A baby...or two.In the meantime, Co-Writer and Producing Director Brianna Sloane welcomed a baby in September, and Designer Elizabeth Pangburn expects the stork to arrive any day. We are excited to welcome these children into the PROJECT family, and to assure you that you've had to wait so long to see us again for really good reasons! | Gratitude. We were graced by the attendance of nearly eighty visitors over two nights in balmy June. You laughed and cried with us. It meant so much! Throughout the community, at one time or another, each of us has a story of being stopped and recognized, or thanked, and asked when we will return. We want you to know that there is a breath of hope stirring the air of Amherst. Our intentions are set: soon. |
To share a story and a walk through the garden, to visit with Variations, to toast you, our dear friends. Keep an eye out. We intend to return. "Unable are the loved to die..."
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You may have found yourself wondering about the performer embodying Emily, the ghostly recluse in the bedroom window. One of the most ingrained images of Dickinson in the popular imagination, the ever-writing poet, locked away from society, is commonly called the Myth of Amherst. We are thrilled to have Wendy Kohler in the role! WENDY KOHLER | THE MYTH OF AMHERST Wendy Kohler is a long-time resident of Amherst whose primary passions include theater and Emily Dickinson. Currently an adjunct faculty member at the University of Massachusetts in the School of Education as well as an educational consultant in a variety of venues, Wendy spent most of her career in the Amherst Regional School District where she directed the high school musical for eleven years. Other directing experiences include five productions of the Amherst Leisure Services Community Theater. Currently a member of the Emily Dickinson Museum Board of Governors, Wendy has worked at the Museum in a variety of capacities for over thirty years. What a thrill it is to now “become” The Myth, if even for a few evenings at The Homestead! Tickets for THE EMILY DICKINSON PROJECT will be available for reservation via email to [email protected] starting at Midnight on June 12!
Admission is by suggested donation of $5-20, cash only at the door. To make a reservation, send an email with your name, phone number, email and number of tickets as well as the date and time you wish to see the show. Shows are June 19, embarking at 7:30 and 9pm and June 20 embarking at 7:30 and 9pm at the Emily Dickinson Museum. PLEASE NOTE audience capacity is extremely limited for this intimate experience, and tickets will go fast! THE EMILY DICKINSON PROJECT is an immersive performance lasting about one hour. The audience will be walking, standing, and climbing stairs. For more information, visit http://variationsofemily.weebly.com/ We at THE EMILY DICKINSON PROJECT would love to share some of the great resources we've overturned in our research these last few weeks. First of all, there's the Museum, the actual home of Emily Dickinson and the location of our performance! If you are in the Pioneer Valley, a tour of the Homestead and the Evergreens is not to be missed. The acting ensemble took a tour yesterday with Museum Director Jane Wald, and had a great time exploring the home and discussing Emily's life. Here is a really interesting Podcast about the Poet and Death, a theme very prevalent in her work and correspondence. Darcie Champagne, who plays Emily Dickinson during her prolific writing years, found this great Blog on her poetry, well worth checking out. We hope you'll enjoy exploring Dickinson as much as we are! Kate Hare, who plays Emily the Transcendentalist.
Photo by Elizabeth Pangburn. JULIE NELSON* | THE FAIRY QUEEN Julie Nelson has acted Off Broadway and in regional theater, recently playing Grace in Vigil at Portland Stage Company in Portland, Maine; and Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice at Playmakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, NC. As a founding member of Shakespeare & Company, she worked and trained extensively as an actor in main stage productions, on the faculty of their month-long workshops, and as a teaching artist in schools. Her study there of theatrical clown with teacher, Merry Conway, continues to inform her work as an actor and teacher, and prompted her to further study with Philippe Gaulier, Bill Irwin and Jacques Lecoq, among others. A long-standing member of the faculty in the Department of Theater at UMass, Amherst, she was a Teaching Artist for Lincoln Center Institute and, at the invitation of the National Arts Center of El Salvador and the U.S. State Department, taught a workshop in the actor-training program there. A proponent of new plays and a resident of the town of Amherst, Julie is delighted to be part of The Emily Dickinson Project. * Julie Nelson is a Member of The Actors Equity Association performing in this benefit under the permission of the Theatre Authority.
We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions: ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS SAG-AFTRA through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program. It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to another member of our performance ensemble! DARCIE CHAMPAGNE* | THE POET Darcie was born and raised in Manchester, NH. She moved to Boston at age 18 where she earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from Emerson College. Upon graduating she moved to New York City where she lived for seven years and earned her MFA in Acting from The Actors Studio Drama School at The New School. While in New York she was a featured performer in the first production of The Town Hall Theatre’s Broadways Rising Stars and Red Bull Theatre’s Off Broadway production of Women Beware Women, among many new works throughout the city. Darcie currently makes her home in the happy Pioneer Valley and works in the theatre worlds of Boston, New York, and across New England. She has most recently found an artistic home at The Majestic Theatre in West Springfield, where she has performed for the past two seasons, and continues to work at American Repertory Theatre, Stoneham Theatre, and various professional theatres in the region. Throughout her career Darcie has always placed a strong importance on being involved in the development of new theatrical works and creating theatre that benefits the community and society at large. So she is beyond thrilled to be a part of The Emily Dickinson Project. The opportunity to collaborate with such fantastic artists to explore this inspirational woman within her own walls in this beautiful community is such an honor. " The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience." –ED * A Proud Member of The Actors Equity Association performing in this benefit under the permission of the Theatre Authority. We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions:
ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS SAG-AFTRA through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program. Corinne Huschle | E. A recent graduated from UMass Amherst in Theatre and Anthropology, Corinne is from Tolland, Connecticut. Raised with an appreciation for books and history, Corinne became involved with theatre at the age of 13 and immediately fell head over heels in love. Through UMass, she was given unbelievable opportunities to Produce Almost, Maine and The House of Blue Leaves; to Direct The Diary of Anne Frank; and Act inThe House of Bernarda Alba, Death of A Salesman (Linda Loman), Fruition (Snow White), Fool For Love (Mae), and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. She is so excited to be beginning this new chapter in her life with such an amazing group of women on The Emily Dickinson Project. A new day, a new introduction to make! Last night, THE EMILY DICKINSON PROJECT kicked off our first rehearsal. We gathered in a happy circle and shared the play out loud. Excitement was palpable -- kind of like the excitement we feel at introducing you to another ensemble member! KATE HARE | THE TRANSCENDENTALIST Kate Hare's preoccupation with theater was passed down genetically by a beautiful line of compulsive actors and goofballs. Originating from New York City, she received a BA in Theater from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011. She became the Communications Director of the All For One Theater Festival in New York, working with a wonderful team there to build the company in its inaugural years. Acting credits include The Reason for Play (Secret Theatre, NYC), By the Light of A Match, Romeo and Juliet(Snorks & Pins, NYC), My California (The Drama League, NYC), and Recent Tragic Events, Twelfth Night, The House of Bernarda Alba, Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Burial at Thebes, and an original staging of Revolutionary Road at the UMass Amherst. She has also performed several solo works at the Fresh Fruit Festival (2013, NYC), Emerging Artists Theatre (2011-2013, NYC), the Estrogenius Festival (2011, NYC), and the UMass Fine Arts Center (2012). She is very proud to be a part of the Emily Project. Erin Mabee | Young Emily Erin is currently studying Theater at The University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was born and raised in the suburbs outside Boston but has fallen in love with the quiet beauty of the Pioneer Valley. Studying theater has helped her find two of her passions, Performing and Costume Designing. UMass Theater credits include playing the role of Tiger Lily in Peter Pan and Young Therese in Casanova. She also had the pleasure to Assistant Costume Design Elizabeth Pangburn for the production of Casanova. Last fall she was able to design the UMass Production of Detroit and looks forward to more opportunities in the future. Emily Dickinson's poetry has been a new interest for Erin and she is excited to learn and grow with the Emily Dickinson Project. Erin will also be assisting on costume design for the Project. The next member of our team who we're thrilled to introduce is John Bechtold, who will be joining our collaboration as Lighting Designer! JOHN BECHTOLD | LIGHTING DESIGN John Bechtold has been teaching and making theater in the Valley for the past 15 years. Currently the department head for Performing Arts at Amherst Regional Middle and High Schools, John also directs and designs a variety of theatrical work around the area. Professional collaborations include work with Old Deerfield Productions, Double Edge Theater, Shakespeare & Company, and Punchdrunk, the creators of the award-winning immersive production Sleep No More, presently running in NYC. John is also the director of DASAC, a progressive summer visual and performing arts program at Deerfield Academy. |
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