Long Wharf Theatre to hold 7th annual Discovery Day, a fun event for the whole family, November 2

Long Wharf Theatre is looking for prospective detectives ages 5 to 12 to help them solve a mystery at the theatre's 7th Annual Discovery Day, a fun family event taking place Saturday, November 2 from 9 am to noon.

The theme of this year's event is "Crack The Case: Earn Your Badge." Admission to the event is pay what you can. All donations from this event will go towards funding a family friendly spring production entirely adapted, produced, designed, and built by the Next Stage residents, early career professionals training in specific fields of theatre.

Discovery Day has become a much beloved event for parents and staff alike over the course of its six year history. This year, ages 5 - 12 will have the opportunity to become detectives, searching for a precious bit of Long Wharf Theatre property - something necessary to make the magic on our stages come to life. Kids will get a chance to catch the culprit, earning their detective badge and helping Long Wharf Theatre solve the mystery.

"I hope that Discovery Day will give kids a fun backstage glance at what goes into the making of Live Theatre. But it isn't just the kids who come to the event who have something to learn from it. This event is the first time our resident class works together and we hope it is the beginning of how they learn to communicate with each other and work towards a common goal," said Annie DiMartino, director of education.

Over the course of the day, through the various activities, kids will get a glimpse into the inner workings props, costumes and scene shops, and take a fun acting workshop with a member of the Long Wharf Theatre artistic team. "Anything can happen during the day," said Artistic Resident Eliza Orleans. "We want to keep it exciting and unpredictable."

There is a greater hope beyond simply providing children a fun time at Long Wharf Theatre. The residents hope to inspire kids with the kind of first theatrical moments they remember fondly from their own childhoods. "My first theatrical experience was seeing Cinderella at the Jewish Community Center in Bridgeport when I was 6 years old. It was exciting. I hope we can provide that kind of memorable morning for the kids at Discovery Day," Orleans said.

Long Wharf Theatre's 2013-14 Next Stage class is comprised of Eliza Orleans (Artistic), John Marsalis (Company Management), Carl Ramsey (Costumes), Christopher D'Angelo (Electrics), Betsy Ripp (Props), James Hicks (Scenery), Jessica Rosso (Sound), and Rebecca Pfeil (Stage Management).

For more information about Long Wharf Theatre's Education Department and Discovery Day, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

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