Jenny Spencer is an Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She founded, and for 10 years, co-directed the UMASS Edinburgh Fringe Theatre summer abroad honors program. Her “Alternative Theatres” student course is still successfully running in partnership with the University of Mexico.
Jenny taught and published in the area of modern and contemporary performance for over 30 years. In addition to numerous articles and reviews, she is the author of Dramatic Strategies in the Plays of Edward Bond (Cambridge U Press), editor of Staging Resistance: Essays on Political Theatre (U Michigan Press) and most recently, Political and Protest Theatre after 9/11: Patriotic Dissent (Routledge). During her career, she served as the editor for the academic journal Theatre Topics, as Chair of the English department, as MSP Faculty Union President, and as director for the Five College Faculty Seminar on Performance Studies.
Jenny has travelled to the Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Festival as a researcher, teacher, and tourist for over 15 years. Upon retiring in 2018, she founded Festival Getaway as an LLC in order to offer adults an immersive theatre program similar to what students over the years have called a life-changing experience. js041751@gmail.com
Jenny’s job is to guide you through thousands of performance options to maximize your time at the festival.
Lori Friedman is a curator and arts administrator specializing in modern and contemporary art. Lori is also the sole proprietor of Lori Friedman Arts Management, a consulting business providing coaching, strategic planning and curating. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley; is a graduate of the Sotheby’s Works of Art Course in London, and received her MBA from UMASS Amherst.
Lori has twice experienced the Fringe Festival with Jenny, and she has graciously offered to answer any questions you may have about the festival, the director, or the program. Feel free to contact her at lori.j.f@comcast.net.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Jenny Spencer: js041751@gmail.com
Phone/text: 413-221-8802
Summer address (until Oct. 15): 43 Fearing Street, Amherst, MA 01002
Winter address (until May 30): 1713 Kilruss Dr., Venice FL 34292