'Who will sing for lena?' fundraiser

EMACT is excited to lend support to our long-standing member group The Lexington Players as they represent Massachusetts community theater on the world stage at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the Mondial du Theatre 2021 competition in Monaco in August, with their NETC and AACT award-winning production of Who Will Sing for Lena? Mondial is the premier festival in the world celebrating amateur and community theatre, and the Lexington Players' production has been selected to represent the United States, competing against productions from 14 other countries.

Directed by Sal Jones and featuring Jes Washington, Janice Liddell’s Who Will Sing for Lena? tells the story of Lena Baker, a Black maid in Cuthbert, GA who was convicted of the capital murder of her white employer, Ernest Knight, who local papers reported held Lena as a “slave woman.” She argued self-defense, but was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945 during a decades-long period of state suppression of civil rights of Black citizens by the white-dominated society. In 2005, sixty years after her execution, the state of Georgia granted Baker a full and unconditional pardon.

To support the Lexington Players with their travel and production expenses for this incredible opportunity, EMACT will match dollar-for-dollar all donations up to $5,000. If we exceed our fundraising goal, all funds in excess will be earmarked to support member groups' festival entries in the future.

If you can, please consider supporting this effort, which raises the visibility of our community, our art, and of creators of color in the United States. Don't wait - our campaign will close on June 30! 

Congratulations to the Lexington Players for this exceptional honor!

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