business Practices), BIPOC Leadership (ArtEquity). www.b4theother.com
Maizy Broderick Scarpa (she/they/any pronouns) is an educator, writer, and theatre artist who is dedicated to building a more just & healthy world by fostering equity in the arts, and nurturing mutually supportive communities. Current Role at WAM: Director of Community Engagement. Previous WAM Credits: Teaching Artist (Teen Ensemble 2023); Actor in Fresh Takes Play Readings (Port of Entry, Grand Concourse, The Droll, The Tall Girls, Campus Unrest); 24 Hour Theatre Project 2016 (Playwright); workshop co-facilitator “Writing & Gender” Selected Teaching Credits Elsewhere: Barrington Stage Co, Shakespeare & Company, Hampton Shakespeare Festival, Dorset Theatre Festival, The Buxton School, Taconic High School, Le Chapeau Rouge, StateraConIV. English as a Foreign Language: Lycée Alphonse Daudet; Collège Rene Cassin; The Kurdish Regional Government. Training: NYU/Tisch (Adler & ETW). maizyscarpa.com / bloomcreativity.com
WAM 2024 Sponsors
WAM Theatre is supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts through the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with major funding from the federal CARES Act for the National Endowment for the Arts. Recently, WAM was recommended for an American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
WAM’s sponsors include Adams Community Bank, Blue Q., Berkshire Roots, Blue Spark Financial, Downright Pro, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Garden Gables Inn, Guidos Fresh Marketplace, Health Professional Coaching, Heller & Robbins Attorneys at Law, Interprint, Onyx Specialty Papers, RB Design Co., T Square Design Studio, Toole Insurance, a. von schlegell & co, and the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts.
WAM Theatre’s 2022 Season is also supported in part by grants from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Berkshire Bank, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, The Feigenbaum Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), Mass Humanities, Lee Bank Foundation, Scarlet Sock Foundation and U.S. Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant; as well as grants from the Dalton Cultural Council, Lee Cultural Council, Lenox Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cultural Council, Beckett Cultural Council, Otis Cultural Council, Sandisfield Cultural Council, and Washington Cultural Council.
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 $85,000 to 25 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 500 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, detailed in their recently released accountability plan.
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.
