Thursday, November 6, 2025

Western Mass Theatre News November 6, 2025

Western Mass Theatre News - November 6
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November 6 - 26, 2025


Another Saturday of play time is here! (Open Play at Northampton Karate on Saturday at 1pm!) And if you love Shakespeare, there’s a gathering of area Shakespeare community on Friday at Northampton Center for the Arts.

Max Hartshorne’s review of Steel Magnolias at the Majestic is here.


The next issue will include events from November 13 - December 3. Submit upcoming events via the link below or by emailing me before Tuesday at midnight. Any questions, comments or feedback? Email me at westernmasstheatre@gmail.com

YOUR EVENT HERE
$5 per week for your poster and ticket link in top billing!
Email me to reserve your dates.

PERFORMANCES


MAJESTIC THEATER PRESENTS STEEL MAGNOLIAS NOVEMBER 6 - 30

West Springfield’s Majestic Theater will present the second production of its 28th season when Steel Magnolias takes the stage October 23 through November 30.  The Majestic Theater is located at 131 Elm Street in West Springfield, MA.


Steel Magnolias, written by Robert Harling, blends humor with moments of emotional depth.  Set in a small southern beauty salon, the play showcases a group of strong-willed women who navigate life’s challenges with sharp humor and unfiltered honesty.  From snappy one-liners to playful gossip, the women’s interactions are full of comedic moments, with characters using laughter as a coping mechanism in the face of life’s toughest trials.  The 1987 play inspired a hit 1989 film that starred Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts.


The Majestic Theater’s Producing Director Sue Dziura will direct the play.  Alexandra O’Halloran is stage manager, and Michael Garcia is assistant stage manager.  Scenic designer is Juliana Von Haubrich and Dawn McKay is costume designer. Dan Rist is lighting designer, and Marcus Kearns is production manager.


The cast includes Maconnia Chesser (Clairee), Cate Damon (M’Lynn), Kait Rankins (Annelle), Angela Dias (Ouiser), Elaine Hom (Truvy), and Raya Malcolm (Shelby).  Understudies include Myka Plunkett, Rachel Lamarre and Laurie Nickerson.


Tickets to the show range from $35-$38 and can be purchased in person at the box office, by calling (413) 747-7797, or online at https://www.majestictheater.com/steel-magnolias.  Box office hours are Monday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.


Doors to the theater will open one hour before the start of a show, which is also when the café opens.  For more information, visit www.majestictheater.com


Join us for a performance of Borderline Visible by the German-British artist Ant Hampton / Time Based Editions, which will be held at  Amherst College on Nov 20.

This is a novel approach to book-based art, where pages become the stage for a performance that wrestles with issues of public and personal memory, voluntary travel and forced migration. With support from across the Five Colleges, we are thrilled to be able to present the East Coast premiere of this unique event.

Tickets are free but space is limited. Please reserve here.

Borderline Visible (collective experience) by Ant Hampton /Time Based Editions

Urgent and rolling, this 80-minute experience, fueled with music by Oren Ambarchi and Perila, pieces together value and meaning from the very human ruins of aspiration, history, and language, as it shifts back and forth along a journeyed path between Lausanne (Switzerland) and Izmir(Turkey).

Time Based Editions separates the audio and visual into two separate elements and holds them together in the present of a book. Collectively, we dive into a here-and-now of the page: printed photography brought alive by a soundscape that both guides and surrounds us. Ant Hampton’s careful, at times miraculous, process of reconnection gradually lights up a constellation: voices and earthquakes, Sephardic diasporas, forced movement, breakdowns and dementia, swifts and swallows, T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, and a unique insight into atrocities at the eastern edge of Europe being funded from its center.

Ant Hampton (1975, CH) is a British-German performance maker and writer. His work since 1999 has often involved guiding people through unrehearsed situations and interactive relations, using automated devices. Many of his “Autoteatro” works continue to tour internationally in over 80 language versions, some of them without anyone needing to travel – a paradoxical outcome for an art committed to liveness and presence which in turn informed his 2021 advocacy and research project ShowingWithoutGoing.live – an Atlas. Together with David Bergé, he co-founded Time Based Editions in 2023.

anthampton.com

Project supported by the Anthropocene Lab at UMass, UMass English Department, the Kinney Center at UMass, UMass Commonwealth Honors College, Smith College Theatre Department, Amherst College Theater & Dance Department, and Five Colleges, Inc.

AUDITIONS & OPPORTUNITIES


Great Barrington Public Theater
Marketing Manager

Great Barrington, MA

POSITION: Marketing Manager 

REPORTS TO: Managing Director 

STATUS: $30/hour (part-time in the off-season / full-time during the season) 

START DATE: Mid-December 2025 


About Great Barrington Public Theater 

For seven seasons, Great Barrington Public Theater (GBPT) has been creating bold, original theater right here in the Berkshires. Our mission is to develop and produce new plays with a focus on playwrights and theater artists living in and nearby the Berkshires. GBPT’s productions spark conversation, curiosity, and connection—and we’re looking for a marketing-minded storyteller who wants to help us share that magic with the world. Each summer, we produce three fully staged productions in Great Barrington, MA. In the off season, we focus on our developmental program, Berkshire Voices, and host 4-5 developmental readings, all which are free to the public. 


About the Role 

As our Marketing Manager, you’ll be the voice and vibe behind GBPT. You’ll be part of a small, passionate team building something special in the Berkshires—a theater that supports artists, inspires audiences, and makes new work happen. You’ll have room to experiment, grow your skills, and see your ideas come to life. You’ll help shape how audiences discover us, how our stories are told online and in the community, and how our brand connects with people who love live theater (and those who just don’t know it yet!). This role is perfect for someone who is looking for the next step in their career and who is equal parts creative thinker, organized doer, and community connector—someone who loves making art feel accessible, exciting, and alive. 


What You’ll Do 

-Create and share engaging content that celebrates GBPT’s full productions, developmental readings and adjunct programming. 

-In concert with the Managing Director, plan and execute marketing campaigns that drive ticket sales and buzz for each show. 

-Keep our brand voice consistent, authentic, and mission-driven across everything we put out. 

-Write press releases and announcements that get people talking. 

-Coordinate with the press to make sure they are attending our shows. 

-Manage GBPT’s social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, etc.)—from posts to stories to behind-the-scenes moments. 

-Keep our website fresh and up to date with show info, news, and photos. 

-Build and send newsletters that make people excited to see what’s next. 

-Track what’s working—social engagement, email open rates, ticket conversions—and use that data to fine-tune our approach. 

-Coordinate design projects like posters, programs, ads, and digital graphics 


Who You Are 

-A strong communicator who loves storytelling and the arts. 

-Social media savvy with a good sense of voice, visuals, and what makes people stop scrolling. 

-Organized, creative, and comfortable juggling multiple projects. 

-Excited to collaborate with artists, designers, and community partners. 

-One to two years of marketing, communications, or design—ideally in the arts or nonprofit world. 


Compensation & Work Environment 

This is a hybrid position based in the Berkshires, with a mix of remote and in-person work depending on the season and production schedule. We believe in flexibility—some weeks will be busier than others, and we trust our team to balance their time and meet deadlines in a way that works for them. The position pays $30 per hour. During the off-season, hours are part-time and flexible (15hrs/week September-April); during the production season, the role expands to full-time(40hrs/week May-August). GBPT offers a collaborative, creative work culture where everyone’s ideas are valued, and where your work directly contributes to the growth of new theater in our community. We are working to make this a year-round, full-time position in the near future. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply. If interested, please send a resume, a brief statement of interest and two work samples with the subject line Marketing Manager Application-[Your Name] to Serena Johnson at serena@greatbarringtonpublictheater.org.

WORKSHOPS & CLASSES

Shakespeare & Company’s Center for Actor Training has announced its 2025 line-up of fall weekend intensive workshops, including sessions in New York City, Los Angeles, and at the company’s campus in Lenox, Mass. 

Designed for professional actors and theater students who seek an introduction to Shakespeare & Company’s training methods, as well as alumni who wish to refresh and reconnect with the work, Shakespeare & Company’s Weekend Intensives integrate voice, movement, and monologue work. Sheila Bandyopadhyay, director of the Center for Actor Training, explained that Weekend Intensives are a great way for people to attune themselves to their bodies, voices and imaginative impulses in connection to text. 

“Our weekend intensives are open to all who are curious about speaking Shakespeare. In addition to seasoned performers, directors, and educators, we often welcome people who love Shakespeare but are new to acting. It’s a welcoming environment,” she said.

Upcoming Weekend Intensives run October through December, including:

  • Lenox Weekend Intensive, Saturday, Nov. 8 and Sunday, Nov. 9, and

  • A new Alumni Advanced Weekend Intensive, held in New York City, Friday, Dec. 5, through Sunday, Dec. 7

Actors who have completed the Center for Actor Training’s January Month-long Intensive, Summer Shakespeare Intensive (formerly the Summer Training Institute), or Conservatory programs are eligible for a 15% alumni discount on Weekend Intensive tuition. Members of acting unions and of the Shakespeare Theatre Association (STA) are eligible for a 10% discount on tuition. A student discount ($325) is applicable for those currently enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student, and BIPOC discounts ($325) are available for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. These discounts may not be combined.

The Lenox Weekend Intensive has single-occupancy dorm-style housing available on the Shakespeare & Company campus for $50 per night. Housing includes a shared kitchen and bathroom; linens are provided.

For more information or to apply, visit shakespeare.org/actor-training, or call (413) 637-1199, ext. 114.

Western Massachusetts Theatre Companies

Want to know even more about events in Western Massachusetts and beyond, including reviews, interviews, and previews?

In the Spotlight, Inc.
Berkshire on Stage
Stagestruck
ArtsBeat TV/Radio and News Column
Local Theater Critic Max Hartshorne

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Western Mass Theatre News November 6, 2025

Western Mass Theatre News - November 6 Your source for theatre events in Western Massachusetts. ͏ ‌     ͏ ‌     ͏ ‌     ͏ ‌ ...