WAM Presents: Port of Entry
by Talya Kingston
July 23, 2023
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
In the back office of a small New England airport, TSA agent Hank is training newbie Chloe on the day a new law–commonly known as “The Muslim Ban” is suddenly enacted. When Jana arrives on a flight from the Middle East, they all become entangled in the chaotic fallout from this new government mandate. In a rapidly shifting political landscape, this play questions who protects protecting our and from whom.
“Port of Entry takes American citizens inside the back offices of the immigration system, a place where officials navigate political policy through a web of bureaucracy and subjective opinion, on a heightened day early in the Trump Presidency when Muslims were scapegoated. Lest we should forget.” -- Talya Kingston, playwright
"I’m looking forward to again exploring Port of Entry with Talya and the talented cast. The play is honest and humorous at times, and its direct approach to prevalent complex issues is a welcomed challenge. Theater should leave us with questions." --Amy Brentano, director
The Mount's general COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidelines may be found here.
The Mount is a Massachusetts Cultural Council UP designated organization welcoming participants of all disabilities. Please contact The Mount at 413-551-5100 or by email, info@edithwharton.org, to discuss accommodations needed to participate fully in this event.
- Purchase tickets through WAM Theatre's box office.
- This event is in The Mount's Stable auditorium.
Talya Kingston (she/her) is a playwright, dramaturg, and educator inspired by the live interactions between artists and audiences and how these can catalyze social change. WAM Theatre: Associate Artistic Director, Playwright: Port of Entry. Playwriting: Circling Suspicion (Commissioned by Plays In Place, Upcoming production at Historic Northampton), Port of Entry (2022 Silverthorne Theatre), Campus Unrest (2020 WAM Fresh Takes, 2019 Silverthorne Theatre, 2018 Play by Play Festival, finalist in the 2019 Bechtel Test Fest), Wave Goodbye (2020 PLAYground TYA Festival at NorthWestern University, semi-finalist for Provincetown Playhouse’s New Plays for Young Audiences), Sheryl Addresses the PGO (The New England Monologues Project), Wishing on Satellites, Anxiety Overdrive. Selected Dramaturgy: WAM Theatre (What The Constitution Means to Me, Roe, Lady Randy), Hartford Stage (Necessary Targets), New York Fringe Festival (Helmet), Ko Festival (Seriously.. What Did You Call Me? Written and performed by Onawumi Jean Moss). Publications: Scene Magazine, Theater Journal, The Moving Voice, European Stages, Howlround, and The Valley Advocate. Selected training: MFA University of Massachusetts. Affiliations: proud member of the Northampton Playwrights Lab, Play Incubation Collective, and the Dramatist Guild, and is the North-East Regional VP for LMDA Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
Amy Brentano (she/her) is a Berkshire resident and theater artist with a background in physical theater, devising, and education. Current role with WAM: Director of Port of Entry. WAM Theatre: former Lead Teaching Artist for WAM’s Teen Ensemble and Elder Ensemble. Selected Theatre Credits Elsewhere: Artistic Director Red Earth Ensemble NYC, Co-Artistic Director Bazaar Productions, Director Behind the Tapestry: Tom Truss solo piece, Dramaturg Dramatic Question Theater NYC. Additional artistic credits: Producing Artistic Director of The Foundry, a multidisciplinary performing arts venue in West Stockbridge, MA, Creative inspiration: Fiercely independent artists with a generous spirit. Selected training: Graduate of New York University Tisch School of the Arts Experimental Theater Wing Awards/proudest achievements: Creating and maintaining a performing arts space, providing a platform to emerging artists and often unheard voices. Final word: “Art is restoration: the idea is to repair the damages that are inflicted, to make something that is fragmented – which is what fear and anxiety do to a person – into something whole.” –Louis Bourgeois