Fall Classes And Workshops At Bay Street

Bay Street Theater’s fall schedule includes a line-up of classes and workshops for a range of ages that are now open for registration. Classes will be held online via Zoom or in-person in outdoor and socially distanced settings, and vary from on-camera acting workshops, to musical theater reading clubs, to performances of Shakespeare.

Starting September 26, “Shakescene! Let’s Put On A Play” will meet Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. through October on the grounds of the Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum. This outdoor workshop, led by Allen O’Reilly and theater instructor Teresa DeBerry, will guide participants ages 7 to 12 through the rehearsal and performance of an abbreviated Shakespeare play. In addition to learning about Shakespeare’s works, and the Elizabethan era in which he wrote, students will be exposed to a variety of fun activities that will further their understanding of the Bard and his world, including stage combat, singing and dance, and the Shakespearean insult game. Possible titles that students will perform are “Romeo and Juliet,” “Macbeth,” “Twelfth Night” and “The Tempest.” The fee is $500 for six sessions.

Beginning September 26, “Musical Theater For Kids: Willy Wonka” will meet Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. on the grounds of the Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum. This outdoor workshop, led by teaching artist Bethany Dellapolla, will guide participants ages 7 to 13 through a selection of scenes and musical numbers from the Broadway hit “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka.” Students will spend six weeks working on acting, singing, and dancing, when at the conclusion of the camp a special presentation for family and friends will be held. The fee is $500 for six sessions.

“Acting for the Camera with Don Stephenson” will be held online via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. starting October 6. This 12-part course will provide adults and kids ages 13 and up an introduction to acting for the camera, where they will gain knowledge in techniques specific to television and film. Using a variety of scripts from productions currently or formerly cast and shot in New York and Los Angeles, Stephenson will provide a practical method of acting for the camera through intensive scene work; students will have online access to this material, and will be assigned multiple scenes (dialogues) over the course of the class. The fee is $500 for 12 sessions.

“Musical Theater Club: Reading Ragtime!” will be held online via Zoom on Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. starting October 7. The five-part reading club and musical theater workshop, led by Broadway director Marcia Milgrom Dodge, will be available to adults only. Inspired by Oprah’s Book Club, this interactive musical reading club is for theater lovers everywhere. Over the course of five sessions, participants will read through and dissect the script of the Broadway musical “Ragtime!” to get a behind-the-scenes look at how a director first approaches a script and what secrets can be found in the text. All participants will have the option of playing a part in the reading of the script as well as asking Dodge questions about the theater industry. The fee is $100 for five sessions.

DeBerry has been a theater educator, professional actor, director, and choreographer for 40 years. O’Reilly is Bay Street’s director of education and has worked as an educator and professional actor for over 30 years. Dellapolla is an actress, teacher, director, and choreographer based in New York and Long Island.

Stephenson directed “Titanic” at Lincoln Center, “Broadway Classics” at Carnegie Hall and “Of Mice And Manhattan” for The Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center, among others. As an actor, he starred as Leo Bloom in the Tony Award-winning production of “The Producers” and has appeared in many other Broadway shows.

Marcia Milgrom Dodge (MMD) is a Tony Award- and Drama Desk Award-nominated director and choreographer. She has also directed many Bay Street productions and appears as herself in “Encore!” the Disney+ show in which adults relive their high school musical productions.

To sign up for any of the classes, visit baystreet.org.