Two New Puppetry Camps Added To Bay Street Theater's Summer Camps Offerings For Kids Ages 4 To 7

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts will present Mr. B's Puppet Camp and Playful Evolving Monsters, two brand new puppetry camps that will be held in August as part of Bay Street Theater's summer camp schedule.

Each week-long camp will be held Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and are available for kids ages 4 to 7. Registration is $450 for each five-day camp. For more information, please contact the Box Office by calling 631 725 9500 Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 24/7 at baystreet.org.

Mr. B's Puppet Camp (August 1-August 5) with Bryan Mercer will join heroes as they battle ferocious sea monsters surrounding Sag Harbor, in search for gold and glory. Kids will explore a variety of puppetry techniques including shadows, projection, and self-made puppets, working as an ensemble to create a pirate puppet musical.

Playful Evolving Monsters (August 22-August 26) with TJ Hanretta will introduce kids to the puppetry basics of manipulating and performing with a sock puppet, a three-puppeteer puppet, and even a giant puppet. Campers will also build puppets to take home, and co-create a puppet show to perform on the last day of camp to share with their friends and family!

Bryan Mercer has been working as a theatrical professional for more than 30 years. Working primarily across the Southeastern United States, he has also worked professionally in New York City and the New York area. Originally from Ocala, Florida, and currently based in Atlanta, Bryan has excelled as an actor in both stage and film, as well becoming equally successful as a musician, singer, composer, musical director, educator, designer, director, painter, and puppeteer, with a long record of professional work in these disciplines, including directing theatre for the developmentally disabled. This palette of skills has enabled Bryan to form long standing relationships with many artistic institutions, as he's done with the Hippodrome State Theater, as well as many Atlanta organizations such as the Center for Puppetry Arts, Theater Gael, Seven Stages, Theater Emory, and the Alliance Theater Education Department, where he's created some of the most innovative and memorable educational theater that's been experienced in the city. Parallel to his theatrical work has been his development as a visual artist, becoming a self-taught folk painter with work to be found in a multitude of theaters, galleries, and private homes. Upcoming goals for Bryan Mercer include the publication of his poetic memoir, Quicksand, as well as the expansion of his unique, highly regarded and highly productive style of theatrical and musical education for young people and adult artists.

TJ Hanretta is a puppet artist and life coach. She builds, performs and teaches all types of puppetry. She has worked for a high school theatre department in which she taught and facilitated puppetry creation and performance, as well as other theatre-making skills. She ran a puppet and props business in Hong Kong prior to moving to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and opening her company, Playful Evolving Monsters, in 2020.

Bay Street Theater is a fully vaccinated company. All attendance is available via touchless ticketing. For full list of COVID-19-related safety procedures and guidelines for in-person events, please visit us online at baystreet.org.

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. It serves as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.

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