Bay Street Theater Unveils Lineup of Winter/Spring Classes

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts has revealed the Winter/Spring 2025 line-up of classes and workshops offering something for everyone in the community ages 7-87+, including actors, non-actors, aspiring actors, and singers. Everyone is welcome!

Said Allen O'Reilly, Bay Street Theater's Director of Education and Community Outreach, "We're excited to kick off 2025 with this new slate of classes featuring some fresh faces and fresh curriculum! Improv classes return with a new instructor, Jude Treder-Wolff, and the amazing Eric Jacobson will teach a new Karaoke technique class, which should be an amazing and fun experience!"

The Winter/Spring 2025 line-up includes:

Improv for Everyone

Instructor: Jude Treder-Wolff
Mondays
January 27th-March 3rd
7:00-9:00pm
Adults 21 and up!
$300.00

IMPROV FOR EVERYONE is an improvisation class series designed for participants of any experience level to enjoy. From beginners trying improv for the first time to people who have taken improv classes in the past, this series is an opportunity to try new games and exercises that tap the spontaneity that makes it possible to create with other people in real time and have the best time doing it. Through warm-ups that generate the improv mindset, the "state of play," and the spirit of radical support within the group, we will maximize the creative potential to create characters and explore imagined worlds on the spot. Improv is a uniquely powerful way to find the funny and unusual truths about people, ideas and life, which makes it a satisfying and rewarding creative group experience. In this class, we will: Play warm-up games that rapidly connect group members and promote a shift into a creative mindset. Experience improv exercises that strengthen specific skills for improvisation: radical acceptance, close listening, taking and giving focus, emotional expression, making your partner look good, and practice improv exercises that demonstrate playing at the top of our intelligence. Having the maximum fun.

Jude Treder-Wolff is a creative arts therapist, improviser, social worker, and storyteller. She completed training programs at the Peoples Improv Theater, Magnet Theater Musical Improv, and Magnet Theater, all in NYC. She studied improv online with Second City and with Will Hines at World's Greatest Improv School out of LA. She was on a Magnet Theater house improv team from 2022-2023. She is a Certified Practitioner of Applied Improvisation who designs and facilitates improv workshops for personal and professional development for organizations and groups in New York and nationwide. Jude has been involved with applied improv since 2009 and got into improv for performance 10 years ago. She was chair of the 2019 Applied Improvisation Network World Conference at Stony Brook University in partnership with the Alan Alda Center For Communicating Science. She is the host and creator of (mostly) TRUE THINGS, a game wrapped in a storytelling show that features true stories – with a twist – that grew into a monthly cultural event at venues on Long Island and NYC and travels to communities around the country, including a teen edition. She is active in the national storytelling scene with multiple featured performances on the RISK! live show and podcast, Generation Women at Joe's Pub, Funny Over Fifty at West Side Comedy Club, New Tricks at Q.E.D., The Story Collider live show and podcast, PBS Stories From The Stage in Boston, Story District in Washington, DC, Ex Fabula All-Star Winner in Milwaukee, WI, Mortified, Now You're Talking The Armando Diaz Experience at The Magnet Theater, and many more.

On-Camera Scene and Character Study

Instructor: Frank Cento
Tuesdays
January 27th-March 4th
6:30-9:30 pm
Ages 16 and up (teens and adults)
$300.00
Maximum of (10) participants.
This program will have two to four minutes of video scenes from movies, plays, and TV series, both well-known and original. Each scene will be read twice, blocked, and shot as an actual movie. Covering all genres and using the dialogue offered, the focus is on trusting your instincts, not to imitate a known scene. Each scene will be edited with a screening at the end of the program. All class members are guaranteed to be in more than one scene, and these may be used as part of their professional reels. To make age-appropriate scene selections, it would be helpful to know if you will be joining as soon as possible.

Frank Cento has directed over 30 stage productions in New York and regionally, along with independent feature films, documentaries, commercials, and promos. Early in his career, he was invited to become a member of The Actors Studio Playwrights Directors Unit New York and remained 8 years. He also studied at HB Studios and The Neighborhood Playhouse. Currently, his pilot episode, Real Heat, following firefighters and paramedics in different firehouses across America, is being considered by six major companies in the industry. He is a member of the Advisory Committee for SUN20TV in Southampton and produces content for the station.

Bay Street Theater Music Conservatory

Presents Mic Drop… Karaoke Edition
Instructor: Eric Jacobson
Wednesdays
January 29th-March 5th
7:00-9:00pm
Extra class Tuesday March 11th-7:00-9:00pm
Performance: Wednesday March 12th, 8:00pm-open to the public
Adults 21 and up!
$300.00
Improve your singing at the mic! Learn the proper vocal performance techniques, including voice placement, breath control, diction, how to command a room, and proper instruction on how to engage and use a microphone. Done as a studio workshop, students will learn together through participating in solo and group numbers, collectively growing and improving through their choice of music, with a final performance at Bay Street Theater that will be open to the public.

Led by professional vocalist Eric Jacobson, his creative, fun-natured, nurturing approach to voice training is perfect for all levels- beginners through advanced. Eric holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Point Park University. He has performed worldwide on national and European tours and in NYC and the Hamptons.
 

On-Camera Workshop with Meghan Rafferty!

One day only!
Saturday March 15th
12:00-3:00pm
For teens and adults ages 16 and up!
$300.00

Participants will be given a scene to work on in the workshop and work as “partners,” as they would in real-world callback situations. Not only will Meghan give you invaluable feedback on your scene, but she will also give participants advice on all aspects of self- taping including set-up, recording, editing, and how to send an audition tape to casting directors that will bring you to the next level. Don't miss this truly unique opportunity to work with an industry professional who is one of only three New York casting directors who are also working actors!

Meghan Rafferty is a casting director and actor who, over the past 17 years, has worked with some of the most respected directors, writers, and producers in the television and film industry. Meghan is currently producing and casting with her business partner, Mia Cusumano. Together, they formed M&M Casting. Current film projects: I Don't Live Today, Grad Night, and Make A Marriage Great Again. Some past projects include: The Scrapper, Paint, Antarctica, Team Marco, Centigrade, Lez Bomb (winner of the Bentonville Film Festival), American..ish, season 1 of Falling Water for NBC/Universal, the Cannes Film Festival Golden Lion award winner for web-series Lily-vs-Margo, and Saving Grace starring Ann Dowd. Past casting director projects include The upcoming series on Amazon, The Better Sister, starring Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel, Paterson, directed by Jim Jarmusch, and the pilot episode and season 1 of the HBO series The Leftovers. Some associate casting director credits include Woody Allen's Café Society, The Wolf of Wall Street, Hugo, Shutter Island, the pilot episode of Boardwalk Empire, and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

Meghan is also passionate about teaching and has taught hundreds of on-camera classes in and around New York City and at numerous universities and colleges across the county. Meghan received her BFA in acting from Adelphi University and an MFA from the FSU/Asolo Theatre Conservatory. When she is not casting or teaching, Meghan continues to pursue her first love, acting. Being an actor has enriched her career as a casting director and vice versa. She knows first-hand the challenges and frustrations of pursuing a career in this very competitive business. This career combination allows her to share personal experiences with her students from both perspectives. Meghan's combination of assertiveness, warmth, and humor enables her to get the best out of actors. When an actor is relaxed, comfortable,e and having fun, the audition results are inevitably more positive.

PLUS!!
Coming this Winter...
Kids Production TBD
Ages 7-13
directed by Bethany Dellapolla
The amazing Bethany Dellapolla returns this Winter to direct another kids' musical! Title TBD. Stay tuned for updates and another opportunity to shine on The Bay Street Stage!

Bethany is an actress, teacher, director, and choreographer based in NYC and Long Island. She received her BA in Theatre Performance from SUNY New Paltz, where she was named one of the Outstanding Graduates of her class. She also graduated (with honors), from LIU with her Masters Degree in Childhood Education, and holds teaching certifications in Childhood Education, Early Childhood Education, Special Education, and Theatre Education. Teaching and coaching credits include Broadway Dance Center, Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, Bay Street Theater, and TADA! Youth Theatre, Pierson Middle-High School, Gateway Playhouse, and NexGen Youth Theatre, her own youth theatre company based in NYC (www.nexgenyouththeatre.com). She has been fortunate to direct and/or choreograph many shows for children and adults as well, such as The Little Mermaid, The Drowsy Chaperone, Anything Goes, Seussical, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan Jr., The Boyfriend, Really Rosie, Willy Wonka, Shrek, 13, Fame! The Lightning Thief, A Chorus Line, and The World Goes 'Round. As an actress, Bethany has performed in everything from independent film to radio and theatre. Most recently, Bethany was seen as Mrs. Potts/Villager in Beauty and the Beast (BroadwayWorld.com nomination - Best Actress in a Musical), Steph in Reasons to Be Pretty,  and Nurse/Worker 2 in Eco: The Musical (NYMF). Favorite regional credits include Love, Loss, and What I Wore (BroadwayWorld.com nomination – Best Actress in a Play), The Graduate (Elaine), Cabaret (Frenchie), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Olive), Ruthless! The Musical (Lita Encore), Company (Jenny), and The Tempest (Iris). She is also a competitive ballroom dancer. 

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