WAM Theatre Announces Cast List for Staged Reading of BLUE STOCKINGS

WAM Theatre is pleased to announce the cast for a staged reading of Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale. Blue Stockings premiered to critical acclaim at London's Globe Theatre last year and will be presented by WAM Theatre on Sunday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m. at No. Six Depot Roastery and Café, 6 Depot Street in West Stockbridge, MA. The reading will be followed by a talkback with the actors and director. Blue Stockings is the first in WAM Theatre's new Fresh Takes Play Reading series, which offers new and reimagined works that tell women's stories.

The cast for Blue Stockings includes Suzanne Ankrum (WAM Theatre's Emilie), Jurian Hughes (Berkshire Theater Festival'sSylvia), Josh Aaron McCabe (Shakespeare & Company's Mother Courage and Her Children), and Tod Randolph(Shakespeare & Company's Cassandra Speaks). The reading will also feature Joe Ahmed, Brendan Cataldo, Annie Considine, Caroline Fairweather, Catherine Seeley, Charlie Owens, Elizabeth Roberts, James Udom and Ryan Winkles. WAM Theatre Artistic Associate and Fresh Takes curator Kelly Galvin will direct.

Set in 1896 at Girton, the first college in Britain to admit women, Blue Stockings is a moving, comical and eye-opening story about four young women fighting for education and self-determination against the backdrop of women's suffrage. This critically acclaimed play dramatizes the fight for education, equality and access for women; issues that are prized by WAM Theatre and its audiences.

"We are delighted to launch our new play reading series with such an exciting cast of local professional actors," said Kristen van Ginhoven, Artistic Director. "We are also excited as this is the first public reading of Blue Stockings in the US! Tickets are very limited so we highly encourage pre-booking."

There are only 25 tickets available for this reading. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-838-3006 or going online to http://wamfreshtakes.bpt.me.

Food and drink will be available for purchase at the café prior to the reading, which will begin in the gallery at 3:00 p.m.

The Fresh Takes Play Reading series consists of: Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale (April 13, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.), Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare (May 18, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.), How the World Began by Catherine Trieschmann (June 22, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.), Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England by Madeleine George (August 17, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.), and Waxworks by Trina Davies (September 21, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.).

For more information about the series go to: http://www.wamtheatre.com/fresh-takes/.

About WAM Theatre:
WAM (Women's Action Movement) Theatre was co-founded in 2010 by Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven. Inspired by the book "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, WAM Theatre is based in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. WAM Theatre's philanthropic mission is two-fold: first, to create theatrical events for everyone, with a focus on women theatre artists and/or stories of women and girls; and second, to donate a portion of the proceeds from those events to organizations that benefit women and girls. Since 2010, WAM Theatre has donated more than $10,500 to its beneficiaries. For more information, see www.WAMTheatre.com.