Bay Street Theater Discusses Moving Plans With The Community

Bay Street Theatre held an "ALL COMMUNITY MEETING" on Thursday, January 12 from 7-9pm to discuss Bay Street Theatre's future plans in 2013. Theatre management at the meeting included Sybil Christopher and Murphy Davis, Artistic Directors; Tracy Mitchell, Executive Director; and Gary Hygom, Producer, (offstage); Board of Trustee President Frank Filipo; Board member and Finance Committee Chairman Greg Ferraris; and Board members Robby Stein and Rob Florio. Other Board members Gary Bierfriend and Jane Holden were in the audience along with Bay Street Board's Founding Chairperson Ana Daniel. Assemblyman Fred Thiele was also in the audience.

Bay Street Theatre has been a Sag Harbor Village arts and community haven for 20 years and needs to find a new location as of May 2013 when the current lease runs out. Davis and Mitchell explained that the current arrangement with Pat Malloy, for the theatre building, combined with house rentals for cast and the storage building rented in Riverhead, The Combined total will be $500,000 by 2013.

"This amount needs to be raised each year just for space and housing," said Mitchell. "In addition, this amount hurts our fundraising efforts and qualifications to receive many of the grants we apply for by not having a permanent home."

While announcement of a sixty day self-imposed time limit to find a new location may have taken people by surprise, Filipo and Mitchell emphasized that while keeping the theatre in Sag Harbor is the goal, the theatre needs to move forward with all potential options both in and out of Sag Harbor as the ultimate goal is to find a permanent space to keep Bay Street alive on the East End forever.

Mitchell and Davis went over the options for staying in Sag Harbor, which included the parking lot where the "Blue Ball" was dismantled a few years ago owned by National Grid and currently rented to the Sag Harbor Village, a joint collaboration with Pierson High School for shared use, a property on Jermain Avenue, and the Sag Harbor movie theatre. All of these options come with potential hurdles including zoning, water, parking and other challenges.

Outside of Sag Harbor, options include the new Parrish Art Museum space on Route 27, and an office park in Westhampton being developed by Rechler Equity Partners. Davis pointed out the most feasible option at this time is the Jobs Lane building that will be vacated at the end of this year. Southampton Mayor Mark Epley and his team have been working hard to bring Bay Street Theatre to that location, though no arrangement has been made.

The Bay Street team asked the audience members to be part of the process by helping to form committees that would help sort out the challenges posed by the Sag Harbor locations. Anyone interested in participating can call the Bay Street Theatre Administration Office at 631-725-0818 or email tracy@baystreet.org or murphy@baystreet.org.

Bay Street Theatre is a not-for-profit regional theater presenting new, classic and contemporary works, with a commitment to challenging and entertaining our diverse community. This commitment extends to innovative educational programs that highlight the power of live theater. It is our mission to be an artistic haven for an extended family of artists and audience, while continuing to provide a gathering place to share in the unique collective theatrical experience.

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