Kids Culture 12.13.18

Hayground’s “As You Like It”

As the culmination of Shakespeare and Company’s 20th annual residency at the Hayground School in Bridgehampton, five professional actors from the Berkshire, Mass., troupe will join Hayground student actors in presenting two performances of “As You Like It,” today at 1 and 6 p.m. at Guild Hall in East Hampton. The programs are open to the public; tickets are $10 per family.

“Antigone Now” in Southampton

The Black Box Performance Project will stage two performances of Melissa Cooper’s play “Antigone Now” tomorrow and Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Southampton Cultural Center. Set in a bombed-out city, the play is a contemporary response to the myth of Antigone, who attempted to secure a respectable burial for her brother against her uncle’s will. 

Seventh through 12th graders from across the South Fork make up the cast. Tamara Salkin directs the production. Tickets are $15, $10 for students under 21.

High School Playwrights Fest

The Young Artists and Writers Project’s annual High School Playwrights Festival will take place on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Stony Brook Southampton’s Avram Theater. 

This year’s festival features five short plays written by and starring students from the Bridgehampton School, Pierson High School, and the project’s summer workshops, and directed by professionals. 

Students were mentored by writing and theater professionals connected with Stony Brook Southampton’s M.F.A. program in creative writing and literature. Emma Walton Hamilton is the executive director of the Young Arts and Writers Program; Will Chandler is its program director. Ms. Hamilton, a co-founder of Bay Street Theater, is a best-selling children’s book author, editor, arts educator, and director of the Southampton Children’s Literature Fellows Program. Mr. Chandler, a screenwriter and teaching artist, was formerly an education director at Bay Street.

The Avram Theater is in the Fine Arts Building on campus. Admission to the festival is free; for reservations email: [email protected].

“Mixed Nuts” at Bay Street

Dorothy and the Tin Man will meet Clara and the Nutcracker this weekend at Bay Street Theater when the young dancers of Studio 3 perform “Mixed Nuts.” The program combines elements of “The Nutcracker” with “The Wizard of Oz,” while mixing ballet with other dance styles. Show times are tomorrow and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $25. 

Zines and ’Za

Guild Hall’s Teen Arts Council will host a workshop on creating zines with Brianna Ashe, an East Hampton artist, on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. Participants will work on their own zines, in whatever medium suits them, but have been asked to supply old magazines for collaging. Pizza will be served, and there will be raffle prizes. The program is free, but advance registration has been requested through Guild Hall. 

For Young Birders

The South Fork Natural History Museum’s Young Birders Club will meet on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Bridgehampton. Open to kids 8 to 18, the club meets monthly to learn about birds and their local habitats. The club’s advisers are Miles Todaro and Frank Quevedo, the museum’s executive director. Those who attend on Saturday have been asked to take binoculars and field guides to birds of the eastern United States if possible.

On Saturday at 1 p.m., families have been invited to help decorate the museum’s trees for birds with ornaments made of seeds, suet, and dried fruits. Shoeboxes have been recommended so attendees can take decorations home for their own outdoor trees. There is a $5 materials fee per person.

Families with children 6 and older will study mammals and how they move in a drawing class on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the museum. Tara Smith, an artist, will lead the program, teaching not only drawing techniques but also features of animal anatomy. 

Registration ahead of time has been requested for all programs. 

Big Questions, Simple Fun

Sock puppets, life’s big questions, and cupcakes round out the schedule of youth programming at the East Hampton Library this week.

In the library’s Socrates Cafe program on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., high school students will ponder some deep thoughts in a discussion session meant to get them thinking. “This is not a debate, or an attempt to change anyone’s point of view,” the library website says, “but a chance for philosophical conversation.” Coffee, tea, and hot cocoa will be served. 

Moving on to simpler things, kids 4 and older will turn cupcakes into elves with tasty materials provided by the library on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Each participant will be able to take home three cupcakes. 

Using acrylic paint pens, high school students can decorate mugs for themselves or as gifts on Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. in the young-adult room. In a puppet craft program for ages 6 to 9 on Wednesday, kids will use socks, craft foam, and pompoms to create their own characters. Snowflakes made from Popsicle sticks will be the craft during a family program next Thursday at 4 p.m. 

Advance sign-up has been requested for most programs. 

Gift Ideas

Children and teens looking to make something special to give as a gift for the holidays can do so at the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton this week. Kids in sixth grade and above can stop by today and tomorrow from 3:30 to 5 p.m. to make sugar body scrubs for themselves or someone else. Homemade candles will be the project on weekdays at the same time next week. 

For those 4 and older, a winter cardinal craft program tomorrow at 4 p.m. might yield a thoughtful gift. Sparkly icicle decorations, being made on Friday, Dec. 21, at the same time, could provide a last-minute touch to the Christmas decorations. A movie night for kids in sixth grade and up will kick off the Christmas break on Friday, Dec. 21. On tap: Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Showtime is 6:30.

Wally and “Elf”

Wally the dog will be on hand to listen to new readers 4 and older on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the John Jermain Memorial Library in Sag Harbor. 

On Sunday, the much-loved Christmas movie “Elf,” starring Will Farrell, will be shown at 1 p.m. This program is for teens and tweens, who have been invited to wear their pajamas. Popcorn and hot cocoa will be served. Advance registration, though not required, can be done online. 

Escape the Library

Kids in kindergarten and up will make spoon snowmen using paint, ribbon, and pompoms on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Montauk Library. Later that day, at 3:30, grades 4 through 12 can test their mystery-solving powers in an Escape the Library interactive game. “Find the hidden objects, figure out the clues, and solve the puzzles to earn your freedom,” the library writes. 

Katherine C.H.E. will lead children 1 to 4 and their caregivers in a session of music and movement on Tuesday at 11:45 a.m.