LENOX, MA (June 12, 2024) — Join WAM Theatre at The Mount (Edith Wharton’s Home) on August 18, 2024 for a special 15th Anniversary Celebration featuring a one-night-only performance of Fragments of Outside, created and directed by WAM’s new Artistic Director Genée Coreno.
Heralding the arrival of WAM’s new Artistic Director, Fragments of Outside both celebrates the first 15 years of WAM’s commitment to women-centered stories and showcases the artistry of our new visionary leader. With this bold and genre-defying production, WAM aims to chart an exciting new course for the company’s future.
Coreno’s performance Fragments of Outside tells the story of June Ashbury who departs Paradise in the wake of a climate event. As she traverses landscapes weathered by time and loss, June encounters a lone wolf and unearths fragments of a once-familiar world. Through a unique blend of storytelling, original score, puppetry, and site-specific performances, audiences will be guided through the storied grounds of The Mount, Edith Wharton’s historic estate, in a theatrical experience like no other.
Set against the backdrop of the Berkshire landscape, the project delves into themes of environmental transformation from intimate shifts in familial dynamics to large-scale climate events. In the midst of uncertainty and vulnerability, humans take on mythic proportions, memories overshadow reason, and the remnants of the past shape our understanding of the present.
“The Mount is thrilled to support WAM Theatre’s Anniversary Benefit,” said Sarah Margolis-Pineo, The Mount’s Director of Programs. “Our organizations are both built on championing the important creative work of women in the Berkshires and we share the value that art and culture are for all—whether on the page or for the stage.”
In 2023, Genée Coreno initiated the development of Fragments of Outside through her theatre company, Fringe & Fur. This women-led creative endeavor was nurtured under the guidance of the 2023 Emergence Artist Residency Program at Culture Lab, LIC in New York City. As the project enters its second phase of development, the production team are refining certain elements to better connect with audiences in the Berkshires while preserving the essence of the original vision.
“I am humbled to make my Berkshire-directorial debut at The Mount in Lenox. The history and landscape of The Mount has already influenced and extended the world of the play, inspiring an important conversation between landscape and story, ” said Coreno. “The creative challenge has been set! How will this company of creatives engage an audience to revisit a place as beloved as The Mount? How will the direction of the play draw new maps on the grounds?”
Following the performance, WAM’s community of supporters will take to the terrace to toast to WAM’s new beginnings – inspired by renewed creative vision, leadership, and adventure. The event will feature fresh summer appetizers and specialty cocktails by Jeremy Kenny of Higher Bar Boutique Catering, a committee curated silent auction, as well as the exclusive pop-up performance.
WAM’s 15th Anniversary Benefit is made possible by WAM Theatre’s Benefit Committee Chairs Carolyn Butler and Arwen Lowbridge in concert with Benefit Committee Members: Kelly Binder, Deb Brothers, Nina Garlington, Donna Haghighat, Caroline Kinsolving, Sarah LaDuke, Shela Lavante, Edi Pasalis, Lindey Schmid, and Richard Tovell.
As a member of the benefit committee, Carolyn Butler reflects on WAM Theatre’s 15th Anniversary with pride and anticipation. “With Fragments of Outside, we honor our legacy of championing diverse voices and catalyzing social impact. Here’s to 15 years of artful activism and to many more moments of inspiration and change ahead!”
AT A GLANCE:
Fragments of Outside
A special one-night-only 15th Anniversary benefit performance
Written & directed by Genée Coreno
Sunday, August 18th, 2024
at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home
2 Plunkett St, Lenox, MA
Performance: 4:00PM-5:00 PM
Terrace Cocktail Party: 5:00-7:00 PM
TICKETS:
Gold ($500): Terrace Cocktail Party, Performance, Event Gift Bag, and Special Invitation to an Open Rehearsal
Silver ($250): Terrace Cocktail Party, Performance, Special Invitation to an Open Rehearsal
Bronze ($100): Performance Only Ticket
*All ticket levels include specialty drinks from Higher Bar
Tickets are on sale at: www.wamtheatre.com/outside/
Limited availability to this one-time only event. Ape Truck
MORE ABOUT THE WRITER/DIRECTOR
Genée Coreno is a director and producer with a passion for devised theater created in collaboration with women, girls, and non-binary artists and designers. WAM Theatre: Artistic Director. Selected Directing Credits: Outside (Culture Lab, LIC), Madge Love (Theater Mitu & The Brick), The Hopelessly Hopeless Story of All Good Girls (The Brick), “Is This Clear Enough?” (The Poetry Project), Dutchman (UnUrban Cafe, LA), Selected Producing Credits: The Possessed Girls of St. Mary’s (Reading, at Brick Aux), thisamericanplay (pop-up theater by Blue Flamingo), The Stronger & Mother Love (Alchemical Studios), The World is Round (BAM Fisher). Select Company Management Credits: Under the Radar Festival (The Public Theater), The Outer Space (The Public Theater), National Mobile Unit Tour of Sweat (The Public Theater), Mobile Unit’s Twelfth Night (The Public Theater), Various Performances (Big Dance Theater). Community Engagement/Activist Work: Former Manager of Development and Engagement at Every Mother Counts and Clinic Escort at Choices; Adjunct Professor at Purchase College, Women and Performance. Training: MA in Performance Studies, NYU; BA in Drama Studies, Purchase College; Embodied Voice: Intensive Vocal Workshop; The Song of the Goat; SITI Company Summer Intensive; Theater Mitu Artist Fellowship (Japan). Creative Inspiration: I’m inspired by large-scale international work that demonstrates a commitment to dance theater practices and film-making. Connect: (website) www.fringeandfur.org. (instagram) @Genéealyse_c
WAM SUPPORT
WAM Theatre’s 15th Anniversary Benefit Performance of Fragments of Outside is supported by many individuals and foundations including: Baystate Financial, Berkshire Bank, Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Brabson Family Foundation, Brava/Ombra, Doctor Sax House, The Feigenbaum Foundation, GKV Foundation, Lee Bank Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), Scarlet Sock Foundation, and WomenArts. WAM’s season sponsors include Adams Community Bank, Blue Q., Berkshire Roots, Black Writers Read, Blue Spark Financial, Carolyn Butler, Greylock Federal Credit Union, Garden Gables Inn, Guidos Fresh Marketplace, Handful Photography, Mill Town Foundation, Inc., Higher Bar, Health Professional Coaching, Heller & Robbins Attorneys at Law, Interprint, Onyx Specialty Papers, Outpost Productions, RB Design Co., T Square Design Studio, a. von schlegell & co, and the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts. With additional support from Local Cultural Council Grants from the Dalton Cultural Council, Lee Cultural Council, Lenox Cultural Council, Pittsfield Cultural Council, Northern Berkshire Cultural Council, Otis Cultural Council, Sandisfield Cultural Council, and Washington Cultural Council. WAM was also the recipient of recent support from the New England Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and U.S. Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
ABOUT THE MOUNT
The Mount is a National Historic Landmark and cultural center that interprets the intellectual, artistic, and humanitarian legacy of Edith Wharton (1862-1937). Wharton wrote over 40 books in 40 years, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Age of Innocence.
The Mount is the literary hub of the Berkshires and hosts lectures and panels by national authors and scholars both on-site and online. Seasonal cultural offerings on property include an annual outdoor sculpture show, music, and children’s programming. The gardens and grounds are open free to the public daily May 11 through Dec 31. For more information, visit: EdithWharton.org.
ABOUT WAM THEATRE
WAM Theatre is a professional theatre company based in Berkshire County, MA, that operates at the intersection of arts and activism. Now celebrating its 15th Anniversary Season, WAM creates theatre for gender equity and has a vision of theatre as philanthropy. In fulfillment of its philanthropic mission, WAM donates a portion of the proceeds from their Main Stage productions to carefully selected recipients. Since WAM’s founding in 2010, they have donated more than $100,000 to 26 local and global organizations taking action for gender equity in areas such as girls education, reproductive justice, sexual trafficking awareness, midwife training, and more. WAM Theatre has been widely recognized for having a positive impact on cultural and community development in the region. WAM is the recipient of the Creative Economy Standout Berkshire Trendsetter Award and previously, was named Outstanding Philanthropy Corporation of the Year by the Western MA Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. For more information, visit www.wamtheatre.com
