Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor Announces New Name, New Mission, and New Programs

Bay Street Theater is pleased to announce its new name, new mission, new design, and new programming. Through the vision of Bay Street Theater's new Artistic Director, Scott Schwartz, the new Bay Street will enhance the development and presentation of new productions, performances and events.

Bay Street is pleased to announce the company's new full name, Bay Street Theater and Sag Harbor Center for the Arts. This new name demonstrates and clarifies that in addition to producing theatrical productions in the summer, Bay Street also serves as a year round arts center for the community that presents artists, concerts, lectures, and films, as well as serving as a home for other organizations and not-for-profit groups. This is programming that is related to but separate from the core theatrical producing mission, and will now be presented under the Sag Harbor Center for the Arts banner.

The new mission is the first step in the process of enriching the vision for Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts. The new mission statement reads; Bay Street Theater is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. We serve as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.

Developing a new look is the second step in the process of presenting the new Bay Street Theater. The new logo was designed by Harun Zankel. It also is a symbol of how Bay Street is moving toward a modern and bright future with the help of its new artistic director, staff and the support of its Board, patrons, and volunteers. Executive Director Tracy Mitchell says, "This is such an exciting time of creativity and a fresh start with Scott's vision guiding us. We look forward to rolling out new designs for all of the new programming later this year."

Bay Street is pleased to announce the following new and expanded programs and initiatives:

The Bay Street Shakespeare Initiative is a new program to bring classics to Bay Street and the East End. This year, Bay Street will present a reading of The Tempest starring Tony Award winner John Glover as Prospero. There will be a paid performance and cocktail reception at a private residential home on August 16 and a free outdoor performance for the community on Sunday, August 17 at a location to be announced.

John Glover (Prospero) received both a Tony and Obie Award and a Drama Desk nomination for Love! Valour! Compassion! He is currently featured Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare in the Park in New York City and recently played one of the Witches in Macbeth at Lincoln Center. At Roundabout he was in Waiting for Godot (Tony and Drama League Nominations), The Marriage of Bette and Boo, The Paris Letter (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Drama League Nominations), Give Me Your Answer Do. On Broadway he was in Death of a Salesman, The Royal family, The Drowsy Chaperone, Design For Living, Whodunnit, Frankenstein, The Importance of Being Earnest, Holiday, Chemin De Fer, The Visit, Don Juan, The Great God Brown (Drama Desk Award). Off-Broadway he was in Secrets of the Trade, Sorrows and Rejoicings, Oblivion Postponed, The Fairy Garden, Digby, A Scent of Flowers, Rebel Women, Criminal Minds, and the original House of Blue Leaves at the Truck Warehouse. Regional credits include The Lisbon Traviata (Kennedy Center, Helen Hayes Nomination), Secrets of the Trade (LA's Black Dahlia Theatre, Ovation and LA Drama Critics Circle Awards); The Traveler (Mark Taper Forum, LA Drama Critics Circe Award); Some Men (Philadelphia Theatre Company, Barrymore Nomination), The Goat or Who is Sylvia? (Philadelphia Theatre Company, Barrymore Nomination); A Winters Tale (American Shakespeare Festival, Bayfield Award).

On television, he appeared on Smallville from 2001 - 2011 playing Lionel Luthor, also An Early Frost, Nutcracker: Murder, Money, and Madness, Brimstone, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, The Blacklist, and Heroes. Glover has received five Emmy nominations and has appeared in over 35 films including Payback, Batman and Robin, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Gremlins II, Scrooged, The Chocolate War, Masquerade, 52 Pick-UP, White Nights, Melvin and Howard, Julia, and Annie Hall.

BLACKOUT at Bay Street is a late night immersive cabaret, offering cutting edge cabaret and avante guarde theater performances in the lobby which will be transformed into an immersive performance space and which will also feature specialty cocktails. BLACKOUT at Bay Street will be presented on Fridays and Saturdays three times this summer -- July 18 and July 19, August 8 and August 9, and August 22 and August 23. Doors open immediately following the Mainstage show and the performances will be begin at 11 pm.

The Bay Street New Works Festival, first presented this past April, will be back in 2015. This three day festival included readings of new plays by some of New York's most exciting emerging playwrights. The focus of the festival is to give the playwrights a chance to hear their works in development in front of an audience and to give the audience at Bay Street and East End Community a chance to experience cutting edge voices in the theater. Each reading was followed by a talkback with the audience. The plays in the festival this past year were Fight Call by Jess Brickman, The May Queen by Molly Smith Metzler, and The Orchard Play by P. Seth Bauer. There was also a panel discussion with the authors, led by award winning writer John Weidman.

Commenting on the New Works Festival, Scott Schwartz, Artistic Director at Bay Street said, "I am pleased to announce that based on enthusiasm of our community, in 2015 we will present the second New Works Festival. We are deeply committed to new work at Bay Street, to helping develop the classics of tomorrow, and to giving our audience the chance to see theater you can't see anywhere else." Exact dates and details on the second annual Bay Street New Works Festival will be announced in the coming months.

The Education Programs at Bay Street have been expanded to include more camps in both Southampton and Bridgehampton. There is a wider array of kids' camps and new this year are the teen workshops. In addition to these summer camps and workshops, Bay Street will be expanding its fall Literature Live! program. Teaching artists will be sent to local schools prior to the performances and there is also a new FREE ticket initiative to allow all students the opportunity to attend.

Summer Kids Theater Camps will be held in August. The camps will be held at the Southampton Arts Center and Studio 3 in Bridgehampton and run 9:30 am to 12:30 pm daily for each week-long session. Teen Workshops have just been announced for ages 14-18. Teens will have the opportunity to work one on one with an extraordinary Mainstage Artist from Travesties on monologues and scenes in a workshop on July 14, and with Artistic Director Scott Schwartz on musical theater in an "Acting the Song" workshop on August 4.

Overseeing the educational programs is the Education Director Julia Motyka. "For the first time, this summer," says Motyka, "we are thrilled to give campers the unique opportunity to meet and interact with some of Bay Street's incredible roster of Mainstage artists as part of a special activity available during each camp." The artists include Mary Powers, Jenna Mate, Christine Lisette Martinez, and Valerie DiLorenzo.

Julia Motyka is an actor, producer, and teacher with a national reputation and over a decade of professional experience. As an activist and educator Julia has taught for organizations nationwide and developed programming for The Trinity School, SF Shakes and The Cripple Creek School District. In 2008, in partnership with the Hastings Youth Council (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY), Julia created Living Shakespeare which ran for 4 years and served nearly 100 children in its final session alone. Currently, she is a proud ASTEP volunteer. As an actor she has appeared Off-Broadway and in some of the nation's top regional theatres receiving awards in San Francisco, Denver, and LA. As a producer her company RGM co-produced the Off-Broadway production of Rooms: A Rock Romance, nominated in 2009 for three OCC Awards.

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