Berkshire Playwrights Lab to Present MATCH

The Berkshire Playwrights Lab (BPL) will present the next play in the free Staged Reading Series on Wednesday, July 29, 2015, at 7:30 pm at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. The play follows Great Barrington's Dig+Dine outdoor dining event. "Match," by critically-acclaimed playwright Jennifer Maisel, is the story of a much-needed kidney, the donor and her intentions and the lives the decision to give impacts. "Mother of the Maid," a play first presented through Berkshire Playwrights Lab's Free Staged Reading Series, is now in full production at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox.

An earlier version of "Match" was a semi-finalist for The O'Neill Theatre Conference in 2010. A dark drama, "Match" explores the shadow side of people, "Match" is the story of a kidney donor, the power to change lives and the motivation behind it and the question of whether or not it is possible to give such a gift with no strings attached. Playwright Jennifer Maisel is author of "Out of Orbit," which was presented during Berkshire Playwright Lab's 2014 season. Jessica Bauman directs.

Jennifer Maisel's plays have been developed and produced at theaters in New York and Los Angeles , we well as nationally and internationally. Backstage magazine included Jennifer amongst their "favorite female playwrights" and The Dramatist Magazine named her one of their "Ones to Watch." Jennifer is the recipient of the Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays Award and their Charlotte Woolard Award for Promising New Voice in American Theatre, as well their Roger Stevens Award for Playwrights of Extraordinary Promise, in addition to being a finalist for numerous awards. In the world of film and television, her screenplay, "Prodigal Son," is under option with Tule River Films and she has written movies for NBC, ABC, MTV and LIFETIME.

Berkshire Playwrights Lab's Free Staged Reading series takes place June through August and brings artists and audiences into conversation around new plays in development. There is no admission cost for BPL's readings (although reservations are recommended), providing area audiences a free opportunity to be part of the creative process through talkbacks and access to artists. This year's readings take place on the following Wednesdays at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA): June 24, July 15, July 29 and August 12. To reserve tickets, call the Mahaiwe Box Office at 413-528-0100.

Berkshire Playwrights Lab is the region's only theater exclusively dedicated to the development of new plays. BPL's mission is to provide new and established playwrights with a secure space in which they may develop new work and explore new avenues of creativity. More than 30 short and 35 full-length plays have been presented since 2007. Two plays presented under the BPL banner in recent years are being given full productions this summer. The New Jersey Repertory Company will present "Closure," by Richard Dresser (BPL 2013) under the direction of co-Artistic Director Joe Cacaci and starring Wendie Malick and Gary Cole. "Mother of the Maid," by Jane Anderson (BPL 2014), will be performed closer to home at Shakespeare and Company, directed by Matthew Penn and starring Tina Packer.

BPL plays go from the table to the stage in four days. Playwrights see their nascent works, still in development, acted by talented professional actors, allowing the writer to see where actors and directors stumble and what comes to life effortlessly. The talkback, held after every show, is an opportunity for the audience to have a role in shaping these new works. BPL playwrights state that the process is invaluable and saves them months of solitary labor. Past writers and performers have included Lauren Ambrose, Tony Shalhoub, Treat Williams, Dan Lauria, Wendie Malick, Eric Bogosian, Elaine May and David Mamet. Berkshire Playwrights Lab Co-Artistic Directors are Joseph Cacaci, Jim Frangione and Matthew Penn, all with long professional careers as actors, directors and writers for both stage and screen.

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