

Credits
Festivals are born in times of change. The City Dionysia, the great spring festival of 5th century BC for which all the major Greek tragedies and comedies were written, took shape when Athens, riven by conflict, was coalescing as a city-state. The Edinburgh festivals, today the biggest performing arts events in the world, were founded in 1947, out of the desolation and upheaval of World War II. Santiago de Cuba’s annual carnival was freshly reimagined in 1959, on the heels of the Revolution, as a spectacular late July arts festival that celebrated the new social order.
And so…The Rights of Spring. Imagined last fall by my colleague Professor Judyie Al-Bilali, in conversation with the entire UMass Theater faculty and staff, it is an assertion: we are here. It is an affirmation for ourselves, and an offering to our community, after a year of upheaval, grief, and loss. Out of these ruptures, there are glimpses of liberation, justice, and joy. It is a hopeful moment when a new world is emerging, tentatively, out of the shell of the former. And, by fortunate circumstance, the festival has ended up coinciding with the the coming of widespread vaccination across the Commonwealth.
I love theater festivals. They thrive on abundance, not scarcity. (There is always too much to see!) They often bring us outdoors. They invite us to experience performances at times other than the usual 7:30 PM curtain. They commandeer unlikely sites and welcome audiences and performers into new relationships with each other. They exist not in the spirit of either/or but rather both/and. They call us to consider performance not on the level of “the show” but rather the community.
Spring is here! Welcome, with love and gratitude.
- Harley Erdman, Chair, Department of Theater
PRODUCER’S NOTES
Myth is insistent that when there is a crisis, genius lives on the margins not the centre.
- Martin Shaw, mythologist
Here we come, the theater-makers, the mythmakers the magic-makers, bringing our genius from the margins to the center just in time to re-imagine a new world. Artists are comfortable with not knowing, with discovery, with being messy and beautiful at the same time. We bring the intangible into form; ready to practice resourceful, clever, ingenious ways to address the possibilities and demands of discovering a new, true normal for humanity and our beloved planet. We got skills.
Festivals are among my creative research areas and one of their functions is to rehearse a society or culture’s core myths. Myths are true and not true, that is their power. They slip in-between the cracks of logic and fantasy to shape consciousness in subtle and profound ways. Myths shift and change as our species evolves. Now is one such time.
Last fall as I sat with my colleagues in the Theater department, we wondered how to make work, how to make theater, how to hold an exhausted and increasingly disheartened community intact. Indeed, we were in a time of crisis. Penny, our Lighting Design Professor, expressed a practical and immediate concern, the collective desire to demonstrate solidarity in the face of impending staff furloughs and possibly layoffs. “We need to do something together”. Her words inspired me to propose a spring festival, a gathering of our collective creative energies where every member of our community is vital to the project’s success - Rights of Spring emerged.
Together we chose the auspicious dates, April 22 – May 2, eleven days and nights that include Earth Day, a big, bold, sexy Beltane full moon and May Day, International Workers Day. Together we’ve created offerings to celebrate ecology, cultural sovereignty, sustainability, spirituality, liberation, fertility, passion and more all with lots and lots of beauty!
As the sun warms us, as the flowers bloom and as the Light grows, we offer our love letter to you our community, to the land and to the future.
Let's imagine out loud!
- Professor Judyie Al-Bilali

The University of Massachusetts Amherst occupies the ancestral and unceded territory of the Abenaki, the Wabanaki Confederacy, the Pawtucket, the Nipmuc, the Pocumtuc and the Nonotuck nations, who remain an active and vital presence in the Kwinitekw Valley. As we gather to celebrate a new season, we honor the strength and resilience of these and all indigenous people who continue to steward their land, and we pledge ourselves to do the work of decolonization, restoration and reconciliation as guided by their vision and experience as we move forward to a more just future.

Earth! by Beth Laine
After interviewing Michael Cottom for the production of Earth!, I can say that the Earth! Team’s process has reflected the constant yet interrupted work of our World’s actual attempts at conservation. Michael and his team are essentially constructing a giant replication of Earth that will be on display during the festival. The process has been collaborative because it is so big on a physical level. One person could not do the constructional and technical elements of it. Additionally, the Environmental Conservation and the School of Public Policy students created informational posters that will be illuminated and projected up on to the Earth. The Tech students are creating the physical Earth now, while last spring they created the plans. Their inspiration was from last year for the 50th anniversary of Earth day. Michael wanted it outside to attract a broad based audience. Adding to their theme of conservation, they are using metal that will become a turntable for the stage and the material that will be laid over the metal framework will be a reused parachute. The process has been constant and long since last spring. Because of Covid-19, the team cannot all be in the same room or in the usual room that the technical theater makers usually use. Additionally, they cannot be right next to each other which is pretty essential due to the physical nature of their work, but regardless they are making it work. Michael also made the executive decision to change the original plan that people would be able to enter the Earth ball due to Covid-19. Michael wants people to take away that this creation can be seen outside and see its accessibility. He wants to draw students in and show student work by making it public. Earth! is also to celebrate our Earth and to add to the conversation surrounding climate change.
Earth!
Michael Cottom
Liz Zabat
Designer/Producer
Crew
Monuments of the Future by Caifei Fan
Monuments of the future is an interactive performance collaboration between theater artists across disciplines that will take place outdoors on the UMass campus on April 22, April 23, 26, and 29 at noon, April 27 and May 2 at 7:30pm, April 28 at 7pm, April 30 at 11:30am. “Unique, elastic, and earnest” are the three words that the show director, Rudy Ramirez, would use to describe the work - challenging the audience to feel like they had a strange moment out of time. The idea of Monuments of the Future was first conceived by Anya Klepikov, Professor of Scenic Design at UMass, with discussions around the taking down of monuments of Confederate generals, slaveholders and colonizers. The collaborators reflected more on what they truly wanted to memorialize and monumentalize that would have different relationships to time and history than these statues. When it comes to casting, Rudy looked for performers that are enthusiastic. “There was no audition process,” Rudy said. “With the actors, we’ve mostly been working through butoh, a dance practice that originated in Japan in the mid-20th century, one that is particularly welcoming to people with all levels of movement experience.” The desire for more art in the time of COVID also encouraged the creation of the project, and as everything starts to get back to normal, this would feel like a real celebration as the show is taking place outdoors on the UMass campus for the audience to watch at a safe distance from each other, which can also be a reminder that theatre doesn’t need a building to exist. Advanced registration is required to attend.
Co-conceived by Anya Klepikov and Rudy Ramirez;
Devised by Elisa Gonzales, Anya Klepikov, Xinyuan Li, Calypso Michelet, Eddie Pizzano, Rudy Ramirez;
Visual design for Truth (Singer), Loss (Runner), Defiance (Sisypha), Innovation (Butterfly), and the Destructive Impulse (Pinata) - Anya Klepikov;
Visual design for Connection (Tower), Remembrance (Scribe), Sacrifice (Atlas), and Death- Calypso Michelet;
Fabrication: UMass Amherst Theater Costume Shop, Light Shop, Scenic Shop.
Monuments of the Future
Rudy Ramirez
Abby Sullivan
Anya Klepikov
Calypso Michelet
Xinyuan Li
William Waisnor
Eddie Pizzano
Carl Bridge
Amy Altadonna
Alison Butts
Hia Ghosh
Elisa Gonzales
Abigail Hare
Fiona Herter
Beth Laine
Uju Onochie
Kyla Rafferty
Director
Stage Manager
Monument Designer
Monument Designer
Lighting Designer
Asst. Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Construction
Sound Design Mentor
Performer: "Scribe"
Performer: "Atlas"
Performer: "Sisypha"
Performer: "Butterfly"
Performer: "Connection"
Performer: "Singer"
Performer: "Death"
Performer: "Loss"
DIRECTING II ONE ACTS by Mei MacQuarrie
The 4 students in the Directing II studio class taught by Professor Gina Kaufmann will be presenting in-person performances on the UMass Amherst campus as part of The Rights of Spring Festival on April 30th at 2pm. These students each chose their own play to direct, and each performance will be around 30 minutes. In contrast to the online environment artists have encountered and adapted to this year, this studio is one of the first in the department to experiment with new live theater. Starting with in-person auditions in the Curtain Theater and continuing through rehearsals, this class has put a lot of thought into new safety precautions. A big focus is on building a community and ensemble among members in the new performance environment. Unexpectedly in response to the question of “Why this play, why now?” when choosing a play, the directors created a broad theme of loneliness, desperation and the need to connect. Rehearsals for these productions establish trust between the directors and cast with breath, body and humanity, with a big reliance on whole body expression since facial subtleties are masked. Each director, stage manager and cast member are bringing something to the performances, which will be as Gina described in 3 words, “playful, passionate and complicated.”
Four whimsical one acts, directed by students of Professor Gina Kaufmann
Gina Kaufmann
Jessica Maldonado
Emma Goidel
Micky Kleinman
Autumn Marchetto
Lucy Bishoff
Sam Patterson
Sara Chaudhry
Siena Moraff
Jen Silverman
Guillaume Mourere
Izzy Stevenson
Shelly Hed
Arianna Morales
Abby Hare
Megan Schumacher
Uju Onochie
Lily Farizon
Rusty Polsgrove
Ben Mendillo
Ingmar Bergman
Jimmy Murphy
Ali Farina
Beth Laine
Anushka Gadekar
Nicole Bates
Directing Faculty
Director: The Gap
Playwright
Actor: Lee
Actor: Nina
Actor: Nicole
Actor: Rod
Actor: Real Lee/Hypnotist
Director: The Mastiff and the Moorhen
Playwright
Actor: Mastiff
Actor: Moorhen
Director: Superlosers
Sound Designer
Stage Manager
Playwright
Actor: Busy
Actor: Gilly
Actor: Snake
Director: Winter Light
Playwright
Actor: Tomas
Actor: Marta
Actor: Jonas
Actor: Karin
Actor: Algot
DEVISING A FUTURE TOGETHER
Amid the darkness surrounding the pandemic, theater has allowed artists to explore themselves and the space they are in to find creative solutions toward something brighter. Devising a Future Together accomplishes this with a unique process.
“The needs that we have, the loneliness we feel as individuals creating this piece may be shared in some way by the people coming to this piece and they may find healing, community, and find themselves saying ‘I love theater!’” expresses Gina Kaufmann, one of the creator-collaborators on the piece.
As part of the UMass Theater Rights of Spring festival, Devising a Future Together will occur on April 23th, 24th, and 25th at 3:00 pm at the Durfee Gardens on the UMass campus (registration required and limited as per UMass COVID protocols). This production, led by Kaufmann, Tatianna Godfrey, Mikayla Reid, and Kyle Boatwright, with six student performers, applies the devising process to find creativity and positivity during the pandemic. This process uses devising to produce a theatrical performance without any guidelines. Devising in theater is different than typical productions. “There is no script. You are coming up with the instruction manual yourself figuring out what the performance is going to be” says Godfrey. Devising a Future Together takes this process in a new direction with adding music to their production.
Boatwright adds, “it is a collaborative effort. This piece is created by everybody who is involved. It includes the designers and stage managers.” Designer Reid has written poetry for the production and the stage managers contributed to creating the music.
DEVISING A FUTURE TOGETHER
Gina Kaufmann
Ben Kaplan
Ivy Linden-Dionne
Kyle Boatwright
Mikalya Reid
Justin D'Amato
Caroline Richardson
Autumn Marchetto
Sophia Schweik
Director
Stage Manager
Stage Manager
Music
Costume Designer
Actor
Actor
Actor
Actor
THE FREEDOM ARTIST PROJECT
Every few years, Profesor Gilbert McCauley likes to set his students to tackling the challenge of verbatim theater: turning a book that wasn't written to be performed into a performed piece.
McCauley has long been a fan of writer Ben Okri's work. Pondering Rights of Spring Festival producer Judyie Al-Bilali's words about the importance of myth as a theme of festivals, he realized that Okri's novel The Freedom Artist, about a world where people have lost their freedoms and don't realize the depth of their loss, lent itself well to the Rights of Spring Festival. A section of this book will be performed by McCauley's students on April 28 at 5 p.m. as part of the festival.
The students tackling this work are in McCauley's Theater 140 class.
"It's been fun to see them grow, to go from a place where they're mouthing the words to a place where they're fully present with those words," says McCauley.
To help bring the book to life on stage, McCauley enlisted his Dance Department colleague Paul Dennis, whose task as a choreographer was not to teach a dance, but to help the performers move their bodies more expressively — a necessity in a time of masked performance.
THE FREEDOM ARTIST PROJECT
Gilbert McCauley
Paul Dennis
Mariana Freitas
Isabelle Guittari
Director
Choreographer
Stage Manager
Performer

NOTRE DAME DE PARIS by Sophie McLellan
Calypso Michelet, Carl Bridge and Sydney Becker are creating the production design for the musical Notre Dame de Paris as their senior thesis. Mainly relying on 3D printing, technical drawings, and digital renderings, the team has been collaborating remotely for the better part of a year to bring their creative vision of this twenty-two-year-old musical to life. Although the show is based on Victor Hugo’s novel which is set in the year of 1482, the team went to great lengths to make sure they brought the show into the 21st century. The incredible costumes, designed by Michelet, are influenced by both historical fashions of the 15th century and contemporary structures and fabrics. The team also produced a complete 3D rendering of the set design, complete with breathtaking scaffolding and the classic architecture of Notre Dame. Using specialized software, Sydney Becker has generated a stunning lighting blueprint so the design can be viewed in the same way online as it would in person. Michelet mentioned that though the work has been hard, “it was fun to incorporate all these new technologies to try to bring a sense of reality into this”.
The inspiring final product will be portrayed on a website with the set, lighting, and costumes displayed in a scene-by-scene recreation of their vision. When asked why she chose Notre Dame de Paris, Michelet responded that “with everything that's happening in the world, with Notre Dame burning a little over a year ago, the question of refugees and everything that happened just last month, like political asylum. It just brings everything together… it really speaks to what's happening today.”
Calypso Michelet Designer Producer
Sydney Becker Designer Producer
The Cunning Little Vixen by Jonathan Czernik
The Cunning Little Vixen is a graduate student project led by Mikayla Reid where she explores the use of natural dyes over synthetic dyes in theatrical design. The story of The Cunning Little Vixen is about the bridging between the animal and human world, in the form of an opera. Due to COVID-19, Mikayla was without the help of undergraduate students and assistants in the workshops. She demonstrates her accomplishments in overcoming this gigantic feat through her online gallery. Her alternative method of costume design brings new pattern and shape design opportunities, forming a unique artistic style, while also emphasizing the importance of using eco-friendly design methods. See how Mikayla brings characters to life by stopping by her online gallery, premiering on April 23 at 2 P.M. EST!
Mikayla Reid Designer Producer
COVEN-19 by Riley Gregoire
COVEN-19 is a devised show, premiering on April 29, 30 and May 1 at 7:30 on Zoom. Witchy is the word to take away from this group! This show will be a ritual to Beltane, or May Day. This creative group of 10 has spent the entire year growing as a community and family, while working together to produce shows such as this to honor the seasons. During their rehearsals, they spend much of their time warming up and coming into their space. This tight nit group is able to express their ideas through breakout rooms, and bring their individual stories together to make this incredible show! Even though many of these actors have never met in person, they have bonded into their Coven, and are able to create art through the most trying of times. This is not a show to miss, the only question is WITCH night to go!
COVEN-19, or Magicks for Unprecedented Times
Maegan Clearwood
Percival Hornak
Alison Butts
Bates, Nicole
Gover, Matthew
Kepner, Jemma
Kleinman, Micki
Rahman, Helen
Traphagen, Parker
Vazquez, Tory
Facilitator/ Performer
Facilitator/ Performer
Stage Manager
Performer
Performer
Performer
Performer
Performer
Performer
Performer
VOICES FROM THE VOID by Mei MacQuarrie
The 16 students in the Voice Over studio class taught by Professor Elisa Gonzales will be premiering online recordings of plays as part of The Rights of Spring Festival on April 26th at 7:30pm in Voices from the Void, the void of artists in pandemic bubbles. These student-written audio plays will be around 10 minutes and were adapted from folktales and myths, incorporating a potential contemporary twist. Four groups of students have been in charge writing, recording and producing these plays and have explored elements of intention within their own spaces. The plays are titled, Siren Song, The Golden Fleece, A Trip to Wonderland and Free Union. Unlike performances with visual aspects, the audience will not be physically watching what is happening in these plays. This made it important for the students to explore the locations that they were in, the Voids, and see how details such as proximity affected the ambience of the plays. From the unconnected Voids, the audience can hope to be exposed to a new perspective on where online performance can go and can get joy from it in something Elisa describes in 3 words as, “moving, surprising and empathy.”
VOICES FROM THE VOID
Elisa Gonzales
Arjun Misra
Celena Lopes
Chelsea Cannon
Chris Webber
Eddie Pizzano
Eloise Arnold
Emma Stankiewicz
Jemma Kepner
McKenna Canty
Michael Donnelly
Michael O'Malley
Pedro Saravia-Castillo
Phoebe Bell
Shelly Hed
Siena Moraff
Brooke Morrison
Performance Faculty
Actor - The Golden Fleece
Actor, Script Editor, and Music Production - Free Union
Writer and Actor - A Trip to Wonderland
Actor and Sound Designer - Free Union
Sound Designer - The Golden Fleece
Actor and Dramaturg - The Golden Fleece
Actor and Sound Designer - Siren Song
Writer and Director - The Golden Fleece
Actor - Siren Song
Actor - Siren Song
Script Editor, Music Production, and Actor - Free Union
Writer and Actor - A Trip to Wonderland
Writer and Actor - A Trip to Wonderland
Writer and Actor - Siren Song
Actor - Free Union
Writer and Actor - A Trip to Wonderland
RESPIRATION by Mei MacQuarrie
The 7 students in the Devised Theater studio class taught by Professor Judyie Al-Bilali and Tatiana Rodriguez and Urgyen Joshi will be creating RESPIRATION, a performance that combines live, in-person and online elements as part of The Rights of Spring Festival on April 27th at 5pm. The devised theater process has been inspired by Ping Chong’s Undesirable Elements, which takes real experiences and puts them into a script highlighting humanity and community. A dramaturgical process was used to prepare for the festival in which company members learned as much as they could about the contexts and content of their own work and serving as a liaison for other festival projects. For devising, the creative process started with brainstorming questions to ask in interviews between members of the class in order to learn more about who they are as a company and what brings them together. The performance will be of the script created from the answers to these questions in the style of Undesirable Elements, showing the real voices and experiences of the devised theater company. As Judyie states, there is “no better time to be an artist…we have persevered as artists” in this time, so a big discussion topic for the company was based on UMass’s current motto, “Be Revolutionary.” What does that truly mean to us? We shall see in the after-masque era with play, laughter and creativity.
RESPIRATION
Creative Team:
Johnathan Czernik
Mei MacQuarrie
Caifei Fan
Sophie MacLellan
Riley Gregoire
Autumn Angelina Marchetto
Elizabeth Claire Laine
Tatiana Rodriguez
Urgyen Joshi
Afrikah Smith
Chris Govang
Awotunde Judyie Al-Bilali

A GATHERING OF GRANDMOTHERS by Mei MacQuarrie
The 5 students in Brown Paper Studio taught by Professor Judyie Al-Bilali and Sabine Jacques will be performing online A Gathering of Grandmothers on May 2nd at 4:30pm. Company members will be performing a script created from conversations with elder Black women of the Five Colleges and the Valley and the “I Am” personal anecdotes of what Ubuntu is in their lives, a powerful task that asks students to look at their histories and who they are. In this, they learn to trust and express who they are. These conversations have created a community that focuses on the history of UMass’s New Africa House and the impact of Black culture in the Valley. There is importance and spirit in student activism in order to change. Centered around Black women’s voices, we learn what New Africa House is and why we need it, and learn about the beautiful, rich history of Black student activism and creative life in the Valley that put UMass on the map. Black student work brought the space to life and continues to do so with different creative projects and transformations. In doing so, there is a safe space for love, creativity and being. Through the rehearsal process students have learned about trust in self and community, and the beauty in standing firm in oneself and their history to create a theatrical performance. As Sabine describes in 3 words, A Gathering of Grandmothers is “Ubuntu, care and Black history.”
A Gathering of Grandmothers
Creative Team:
Sabine Jacques
Jasper Schifrin Pershing
Mary Mbeyu Elineema-Kidela
Christpher Jimenez
Jessica Maldonado
Angela Kwebiiha
Afrikah Smith
Chris Govang
Awotunde Judyie Al-Bilali
HONORED GUESTS – A Gathering of Grandmothers
Sister Nobuntu Ingrid Askew
Sister Nobuntu Ingrid Askew is a life-long cultural activist, evocative theatre maker, thoughtful educator, powerful speaker, and razor-sharp organizer. Ms. Askew is the Executive Director at Crossing the Waters Institute for Cultural Exchange USA where she leads the important work of developing cultural awareness, sustainable exchange partnerships, and opportunities tailored to the needs of communities at home and abroad through education, the arts, and healthy living initiatives. Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Askew led the historic year-long walk 1998-1999 known as the Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage: Retracing the Journey of Slavery, that followed the Transatlantic slave route in reverse from the United States, through the Caribbean, Brazil, West Africa, and ending in South Africa, where she lived for ten years.
Ms. Askew’s work has always been centered around the goal of bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to build transformative communities and lead effective and lasting social change initiatives. Ms. Askew is the founder of the newly registered NPC, Crossing the Waters Institute, South Africa.
Dr. Terry Jenoure
Dr. Terry Jenoure musician, writer, visual artist and educator was born and raised in the Bronx into a Puerto Rican and Jamaican family. Her lifelong commitment to the extended imagination is felt through various projects on five continents. From her early formal training as a violinist and vocalist and a protégé of the Free Jazz Movement, to her self-taught doll sculptures featured at the Smithsonian Institute, to her academic publications, a recently completed novel, and a one-woman theater performance, arts have fueled her passion throughout her lifetime. Holding Masters and Doctoral degrees in Education and a B.A. degree in Philosophy, Terry was on the graduate faculty at Lesley University for 18 years, and an independent researcher focusing on the creative development of teachers, community leaders and social workers in South Africa, Mexico, Israel, and Colombia. She served as the Director of Augusta Savage Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for three decades.
Kuji Theresa Cooper-Gordon
Theresa Cooper-Gordon is one of those special individuals that is truly committed to community. Theresa has spent much of her professional career in positions that aim to empower people and the community. She has over 25 years of experience working with people from diverse populations, as an advocate to provide information, resources and to enhance overall qualities of life. In the past Theresa has worked as a social worker for children and families, resident director for the National A Better Chance Program and helped start the Lebron-Wiggins-Pram Cultural Center at Hampshire College. Theresa Currently works for Partners for Community as a family specialist and is also the Chairwoman of The Board of Commissioners for Holyoke Public Housing. She is also a board member for Commonwealth Academy School in Springfield, MA. The many experiences that Theresa has had as a Human Service provider/advocate has equipped her with the skills to facilitate communication strategies and effective techniques in challenging circumstances. Theresa was a recipient of the Pa’lante Restorative Justice “Paper City Hidden legends” award which celebrates community members that have worked to make a change in the city of Holyoke by way of social activism. Theresa was also one of the 2019 recipients of The Massachusetts Commission of Women’s “Unsung Heroines Award”.
Dr. Carlie C. Tartakov
Dr. Carlie C. Tartakov is an emerita professor, from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Iowa State University, where she earned her Ph.D. in Professional Studies. Her Masters and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study were earned at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst). She did her undergraduate work at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Tartakov taught courses in ethnicity and learning and multicultural education and was the project director for University Studies: Dialogues on Diversity. She participated in the creation of Iowa State University's African American Studies program. Before teaching at ISU, Dr. Tartakov taught in public schools in Massachusetts and California for over two decades. Throughout her career, she has been involved in the implementation of anti-bias/anti-racist, multicultural practices in educational settings. Among Dr. Tartakov’s honors: 2020 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Heroine Award, 2020 African American Female Professor Laureate Award, Iowa Africn American Hall of Fame, ISU's College of Human Sciences Faculty Laureate Award, (2015), Iowa African American Hall of Fame (2007), YWCA Woman of the Year Award (2005), NAACP President’s Award, (2004), The City of Ames Human Rights Commission Humanitarian Award (2003), Early Outstanding Achievement in Teaching (1999).
Since returning to Amherst 2009 Dr. Tartakov has participated Amherst Neighbors Board of Directors, in the Civil War Plaque Project, Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee, Justice for Charles Campaign, Amherst Democratic Town Council Committee, Scholar and Liaison to schools in Springfield on a Mass Humanities Grants. Emancipation Proclamation Committee, Juneteenth Committee, Kwanzaa Committee, Crossing the Waters South African Project, National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) Mentoring Committee, Presenter and Reviewer for National Conference Presentations, is on the Board of the Roger Wallace Excellence in Teaching Foundation. She is co-host of Black in the Valley (WHMP Radio).

WORD! FESTIVAL
Priscilla Page Coordinator
Djola Branner Coordinator
PRODUCTION STAFF
Judyie Al-Bilali
Amy Altadonna
Isaac Bayne
Yao Chen
Willow Cohen
Michael Cottom
Michael Dubin
Julie Fife
Harley Erdman
Anna-Maria Goossens
Kristin Jensen
Felicia Malachite
Rudy Ramirez
Penny Remsen
Lucy Bishoff
Zaria Cannon
Matthew Daniell
Mariana Freitas
Robert Gaffney
Anne Gallivan
Victoria Kelliher
Ivy Linden-Dionne
Autumn Marchetto
James Murphy
Michael O'Malley
Sam Patterson
Caroline Richardson
Julia Toler
Producer
Sound Design - Faculty
Lighting Shop Assistant
Costume Design Advisor
General Manager
Technical Director
Lighting Supervisor
Production Manager
Department Chair
Public Relations Director
Costume Shop Supervisor
Asst. Costume Shop Mgr.
Asst. Production Manager
Lighting Design Advisor
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
TH 110 Crew
Festival Special Thanks
Dr. Priscilla Page
Dr. Terry Jenoure
Sister Nobuntu Ingrid Askew
Kuji Theresa Cooper-Gordon
Dr. Carlie Tartakov
WEB DuBois Dept of Afro-American Studies
Commonwealth Honors College
Afrikah Smith
Alexia Cota
Myka Plunckett
Dorothy Dake
Pat Boatwright
Sydney Becker
Miguel Ringler
Elizabeth Machado
Dean Barbara Krauthamer
Dean Mari Castañeda
Matt Silberstein, Emma Messier, and Christine Texeira at the Fine Arts Center
Five College African Studies Council
MOSAIC: The Five College Multicultural Theater Committee
Maryanne Steel
Robert Wallace
Donna Bourguignon
Mike Swain
Jason Venditti
Kim Fill and the Dubois Library
Matt Morin
For Earth!
Nicholas Szczepura, UMass Computer Science student
Bill Russell - UMassIT, Classroom Technology Services
Curt Griffin, Co-Director School of Earth and Sustainability
Steve Brewer, Biology
Charlie Schweik, Department of Environmental Conservation, School of Public Policy
Harley Erdman, Chair, Theater Department
For Monuments of the Future:
Cole Payne