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Chrysalis Theatre
Andrea Hairston
Email ahairsto@aol.com

Mission Statement: Chrysalis Theatre is a cross-cultural, multi-disciplinary performance ensemble that has presented innovative and progressive cultural work in Western Massachusetts since 1978. The company has created 30 original productions in that time, often using theatre to explore the social conflicts caused by racial, cultural, and political differences.

For twenty years, Chrysalis Theatre has struggled to provide performance opportunities to people of color and others denied access to expression because of ethnicity, gender, or disability. Most of the plays have been written and directed by women of color. The company has drawn heavily from African-American and African cultural resources, and it has also investigated other American and world cultures.
History
Chrysalis Theatre has offered performances and workshops in schools, museums, community centers, professional theatres, colleges and churches. Its productions have toured in New England and New York. Incantations (1986) was featured at the Boston Women’s Theatre Festival. Vision of Fire (1993) and Strange Attractors (1996) were presented at StageWest, Springfield’s resident professional theatre.

The artists of Chrysalis Theatre are especially concerned about low-income women and children of color, because they are increasingly the victims of violence as well as poverty. The company members believe it is essential to do whatever is possible to empower these invisible groups and the company has developed a number of theatre and music workshops specifically for low-income women and children of color. In 1994, the company worked with a group of teens in Springfield to develop a play based on their own experiences about women and AIDS. During 1995, 1996, and 1997 the company offered workshops on African drumming and theatre techniques for inner-city teenagers, and special theatre workshops for low-income women to help them articulate their feelings about the domestic and other violence in their lives.

Chrysalis Theatre also tries to serve the international community by educating its local audiences about other cultures. For instance, Andrea Hairston’s play Polywise (1994) presented the stories of women refugees from various war-torn countries; Vision of Fire (1993) and Strange Attractors (1996) drew parallels between racism in the U.S. and ethnic conflicts in other parts of the world; and Dancing With Chaos (1995) explored the neo-Nazi movement in the U.S. as part of a global political problem.
Artist Location
Florence, MA
Last updated on October 28th, 2003

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