Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT) Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Dedicates New Performance Space at Ossining Waterfront
“We have a home!” said Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT) Executive Director Alan Lutwin as he, a group of WCT board members and several local officials erupted into applause and cheers at the theater company’s official ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicating its new 23 Water Street headquarters and performance space on Wednesday morning, April 26.
Ossining Village Mayor Victoria Gearity; Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg; Omar Herrera, legislative aide for County Legislator Catherine Borgia; and Ossining Chamber of Commerce President Gayle Marchica were among the officials and other community representatives who gathered to present proclamations and vigorously applaud the welcome addition to the arts in Ossining and Westchester.
Gearity thanked all “the brilliant and creative people here” for investing their talents in Ossining. She pointed out that the village made a text amendment to the zoning code to allow “the vision to become a reality” and that “The Village of Ossining is the only community in Westchester to enact a cultural arts policy to promote the arts and creativity in the village. Westchester Collaborative Theater’s new home will fuel Ossining’s creative spirit as well as our vibrant local economy!”
Levenberg, wife of WCT board member and playwright Stephen Hersh, noted that WCT is the only group in Westchester that produces only original works. “We’re so proud of all the work you’ve done and look forward to all you’re going to do now that you have a space that is truly yours!” said Levenberg.
Herrera, who proclaimed the day “Westchester Collaborative Theater Day” on behalf of the county said, “To have such a resource in Ossining is huge. The arts …enrich everyone’s lives. Ossining lives, breathes, thinks arts all the time – it’s part of who we are.”
Marchica congratulated all and noted that “this enclave is becoming a major hub for people to come to and enjoy the shows as well as the social life.”
Lutwin explained the need for the space, “WCT has been a vagabond theater company for the past seven years, and now we have a home! We are so proud to be part of the revitalization of downtown Ossining and are certain that we will grow and develop in concert with the community that surrounds us.” He noted too that the versatile space is immensely flexible and can be easily converted from a theater to a cabaret allowing for multiple uses.
WCT board members present at the event included Michelle Concha, Robert Rogerson, Stephen Hersh and Sharon Rowe. WCT Artistic Director Karina Ramsey was unable to attend.
Lutwin noted, “We expect to see audiences from all over the County as well as neighboring counties. It’s an easy drive with ample parking evenings and weekends and the close proximity to the train station makes it a convenient trip from Manhattan and points north as well.”
Concha said, “It’s like a tree – this is our foundation and it is growing. This is for the community – they know where to find us.”
Rogerson said, “This will be the core to everything – the shell has cracked and it’s just starting to grow.”
Lutwin noted that WCT has already booked varied performing arts events over the next few months and is available for future dates. Visit the website to contact the theater for booking info.: www.wctheater.org
About the WCT Performance Space
The black box performance space located across the street from the Ossining train station and close to the downtown area in the Harbor Square area offers a venue not only for WCT mainstage theater productions and readings, but also for performing artists of varied genres in music, dance and the spoken word throughout the lower Hudson Valley.
Previously housing a cabinet-making factory, the space has been fully renovated throughout the past year and transformed into an intimate performing arts space that has retained much of its original “industrial” look. The new home to all WCT theater performances and other events, the performance space will also be available to local artists, musicians, and other theater groups throughout the Lower Hudson Valley for year-round entertainment. Acting and improv classes will begin later in the year. Area residents may also rent the space for private functions.
About Westchester Collaborative Theater
Westchester Collaborative Theater is a multicultural, cooperative theater company located in Ossining, NY, dedicated to developing new work for the stage and bringing live theater to the community. It is comprised of local playwrights, actors, and directors who employ a Lab approach in which new stage works are nurtured through an iterative process of readings, critiques, and rewrites. When work is ready for production, it is produced for the public at its theater space.
WCT is committed to furthering theater arts in our community. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a recipient of production grants from ArtsWestchester and New York State Council on the Arts.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
