Century Arts Foundation Continues Support as Lead Sponsor for Literature Live! at Bay Street Theater

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts has announced that Century Arts Foundation has reupped their generous support for the 15th consecutive year as Lead Sponsor for Bay Street Theater's popular outreach program Literature Live! This year, Bay Street's Literature Live! presentation is Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE.

This year, Century Arts Foundation, along with several other generous donors will match audience donations, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. This continued support has allowed Bay Street Theater to offer the "Free Student Ticket Initiative" to middle and high school students to see the Literature Live! performances at no cost. Literature Live! brings the power of the word from the page to the stage. Using curriculum-based literature, Bay Street Theater creates a unique learning experience, bringing professional artists together to schools from across Long Island, New York, and New Jersey. Bay Street is committed to ensuring every student will experience a live professional performance before graduating high school. 

"We could not be more grateful to Century Arts Foundation, who has once again returned to ensure that students will have unfettered access to see live professional theater. Their gift, along with several others, has served as a true blessing to the community, near and far. We could not be more grateful." said Tracy Mitchell, Executive Director of Bay Street Theater.

Running from November 6th - 26th, weekday performances are provided for free to any school group who wishes to come. Literature Live! is an annual BOCES-approved Arts-in-Education program where teachers are provided curriculum guides in advance to help with content and additional aspects of learning. A talkback and Q&A session with various team members and the audience will follow each school group performance. Free admission is offered to all school students, teachers, and administrators on a first-come, first-served basis by calling the administrative office at 631-725-0818 or by emailing the Director of Education & Community Outreach, Allen O’Reilly at allen@baystreet.org.

Public performances run Thursday through Sunday. This year, additional funding from National Grid will allow Bay Street Theater to offer two free performances to Veterans. Both on November 11th, the 2 PM matinee performance will be staged as a sensory-friendly iteration in which technical adjustments are made to the production to provide a more comfortable theater-going experience to those who may be sensitive to extremes in light and sound, and then at 7 PM, Veteran's are invited to attend the red carpet premiere.

THE CRUCIBLE is a gripping play set in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials. It explores mass hysteria, deception, and the consequences of false accusations in a Puritan community. The story follows the unraveling of a tight-knit society as paranoia and fear lead to a witch hunt that destroys lives. It is directed by Bay Street's Associate Artistic Director, Will Pomerantz.

Public performances will be offered November 9th - 26th. Tickets start at $37 and are available online 24/7 at baystreet.org, or by visiting or calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500, Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Groups of 10 or more are welcome and receive a special discount if reserved directly through the Box Office. Veterans wishing to take advantage of free tickets should call the box office to reserve either of the two shows on November 11th.

Literature Live! is brought to by lead sponsor Century Arts Foundation, and also sponsored in part by Irvin Stern Foundation, Sunny & Abe Rosenberg Foundation, Alan & Annette Leve Foundation, The Neuwirth Foundation, The Town of Southampton, Bridgehampton Association, Rea Foundation, and an Anonymous Donor. Additional sponsors include Dime Community Bank, Michael Hebron, PSEG, Sag Harbor Books... and more forthcoming!

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