New Talkback with Shout Out Loud Productions Announced for WAM Theatre's THE OLD MEZZO

Shout Out Loud Productions, the beneficiary of WAM Theatre's World Premiere production of The Old Mezzo by Berkshire Based playwright Susan Dworkin, will be on hand after the Friday, October 19 performance for a talkback. Jeanet Ingalls, founder and president and Monika Pizzichemi, secretary and still Photographer will be present for the talkback, which will be facilitated by Kristen van Ginhoven, Artistic Director of WAM Theatre. In keeping with WAM's double philanthropic mission, Shout Out Loud will receive up to 25% of the box office proceeds from the production.

This talkback is in addition to the already announced Special Events which include talkbacks with the playwright as well as 2 for 1 deals with the Museum's Sunday Noon Opera and Ballet offerings in the Little Cinema plus 20% restaurant discounts for pre or post performance fare are also all on offer.

Talkbacks

*New Talkback: Jeanet Ingalls and Monika Pizzichemi of Shout Out Loud Productions, the beneficiary of this production, will be on hand Friday, October 19 following the 8pm performance for a talkback.

Shout Out Loud Productions is a not-for-profit organization, helmed by artist Jeanet Ingalls, focused on raising the global awareness of sex trafficking, social accepted abuse and poverty in the lives of women and children. Their first project is a video diary documentary that will trace Jeanet's early life in the Philippines. Through interviews with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder experts and a trip back to the Philippines to speak to children who have been coerced into sex trafficking, the documentary will begin Shout Out Loud's work to educate broadly about the pervasive reach of sex trafficking and its life long effects on those lucky enough to escape.

Jeanet and WAM Theatre were motivated to take action by the same book, 'Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide' by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

Susan Dworkin, the playwright, will be on hand for two talkbacks, Sunday, October 14 and 21 following the 5pm performance of The Old Mezzo.

Ms. Dworkin is best known for her books The Viking in the Wheat Field and The Nazi Officer's Wife as well as her play All Day Suckers. She was also a finalist for the Susan Blackburn Prize in 1980-1981 for her play Deli's Fable. Ms. Dworkin was one of the original writers and editors at Ms. Magazine.

Gloria Steinem, when asked about Ms. Dworkin, recently said, "As a writer and as a human being, Susan Dworkin has always had the ability to draw us into new dreams of justice, and to make them irresistibly practical, humorous and human. She makes clear that progress and pleasure go together."

The actors will also be on hand for the Oct. 14 and 21 talkbacks.

Eileen Schuyler of the Capital Region (NY) plays the title role of Alyssa, the old mezzo. Ms. Schuyler has worked with professional theatres across the Capital Region and beyond including Stageworks/Hudson and Capital Repertory Theatre, most recently in their critically acclaimed production of 33 Variations.

Ryan Winkles of Berkshire County plays Joe, one of Alyssa's students. Mr. Winkles is familiar to Berkshire audiences for his many notable and wide-ranging roles at Shakespeare & Company, most recently as Ferdinand in The Tempest.

Rylan Morsbach plays Billy, another of Alyssa's students. Mr. Morsbach is from the Pioneer Valley and wowed audiences in the summer of 2011 with his tour de force solo performance in Pauline Productions Scaramouche Jones.

Alyssa's other two master class students, Marcy and Sally, are played by Erin Ouellette of the Capital Region, graduate of Shakespeare & Company's Conservatory and recently seen at Hubbard Hall in Amadeus, and Elizabeth Donnelly, a Connecticut based actress with credits ranging from Hartford Stage in CT to Stoneham Theatre in MA. Both Erin and Elizabeth were part of WAM Theatre's sold out 24hr Berkshire/Capital Region Theatre project held in April at Shakespeare & Company.

2 for 1 Sunday Movie/Theatre deal with Berkshire Museum's Little Cinema

The Berkshire Museum and WAM Theatre have teamed up to offer a 2 for 1 Sunday deal for anyone wanting to take in an Opera or Ballet film at noon and the play performance at 5pm. Offer is available for all three Sunday's at $30 total. Tickets can be purchased at 1-800-838-3006 or www.wamtheatre.com with the code '2for1'.

Sunday, October 14 at noon: Giacomo Rossini's Opera L'Italiana in Algeri
Sunday, October 21 at noon: La Scala Ballet with L'altra Metà del Cielo (The Other Side of the Sky)
Sunday, October 28 at noon: Teatro Regio di Torino's Ballet Un Ballo in Maschera.

All followed by the 5pm performance of WAM Theatre's The Old Mezzo.