FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Great Barrington, Mass.—The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center invites applications for a week-long performance workshop led by teaching artists from the New York Theatre Workshop. The intergenerational collaboration Mind the Gap will be held Monday, August 21 through Friday, August 25, culminating in an evening performance on Friday.

Mind the Gap is a free theatre program in which youth (ages 14 through 21) and elders (ages 60 and up) interview each other and collectively create a performance piece inspired by each other’s life stories. Mind the Gap’s primary goal is to use theatre as a creative tool to increase empathy and communication between generations. The workshop will culminate with a public presentation in which the collaborative work is performed by the participants. No theatre experience is required to participate in the program.

To apply, visit mahaiwe.org/community and see “upcoming programs.”

About the teaching artists

Two teaching artists from New York Theatre Workshop will facilitate the program, Andrew Garrett and Gaven D. Trinidad.

Andrew Garrett (he, him, his) has been a teaching artist with New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) since 2015. He has facilitated Mind the Gap: Intergenerational Theatre Workshop in New York, N.Y.; Scotch Plains, N.J.; Asheville, N.C.; Seattle, Wash.; London, England; and Santiago, Chile. As a director and producer, he has worked at The Kennedy Center, 5th Avenue Theatre, Village Theatre, ACT Theatre, Syracuse University, SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Scratch, One Coast Collaboration, The Neighborhood Theatre Project, and Normal Ave. Outside of theatre, he has experience in social services, fundraising, and policy. He is currently pursuing his Master of Public Administration in public and nonprofit management and policy at New York University and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Syracuse University.

Gaven D. Trinidad (they/he/siya) is a first generation Filipinx American theatremaker and educator from New York City. Their artistic work examines the intersections of race, language, immigration, queerness, ritual, community, and futurity. They’ve had the privilege to collaborate with folx in various artistic and administrative positions at places such as The Juilliard Drama Division, Musical Theatre Factory, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Roundabout Theatre Company, 2nd Stage, and National Queer Theater. Selected dramaturgy credits: Waiting for a Wake (Page 73), The Pink (Primary Stages), PreP Play, or Blue Parachute (National Queer Theater, NCTC), June is the First Fall (Yantze Repertory Theater), Collidescope 2.0 (Ping Chong + Company), Patience (2ndStage). Selected directing credits: Joker (National Queer Theater), Are You There Truman? (Pride Plays, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, The Parsnip Ship, Leviathan Lab), Sa Aming Puso (Global Forms Theatre Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Theatre Salon). Education: Bachelor of Arts, American studies, Dickinson College; Master of Fine Arts, dramaturgy, University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Theatre Communications Group named them a 2021 Rising Leader of Color. Playwriting Groups/Fellowships: Orchard Project Greenhouse Lab, The Shelter NYC, Playground NYC, Ma-Yi Theatre Co. Labbie, The Parsnip Ship Play Club. As someone living with bipolar disorder, they are an advocate for Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention.

About the Mahaiwe

Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors. More than 25,700 students from 73 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.

Images:

Mind the Gap graphic

Mind the Gap photohttps://www.dropbox.com/s/woscwmxynxtrxwq/IMG_4519.JPG?dl=0