Long Wharf Theatre Next Stage Program Hosts 'Discovery Day' 11/7

On Saturday, November 7, 2009, the rides are closed but the doors are open at Long Wharf Theatre while its holds its third annual Discovery Day, a community outreach event that introduces area children and families to the fantastical world of theatre. This year's event has a carnival theme and is appropriate for kids, age 2 to 16. Backstage tours and hands on workshops in mask making, audio-visual experiments, juggling, prop making, and story-telling will be offered. To enhance the carnival themed Discovery Day, there will be face painting, food and music.
Through these creative activities, kids will have the opportunity to collaborate in putting on a play of their own. This year, families will tell the story of the Forgotten Clown, an original skit performed by the Next Stage Residents and children alike. "It is my wish that all who attend will leave with a greater understanding and enjoyment of theatre. Hopefully this day will begin the development of a lifelong interest in the arts," says Annie DiMartino, the Director of Education and Next Stage Administrator for Long Wharf Theatre. "It's a fun day and a wonderful way of engaging young audiences in an experiential way."

Long Wharf Theatre's Next Stage residents are all early career professionals who are working in a specific field of theatre. All donations from this event will go towards funding a family friendly spring production entirely adapted, produced, designed, and built by the Next Stage residents. Eric Ting, Associate Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre, will serve as director of the spring production.

The Next Stage residents are gearing up in anticipation of the event. "I have enjoyed expanding my creative abilities that have encompassed my field of expertise, along with stretching myself beyond the costume shop," says Cathy Mason, Long Wharf Theatre's costume resident. The residents are experiencing the scope and depth involved in what it takes to produce their own production, including the planning of this major fundraising event.
"Having just taken a workshop in Circus Skills, I am more than eager to teach juggling, balancing and physical storytelling to kids of all ages. And, who wouldn't like to be a clown for a day," says Corey Morrison, education resident.
For more information, visit www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

ABOUT THE THEATRE

Long Wharf Theatre (Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director and Ray Cullom, Managing Director), entering its 45th season, is recognized as a leader in American theatre, producing fresh and imaginative revivals of classics and modern plays, rediscoveries of neglected works and a variety of world and American premieres. More than 30 Long Wharf productions have transferred virtually intact to Broadway or Off-Broadway, some of which include Durango by Julia Cho, the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Wit by Margaret Edson, The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer and The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn. The theatre is an incubator of new works, including last season's A Civil War Christmas by Paula Vogel and Coming Home by Athol Fugard. Long Wharf Theatre has received New York Drama Critics Awards, Obie Awards, the Margo Jefferson Award for Production of New Works, a Special Citation from the Outer Critics Circle and the Tony® Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.

www.LongWharf.org