MCLA Theatre Announces Four Productions

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' (MCLA) Theatre program announces its 2024-2025 season, featuring four productions.
 
The season opens November 8-10 with William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," directed by MCLA Professor of Theatre Laura Standley.
 
In this bold re-telling, MCLA Theatre explores a world where crime and punishment collide under the rule of a conservative hard-liner. As moral lines blur and the city faces a draconian crackdown, one woman's plea for mercy sets off a harrowing battle between virtue, sacrifice, and power.
 
The second show of the fall semester is "The Method Gun," running December 6-8. Created by the Rude Mechs theatre collective, it is an exploration of theatre-making, actor training, and the fine line between genius and absurdity, according to a press release.
 
Re-devised by MCLA Theatre students and directed by Professor Standley, this play-within-a-play delves into the extreme techniques of the fictional Stella Burden and her troupe, offering a darkly comic reflection on the meaning of art and truth in performance.
 
 
The spring 2025 semester begins with performances of "The Little Prince" from April 4-6.
 
Written by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar, this heartwarming adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's beloved tale invites audiences to embark on a journey through the cosmos with a stranded aviator and an enigmatic little prince. Exploring the tension between childhood innocence and adult disillusionment, the play offers a beautiful allegory about love, loss, and the power of imagination. Directed by Professor Jeremy Winchester, this production is sure to delight audiences of all ages.
 
"Love and Information," directed by Professor Standley and MCLA Theatre's directing class, wraps up the season from May 2-4. 
 
Caryl Churchill's play takes audiences on a whirlwind journey through more than 50 short scenes, each examining the nature of love, memory, and identity in the digital age.
 
Tickets for all performances will be available through MCLA's community-serving cultural events program, MOSAIC. For more information and ticket pricing, visit MOSAIC at mcla.edu/mcla-in-the-community/bcrc/music.php.

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Clarksburg Students Write in Support of Rural School Aid

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Mason Langenback calculated that Clarksburg would get almost $1 million if the $60 million was allocated equally.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Eighth-graders at Clarksburg School took a lesson in civic advocacy this week, researching school funding and writing letters to Beacon Hill that call for fully funding rural school aid. 
 
The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.
 
"They all address the main issue, the funding for rural schools, and how there's a gap, and there's the $4 million gap this year, and then it's about the $40 million next year, and that rural schools need that equitable funding," said social studies teacher Mark Karhan.
 
A rural schools report in 2022 found smaller school districts cost from nearly 17 percent to 23 percent more to operate, and recommended "at least" $60 million be appropriated annually for rural school aid. 
 
Gov. Maura Healey has filed for more Chapter 70 school aid, but that often is little help to small rural schools with declining or static enrollment. For fiscal 2027, she's budgeted $20 million for rural schools, up from around $13 million this year but still far below the hoped for $60 million. 
 
Karhan said the class was broken into four groups and the students were provided a submission letter from Rural Schools Advocacy. The students used the first paragraph, which laid out the funding facts, and then did research and wrote their own letters. 
 
They will submit those with a school picture to the governor. 
 
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