GCC, Double Edge Theatre to Grow Performing Arts in Franklin County

GREENFIELD — This spring, Greenfield Community College (GCC) and Double Edge Theatre will embark on a formal collaboration to grow the role of visual and performing arts within the college and Franklin County. Kicking off with an experimental-performance class taught by Double Edge at GCC next semester, this partnership will evolve into a multi-year endeavor to engage a diverse mix of students and community members in longer productions and spectacles.

“We’re in the early stages of planning, but the excitement is obvious for both parties,” said GCC Theater Department Chair Tom Geha, who has been instrumental in getting this partnership off the ground.

Founded in Boston in 1982 as a feminist ensemble and laboratory for the creative process, Double Edge has been an integral part of the community in Ashfield for the past 25 years. Located on a 105-acre former dairy farm, the theatre welcomes people from around the world to come study, move, perform, produce, and explore the intersection of art and social justice. Over 700 students have come through the company’s rigorous and intensive training. Artistic home to a multitude of passions, skills, and interests, Double Edge attracts thousands of theater-goers every year. Shows are sold out months in advance, and the company has brought its imaginative and visceral work across the U.S. and as far as Central Europe, South America, and Norway.

“We see eye to eye,” says Stacy Klein, Founder and Artistic Director of Double Edge, “Our values and our missions are really similar.”

Added Leo Hwang, GCC’s dean of Humanities, “we see Double Edge as one of the real hallmarks of a forward-thinking organization in Franklin County — they’re really pushing the envelope. It’s an incredible opportunity for GCC to have access to this world-class theater company that’s willing to collaborate with us and include us in this process of discovering and learning.”