WAM Theatre's HOLY LAUGHTER Opens 11/1

Previews for WAM Theatre's mainstage production of Holy Laughter by Catherine Trieshmann start on Thursday, October 29 and run through Saturday, October 31 at 7:30 pm at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center at 36 Linden Street in Pittsfield. Tickets for preview performances are just $18. This developmental workshop production officially opens at the 2 pm performance on Sunday, November 1, and continues performances Fridays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm through November 22. The production is recommended for ages 13 and up.

"This is always the most exciting time of year for WAM Theatre, " says Artistic Director Kristen van Ginhoven, "All our efforts to use theatre to benefit women and girls come to fruition through producing our mainstage production. We can't wait to share this touching new comedy with our audiences and, at the same time, use this production as our philanthropy by helping keep five girls in school in 2016 plus helping 125 families rebuild following the catastrophic earthquake earlier this year in Nepal. WAM's double philanthropic model means that by attending this show, our audiences are supporting both the arts and women and girls, a double WAMmy!"

Holy Laughter is a poignant comedy that follows Abigail, an Episcopal priest who finds that the reality of leading a church is radically and hilariously different than what she learned in seminary. Hymns, liturgical dance and a wicked tongue lift this antic portrait of a small, struggling congregation to comic heights.

Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian, who directed the 2014 Fresh Takes Reading of Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England by Madeleine George, the cast features Dana Harrison (Shakespeare & Company's Private Lives), Ron Komora (The Poet in An Iliad at Capital Rep), Amie Lytle (Around the World in 80 Days, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater), Kimberlee Monroe (Maid's Door at the Billy Holiday Theatre, NYC), and Benjamin Zoëy.

In keeping with WAM's double philanthropic mission 25% of the box office proceeds from Holy Laughter will be donated to the Hands in Outreach and Sisters for Peace girls education project in Nepal. There will be a lobby display featuring the collaborative work of these two organizations and a talkback with them on the closing performance on November 22 at 2pm. Visit the links below to read the WAM interview with both organizations, who shared in detail the impact of their work:

http://www.wamtheatre.com/interview-with-sisters-for-peace/

http://www.wamtheatre.com/interview-with-hands-in-outreach/

Four post-show talkback sessions are being offered. Each will feature a discussion about the creative process as well as a question and answer session. Playwright Catherine Trieschmann leads off the series following the Saturday, October 31 7:30 pm preview performance. A talkback with the cast will take place after the 2 pm matinee on Saturday, November 7, and with the design team following the matinee on Saturday, November 14. On Sunday, November 22 after the 2pm matinee, there will be a post-show discussion with this year's beneficiaries, Hands in Outreach and Sisters For Peace, about their work and the impact of WAM's donation, followed by the check presentation.

Tickets Now on Sale

Tickets are $18-$40 and are being sold through the Barrington Stage Company (BSC) box office. They can be purchased in three easy ways: by calling the BSC box office at 413-236-8888, going in person during box office hours to 30 Union Street in Pittsfield, or buying online through the BSC ticketing page. https://tickets.barringtonstageco.org/

Sponsors for this production include: Greylock Federal Credit Union; Garden Gables Inn (Producer Sponsors); Berkshire Magazine, RookWood Inn, RBC Wealth Management (Partner Sponsors); Custom Business Solutions, Interprint (Leader Sponsors); Adams Community Bank, Cohen Kinne Valicenti Cook, Rogovoy Report, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank(Patron Sponsors); RB Designs; Nina Molin MD; Jon Gotterer DMD, Dr Jay Wise (Supporter Sponsors).

Additional WAM 2015 Sponsors include: Brabson Library & Educational Foundation, Dylandale Foundation, Feigenbaum Foundation, International Schools Theatre Association, Massachusetts Cultural Council and Petricca Industries (Education Programming). WAM Theatre is also supported in part by grants from the Lee, Lenox, Hinsdale-Peru, Monterey, Northern Berkshire, Richmond, Washington, Windsor Cultural Councils, local agencies that are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

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