(Pittsfield, MA) Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in Downtown Pittsfield, MA, under the leadership of Artistic Director Alan Paul, celebrates 24 years with the 2024 Playwright Mentoring Project (PMP) with the All PMP Fest on Saturday, April 6 at 1:00pm at the St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center (36 Linden Street).
For tickets to the All PMP Fest on Saturday, April 6, call the Barrington Stage Box Office at 413-236-8888 or visit https://www.bsceducation.org/pmp
The Playwright Mentoring Project Spring Tour features Berkshire County students from the following schools: Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter School (BART), Drury High, Hoosac Valley High, Lee High, McCann Technical, Mt. Greylock Regional, Nessacus Middle School, Pittsfield High, Richmond Consolidated, Taconic High and Wahconah Regional.
The students have access to more than 20 members of the Playwright Mentoring Project Team including Director of Education and Community Engagement Jane O’Leary, Associate Director of Education Jess Diaz Griffin; Artistic Mentors Marcella Dean, Michael Raine, Sarah Keyes; Peer Mentors Kiara Bressett, Evan Gardzina, Joseph Gunn, Jack Kelly, Kyle Pullaro-Clark, Manny Sola, Nico Rivera, Nollan Gageant, Xinef Afraim; Playwrights James Clements, Kelli Newby, Sam Adrian, Seth McNeill, Sam LaFrage; Therapists Deb Cole-Duffy and Lisa Tessier.
BSC’s Playwright Mentoring Project Spring Tour receives major support from C.F. Adams Charitable Trust, Avangrid Foundation, Berkshire Bank, The Feigenbaum Foundation, Greylock Federal Credit Union, The Herman Goldman Foundation, InterAct for Change, Leon Lowenstein Foundation, Mass Cultural Council and United Way Berkshires.
“We hope you’ll join us for supporting Berkshire County youth to celebrate their collaboration, resilience, and stories,” said Jane O’Leary, Director of Education and Community Engagement. “This cohort of participants from all over Berkshire County have committed their time, energy and enthusiasm into each of the 5 plays that we are presenting. Each ensemble member has learned to collaborate, share their voice, and take accountability for the process of creating an original show. Many of this year’s plays explore themes that deal with community and our accountability to each other. How does the school system live up to its promise to accommodate the needs of today’s learners? How can we choose kindness over judgment? In what ways does modern life and technology work against our ability to live in community with each other?”
About the PLAYWRIGHT MENTORING PROJECT (PMP)
Lasting six months, PMP is an intensive, out-of-school activity that uses theatre as a catalyst to help young people learn valuable life skills. PMP is offered at no cost to the students, and no audition is required. Meeting weekly, PMP offers teenagers a brave space to talk about difficult issues in their daily lives. Participants learn the fundamentals of devising, playwriting and improvisation from experienced mentors. Theatre is used as a means of self-exploration and self-expression. Over the course of the program, teens collaborate to create an original performance piece based on their own stories. Over the six months, students develop conflict resolution skills, learn to express themselves and create a supportive community together. This year PMP ran 5 school groups, three in Pittsfield and two in North Adams.
PMP is the winner of the nationally renowned “Coming Up Taller Award” and the Massachusetts Commonwealth Award for Creative Youth Development, for its Education Programs, most notably the Playwright Mentoring Project for underserved youth.
ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY
Barrington Stage Company (BSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Alan Paul, is an award-winning theatre located in Pittsfield, MA, in the heart of the Berkshires. Co-founded in 1995 by Julianne Boyd, BSC’s mission is to produce top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to engage our community with vibrant, inclusive educational outreach programs. Alan Paul succeeded Ms. Boyd as the company’s Artistic Director in 2022.
BSC attracts over 60,000 patrons annually and has gained national recognition for its superior-quality productions and comprehensive educational programming, including the award-winning Playwright Mentoring Project, the Musical Theatre Conservatory, Youth Theatre, KidsAct! and other initiatives. The company has become integral to the economic revitalization of downtown Pittsfield.
BSC’s reputation for excellence began with a smash revival of Cabaret that moved to Boston in 1997 for an extended run. The theatre’s prominence grew with the world premiere of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin (BSC 2004; Broadway 2005-2008, winner of two Tony Awards). Other notable productions include the world premiere of Christopher Demos-Brown’s American Son (BSC 2016; Broadway 2018); Mark St. Germain’s Freud’s Last Session (BSC 2009; Off-Broadway 2010-2012); Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden & Adolph Green’s On the Town (BSC 2013; Broadway 2014, four Tony Award nominations); Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company, starring Aaron Tveit (2017); and West Side Story in honor of Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins’ centenaries (2018).
BSC develops and commissions new work with two programs: PlayWorks, which supports the creation of new plays, and the Musical Theatre Lab, which develops new musicals. Since 1995, BSC has produced 45 new works, 22 of which have moved to New York and major US regional theatres.
BSC was the recipient of 15 Berkshire Theatre Awards for the 2023 season, including Outstanding Production of a Musical for its production of Cabaret, directed by Alan Paul, and the Sally and Robert Sugarman Award for a world premiere of a New Play or Musical for The Happiest Man on Earth, by Mark St. Germain.
Barrington Stage Company celebrates its 30th Anniversary Season in 2024.