The East End Special Players, a theater program for adults with varied abilities and skills, has announced the appointment of Adam Baranello as the new artistic director of the Players program, which was founded in 1985. Gail Baranello has been named the company’s associate director.
The organization expressed its gratitude to Jacqui Leader, who is retiring from her role as the leader of the program after more than 35 years. She will continue to lead the Explorers program, which was launched in 2014 to offer weekly cooking, enrichment activities, and socializing.
The Baranellos founded the A&G Dance Company, whose studio is in the Southampton Cultural Center, in 2004, a year after Mr. Baranello started his own multimedia production company, through which he makes music, clothing, art, and films. Ms. Baranello trained in ballet, jazz, tap, and other styles from the age of 3 and eventually performed on the East Coast competitive dance circuit. She has also acted in independent films and regional community theater.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Adam as artistic director of the Players,” said Chris Siefert, the chairman of the troupe’s board. “Adam brings deep artistic sensitivity, a collaborative spirit, and a genuine understanding of this ensemble. We are excited to watch the program continue to grow under his leadership. Having Gail join the team is incredibly meaningful for us. Her philosophy aligns beautifully with the mission of the East End Special Players: meeting people where they are and empowering them to express themselves fully and freely.”
While the duo has worked for years with some members of Special Players, it wasn’t until 2024 that Ava Locks brought Mr. Baranello to the Watermill Center to do a project with the troupe. The result was “Fusée,” a short film that will be screened on Saturday as part of the Off Hamptons Film Festival. More on the festival later.
“It was a multidisciplinary project,” said Mr. Baranello. “We did a movement workshop and a visual art workshop. While the group was making paintings and doodling they started saying different phrases, such as ‘love is rainbows’ and ‘love is music.’ ” Mr. Baranello took all the things they wrote and made them the text of the film’s voice-over.
“We played with the scenery and different settings at the Watermill Center, and did different things from poses to movement to stillness to working with Robert Wilson’s collection of chairs. The underlying message of the film is that everyone communicates differently.” He returned to the Watermill Center the following year to make a second film with the group, “Faire la fête.”
As a result of the Watermill Center projects, Ms. Leader asked Mr. Baranello to choreograph “All Ghosts on Deck,” the Players’ 2025 production that premiered at Bay Street Theater in October. “It was really fun. For most Saturdays through June last year I was at their rehearsals doing their choreography.”
Not long after, when Ms. Leader announced that she was going to retire, Mr. Baranello got the call from Mr. Siefert about taking over the position. “I knew it would be a big commitment. You can’t just not show up on a Saturday. It’s a special group, so they need consistency and reliability and structure to thrive. I’m meeting with them Saturday for the first time, so we’ll hear what they have to say. What’s cool is it’s not me, it’s not my ideas, but rather what they are thinking.”
Going forward, the top priority will be creating original plays and performing them every two years, but the Baranellos envision other ways to connect the group with the community. “When we’re in the early stage of creating the play, we might do a fashion show or screen a film or have a dance recital here at the dance company where a few of the Players could perform,” said Mr. Baranello. “Nothing major, but sprinkling in little opportunities that are still performance-based.”
“When the group first started, they would do outreach in elementary and high schools,” said Ms. Baranello. “We’re really familiar with that process because for the first few years of our dance company we were operating as artists in schools through BOCES. I know how to do all that and I think I could get them into Southampton schools to just raise awareness.”
Mr. Siefert agreed. “We want to get them out in front of general audiences, but that doesn’t mean it can only happen every two years with a 25-person ensemble. It can happen many different ways, and that’s what I’m excited about, some new ways to engage and to start to see some of their stories and humor and abilities in different ways.”
As for the Off Hampton Film Festival, it was launched in 2024 on a whim. Mr. Baranello and his friend Ben McHugh, the owner of Hampton Photo Arts, had fun making up ideas for fake businesses. “Ben suggested the festival, and I realized we could actually make it happen.”
This year’s festival will start on Saturday afternoon at 3 at the Southampton Cultural Center with screenings of “Fusée” and “Faire la fête,” the film projects of the Special Players. At 7, after a performance of live music by Chris Kline, five short films will be screened. Some came to the festival from friends, but for the first time this year submissions could be made through FilmFreeway.com.
One of those, “Women of Wampum,” came from Kelsey Leonard, who teaches at a university in Iowa. Coincidentally, when watching the film, Mr. Baranello saw a subtitle identifying the speaker as Shinnecock. It turns out Ms. Leonard is Shinnecock and plans to fly in for the screening.
A second program of four shorts will happen on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. There will be refreshments at both evening screenings. Tickets are $10.
