Linda McInerney

The Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton will present a staged reading of Mixed Relief, a new one act play written by New Shoe Theater of New York for the 75th anniversary of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Federal Theater Project directed by Linda McInerney on Thursday, October 21st at 7pm. Mixed Relief presents historical fiction based on extensive research about the lives of three women artists who were employed by the Federal Writers Project of the WPA - Anzia Yezierska, Eudora Welty, and Dorothy West and includes verbatim material from interviews with three contemporary theatre artists –Kara Lee Corthron, Ruth Maleczech and Cassandra Medley. The evening will begin with three notable voices of women’s work, addressing parity for women’s work on stage, featuring Martha Richards of WomenArts and co-founder of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, Magdalena Gomez, international award-winning Latina playwright and Dr. Terry Jenoure, world performer, educator and writer.

Mixed Relief premiered at Women’s Project in New York in March 2010 during the annual SWAN Day event (Support Women Artists Now), a national effort featuring work by women and lead by WomenArts to help build support and visibility for women artists. The Academy of Music Theatre will participate in the upcoming SWAN Day event in March of 2011 and is staging Mixed Relief to launch its commitment of encouraging women’s work on stage.