Five College Multicultural Theater : About the Committee

About the Committee

The Five College Multicultural Theater Committee is funded by the chairs of the theater departments as part of their Five College budget and charged with furthering a multicultural perspective in theater. It does so by supporting productions, visits from guest artists, and workshops that promote an appreciation of diversity and difference. The committee has special interest in encouraging student productions that have a multicultural focus. Guidelines for grants are available from a member of the committee and from the Theater Departments.

In the spring of 1997, the committee launched WORD!, an annual multicultural student play-reading festival designed to encourage student writers who are engaging multicultural themes. Each year in the spring semester, up to ten short, original works are selected to be presented as staged readings. Their authors receive an award of $100 from the James Baldwin Memorial Fund. The festival is hosted by a different campus each year.

More information about the Five College Multicultural Theater Committee, about requests for funding, and about WORD! is available from a member of the committee:

Amherst College: Manu Mukasa, Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance, 542-8108

Hampshire College: Djola Branner, Assistant Professor of Theatre, 559-6099

Mount Holyoke College: Sophia Skiles, Guest Artist in Theatre Arts, 538-2337

Smith College: Leonard Berkman, Professor of Theatre, 585-3206

UMass Amherst: Priscilla Page, Lecturer in Theatre, 545-6816

New WORLD Theater: Andrea Assaf, Artistic Director, 545-1511

Upcoming Events

03/04/2008 Five College Multicultural Theater Presents WORD! 2008
WORD! Festival, March 8, 2008, Curtain Theater UMass Amherst. Staged readings of scripts written by students based on themes which reflect issues of race and diversity using August Wilson's idea that theater can "raise consciousness." more>

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	About the Committee The Five College Multicultural Theater Committee is funded by the chairs of the theater departments as part of their Five College budget and charged with furthering a multicultural perspective in theater. It does so by supporting productions, visits from guest artists, and workshops that promote an appreciation of diversity and difference. The committee has special interest in encouraging student productions that have a multicultural focus. Guidelines for grants are available from a member of the committee and from the Theater Departments. In the spring of 1997, the committee launched WORD!, an annual multicultural student play-reading festival designed to encourage student writers who are engaging multicultural themes. Each year in the spring semester, up to ten short, original works are selected to be presented as staged readings. Their authors receive an award of $100 from the James Baldwin Memorial Fund. The festival is hosted by a different campus each year. More information about the Five College Multicultural Theater Committee, about requests for funding, and about WORD! is available from a member of the committee: Amherst College: Manu Mukasa, Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance, 542-8108 Hampshire College: Djola Branner, Assistant Professor of Theatre, 559-6099 Mount Holyoke College: Sophia Skiles, Guest Artist in Theatre Arts, 538-2337 Smith College: Leonard Berkman, Professor of Theatre, 585-3206 UMass Amherst: Priscilla Page, Lecturer in Theatre, 545-6816 New WORLD Theater: Andrea Assaf, Artistic Director, 545-1511 Upcoming Events 03/04/2008 Five College Multicultural Theater Presents WORD! 2008 WORD! Festival, March 8, 2008, Curtain Theater UMass Amherst. Staged readings of scripts written by students based on themes which reflect issues of race and diversity using August Wilson's idea that theater can "raise consciousness." more> view all