Late last year, it was announced that Bay Street Theatre would be leaving its Long Warf home in 2013. Since then (even some time before the public was made aware of the move), the search has been on to find a new, permanent home for the non-profit organization. The theatre's executive director, Tracy Mitchell, has made it known that the group is a part of the Sag Harbor community and wants to remain there. Unfortunately, the ever-increasing rental rates in the Southampton hamlet make finding a suitable space for the organization a tall order.
However, an interesting solution is now gaining some traction amongst the community: a partnership between Bay Street and Pierson High School. The Sag Harbor School District has had plans to modernize the high school's theatre since at least 2006. And, believe it or not, the idea to make the renovation a joint venture has already been discussed. Ms. Mitchell casually brought up the idea to the district's Facilities Planning Committee (she's a member) last spring. However, there's been no movement since that initial mention.
Sag Harbor's school board president, Mary Anne Miller, seems to love the idea:
"...somebody needs to step up and take this on. It seems like an amazing opportunity to do something great, I just don't know who has the wherewithal, time, connections, or the money to do it. We need to be doing things like this, but boy is it a big job!" While this is all just optimistic chatter for now, we sincerely hope that tonight's community meeting at Bay Street gets the ball rolling. Sag Harbor just wouldn't feel the same without the theatre.
· Potential Bond Between Theater and School [Sag Harbor Express]
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