Triplex to Screen 'Made in Massachusetts'

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Triplex Cinema and Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative announce a special one-time screening of "Made in Massachusetts," an epic chronological compilation of scenes from two hundred movies and television shows shot in Massachusetts between 1922 and 2022, including a number of films shot in the Berkshires. 
 
Directors Adam Roffman and Vatche Arabian have compiled memorable clips from one hundred years of filmed entertainment into a delightful and informative film highlighting the diversity of locations in  Massachusetts.
 
Tickets for the Oct. 13 screening are available at the Triplex Cinema website and are free; there is a suggested donation of $20 for this event and all fundraising proceeds will be shared by the Triplex and BFMC. Following the screening will be a conversation between director Adam Roffman and BFMC's Executive Director Diane Pearlman. 
 
According to a press release:
 
Filmmaking in Massachusetts began in the earliest days of the motion picture industry, in the late 1890's, with a series of eight "Rip Van Winkle" short films shot on Cape Cod in 1896. Notable films shot in Massachusetts include "Captains Courageous," shot in 1937 in Gloucester; " the Academy Award winning "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," shot in the Northampton area, in 1967; 1967's "The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming" shot on Nantucket; 1969's "Alice's Restaurant" shot in and around Great Barrington; "Love Story,"  shot in 1970 in and around Cambridge; "Jaws," shot in 1974 on Martha's Vineyard; "The Verdict," shot in and around Boston in 1982; "Good Will Hunting," shot in and around Boston in 1997; the Academy Award winning "The Departed," shot in 2005; and the Academy Award winning film "Coda" shot in Gloucester in 2020. This is just a small handful of films shot in Massachusetts over the past century, films which include many of the greatest actors and performances in the history of cinema. 
 
Director Adam Roffman has worked on numerous films shot in Massachusetts as a member of the art department where he is an On-Set-Dresser (the member of the art department who, along with the production designer, consults with the director and cinematographer to achieve the look of each scene). Films he has worked on include "CODA," Little Women," "American Hustle," "Don't Look Up," and "The Town," and he will share with the audience his experiences working on these films, as well as the work that went into compiling "Made in Massachusetts." As a co-founder of the Independent Film Festival Boston, Roffman has been an advocate for film in Massachusetts and "Made in Massachusetts" is a love letter to the State and a visual representation of the diversity of one-hundred-years of filmmaking. 
 
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Teacher of the Month: Colleen Trager

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Colleen Trager had dreams of being an opera singer and working in the music world but family needs brought her back to the Berkshires. After years in accounting, she found her place in teaching. 
BECKET, Mass. — Becket Washington Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Colleen Trager has been selected as the October Teacher of the Month.
 
The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next seven months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here
 
Being a teacher is not what Trager first set out to do, originally striving to be an opera singer until a call home to care for her sick mom sent her down a new path. 
 
She obtained her bachelor's degree in performing arts at Wagner College on Staten Island, N.Y. 
 
She then went on to work for Columbia Artists Management in New York, where she organized tours and managed logistics for famous classical musicians and orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Mark O'Connor. 
 
She worked there from 1996 until moving back to the Berkshires in 1998. She worked as an accountant for Guido's Whole Sales Office until 2007.
 
"I just knew that I wanted to do something that would impact other people and singing is wonderful, and people love to listen, but I didn't feel like it was really something that I could impact people on a daily basis," Trager said. 
 
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