Pittsfield, MA – Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) and Kate Maguire (Artistic Director, CEO) are excited to announce that this season BTG has expanded the sensory-friendly programming and will offer a sensory-friendly performance for many of its summer season shows. A “sensory-friendly” performance is a production that is slightly modified to accommodate individuals with sensory-input disorders, such as people on the autism spectrum. At a sensory-friendly performance, the “house rules” are relaxed. As such, people may need to get up, move around, and leave the theatre during the performance; theatre lighting will remain at half for the duration of the performance; and sound may be modified.  The goal is to create an environment where people with autism or sensory needs, along with their families, can enjoy coming to the theatre together and feel comfortable, supported and free to be themselves. The sensory-friendly performance dates are: B.R.O.K.E.N code B.I.R.D switching: Tuesday, July 5 at 7pm Once: Tuesday, July 12 at 7pm Songs For a New World: Tuesday, August 2 at 7pm Edward Albee’s Seascape: Thursday, October 13 at 7pm Tickets for all of BTG’s exciting summer season productions are on sale now. All plays, schedules, casting and prices are subject to change. To purchase tickets, visit www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org or contact the Colonial Ticket Office by calling 413-997-4444. The ticket office is open Tuesday through Sunday 12pm-5pm or on any performance day from 12pm until curtain. BTG’s Pittsfield Campus is located at 111 South Street, (The Colonial Theatre) Pittsfield, MA. BTG’s Stockbridge Campus is located at 6 East Street, (The Unicorn Theatre) Stockbridge, MA. At The Unicorn TheatreB.R.O.K.E.N code B.I.R.D switching written by Tara L. Wilson Noth directed by Kimille Howard at The Unicorn Theatre on the Larry Vaber Stage Sensory Friendly: Tuesday, July 5 at 7pm Tickets: Sensory Friendly: $15 ABOUT:After unbearable loss, a grieving attorney takes a pro bono case representing a black teenager accused of murder. When an alluring stranger steps in to help, she is left questioning who she is and what she wants. While fighting for the young man’s innocence, she is forced to confront the devastating truth about marriage, race and the woman she has chosen to be.  B.R.O.K.E.N code B.I.R.D switching is a play about the choices we make and the unspoken lies we tell ourselves to make peace with those choices.   At The Colonial Theatre Once based upon the motion picture written and directed by John Carney music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová book by Enda Walsh directed by Gregg Edelman music direction by Andy Taylor movement direction by Isadora Wolfe Sensory Friendly Performance: Tuesday, July 12 at 7pm Tickets: Sensory Friendly $15 ABOUT: From the very first note, Once draws you in and never lets go. Winner of eight 2012 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical, Once tells the story of a guy who gave up on love and music and the girl who inspired him to dream again.On the streets of Dublin, an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant are drawn together by their shared love of music. ​​”Guy” is a singer and songwriter who spends his days fixing vacuums in the Dublin shop he runs with his father and his nights playing his music in local pubs. He is on the verge of giving up music altogether when “Girl,” walks into the bar, hears him play and refuses to let him abandon his guitar. Over the course of one fateful week, an unexpected friendship and collaboration quickly evolve into a powerful but complicated love story.Featuring all of the magical songs from the critically acclaimed film, including the Oscar-winning “Falling Slowly,” this is the only show to have music that won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award and a Tony Award. Achingly beautiful, joyously uplifting, it strikes an unforgettable chord in audiences and speaks to the power of music to connect us all. A show like that only comes around Once. At The Unicorn Theatre Songs For a New World written and composed by Jason Robert Brown directed and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre music direction by Danté Harrell at The Unicorn Theatre on the Larry Vaber Stage Sensory Friendly: Tuesday, August 2 at 7pm Tickets: Sensory Friendly: $15 ABOUT:It’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice or take a stand or turn around and go back. These are the stories and characters of today, the Songs for a New World. The first musical from Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade, Bridges of Madison County), this moving collection of songs examines life, love and the choices that we make. With a small, powerhouse, multi-ethnic cast and a driving, exquisitely crafted score that runs the gamut of today’s popular music, Songs for a New World brings us face to face with those moments in life when everything seems perfect and then goes sideways. Most importantly, however, it’s about surviving those moments. It’s about the way we regroup and thrive under a new set of circumstances—a new world—even against seemingly overwhelming odds. At The Unicorn Theatre Edward Albee’s Seascape written by Edward Albee directed by Eric Hill at The Unicorn Theatre on the Larry Vaber Stage Sensory Friendly: Thursday, October 13 at 7pm Tickets: Sensory Friendly: $15 ABOUT: Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Edward Albee’s Seascape brings true eloquence to its compelling yet subtle examination of the very meaning and significance of life itself. Told with Edward Albee’s signature ironic wit and razor sharp perception, Seascape finds Nancy and Charlie, a middle-aged couple, on a deserted stretch of beach, relaxing after a picnic lunch, talking idly about home, family and their life together. She sketches, he naps, and then, suddenly, they are joined by two lizards who have decided to leave the ocean depths and come ashore. Initial fear, and then suspicion of each other, are soon replaced by curiosity and, before long, the humans and the lizards are engaged in a fascinating dialogue. The lizards are contemplating the terrifying, yet exciting, possibility of embarking on life out of the water; and the couple, for whom existence has grown flat and routine, holds the answers to their most urgent questions. These answers are given with warmth, humor and poetic eloquence. The emotional and intellectual reverberations will linger in the heart and mind long after the play has ended. “Of all Mr. Albee’s plays, Seascape is the most exquisitely written.” –The New Yorker. Sensory Friendly Performance Dates B.R.O.K.E.N code B.I.R.D switching: Tuesday, July 5 at 7pm Once: Tuesday, July 12 at 7pm Songs For a New World: Tuesday, August 2 at 7pm Edward Albee’s Seascape: Thursday, October 13 at 7pm

Safety Protocols For safety protocols please visit BTG’s COVID-19 information page: www.berkshiretheatregroup.org/covid-19-information/ About Berkshire Theatre Group The Colonial Theatre, founded in 1903, and Berkshire Theatre Festival, founded in 1928, are two of the oldest cultural organizations in the Berkshires. In 2010, under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire, the two organizations merged to form Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG). Berkshire Theatre Group’s mission is to support wide ranging artistic exploration and acclaimed performances in theatre, dance, music and entertainment. Every year, BTG produces and presents performances to over 68,000 attendees and, through our Educational Program, serves over 11,000 Berkshire County school children annually. In July2020, Berkshire Theatre was the first company in the United States to earn approval fromActors’ Equity Association to produce a musical (Godspell) in the wake of the COVID-19Pandemic.