Berkshire Playwrights Lab's Expanded Programming And Season Kick-off Party

Berkshire Playwrights Lab (BPL) will celebrate the kickoff of the summer season with a benefit Gala on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the historic Wyantenuck Country Club, located at 46 West Sheffield Road in Great Barrington. The evening, a celebration of eleven years of original plays, expanded programming and affordable professional theater, includes light dinner fare, a silent auction, and a short surprise performance. Gala tickets are $125 per person and are available directly through BPL at 413.528.2544 or via email or mail (please see BerkshirePlaywrightsLab.com for details). Underwriter tickets are $250 per person and Sponsor tickets are $500 per person, both of which will help support the expanded 2018 season and give the patrons special recognition in the season playbill and at the readings.

Hosted by Gala Chairs Stacey Gillis Weber, Deann Halper and Robin Schultz Gerber, guests include playwrights, actors and directors and the Berkshire community of artists and arts patrons. The silent auction features a classic Italian-made Vespa; other items include: a one-month family membership to Berkshire South Community Center; dinner for two at The Red Lion Inn; dinner for two at Café Adam; Only In My Dreams party-planning gift certificate; gift cards/certificates from Asia Barong, Simply Sweet, Wards Nursery, and the Well. Additional items are being added and the full list will be on view at BerkshirePlaywrightsLab.org.

Proceeds from the fundraiser helps support BPL's programming, which includes another new initiative this year, Berkshire Voices, a writers' group which was created by and for local residents to provide key support and resources for writers at every stage of their careers. Ten to twelve playwrights meet once a week for eight weeks (in two sessions per year) to share new work and offer constructive criticism in a supportive community environment. At the end of each session, a free performance of work created during the session, is shared with the public (April 23 and May 7, 2018; more to follow in autumn).

The Radius Playwrights Festival, an annual winter event that was begun in 2017, helps expand year-round theater offerings in the Berkshires, features fully staged readings of new, short plays selected through a blind submission process and written by playwrights of all ages and experience levels who have a residence within a 50-mile radius of Great Barrington. The festival utilizes local actors and directors and seeks to add to the now year-round Berkshire theater season.

The Summer Staged Reading Series, BPL's signature program, offers staged readings of new plays that are developed in an intense rehearsal process that provides playwrights an opportunity to work closely with a director and professional actors to refine their script through rehearsal, performance and the post-reading audience talkback session. Over the years, BPL has developed a strong following and reputation for excellence. Many of the readings have subsequently been produced at local and regional theaters. In 2017, BPL produced the World Premiere of Some Old Black Man by James A. Tyler, a play featured in our 2015 series. In February of 2018, BPL produced the NY Off-Broadway premier of Some Old Black Man at 59E59 Theaters, which played to sold-out houses. The 2018 Summer Reading Series takes place on June 27, July 11 & 25 and August 8 at the Mahaiwe Center for Performing Arts.

Berkshire Playwrights Lab (BPL) is a 501(c)(3) theater company headquartered in Great Barrington in western Massachusetts. Founded in 2007, BPL is led by Co-Artistic Directors Joe Cacaci, Jim Frangione and Matthew Penn. They are joined by Managing Director Tristan Wilson. Each of the leadership team have each worked in theater for at least thirty years as directors, playwrights, actors and producers. They came together out of a recognized need for more theater companies that give writers support and guidance as they develop new work, and for affordable opportunities for audiences to engage with theater. BPL is the only theater company in Berkshire County that focuses exclusively on new play development.

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