Fridays 10:00am - 11:00am (EDT)
EPISODE SUMMARY:
Tommy DiMisa is back for the first Philanthropy in Phocus episode of 2026 with his trademark “day-in-the-life” energy—ringing in the new year, celebrating his 48th birthday, and broadcasting not from the attic this time, but from the worldwide headquarters of Vanguard Benefits. Along the way, he shares highlights from a packed week: supporting a Queens Chamber of Commerce nonprofit needs assessment with local leaders, jumping on calls about mission-driven work (including efforts supporting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people), and continuing to show up as “The Nonprofit Sector Connector” who helps organizations amplify their stories.
This week’s featured guest is Tracy Mitchell, Executive Director of Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor (BayStreet.org). Tommy brings Tracy on because he’s intentionally challenging himself to learn more about the arts and culture space—especially as Bay Street Theater becomes a semi-finalist in the Long Island Imagine Awards. What follows is a lively, heartfelt conversation about the power of the arts to change moods, open minds, and build community. Tracy shares her remarkable path from being a child performer to producing work in television and film—including large-format projects like Back to the Future: The Ride, and an ABC primetime documentary special hosted by Oprah. Together, they reflect on how technology transformed storytelling, lowered the barrier to entry for creators, and expanded who gets to make and share meaningful work.
Tracy then pulls back the curtain on what makes Bay Street Theater special: it’s an intimate 299-seat professional regional theater that operates year-round, bringing in Broadway-level talent while producing new work and reimagining classics. She explains the scale of their summer season—multiple mainstage productions running eight shows a week—plus comedy, concerts, and special performances that keep the venue buzzing beyond the traditional theater calendar. One of the biggest missions Bay Street embraces is developing what’s next: supporting writers and artists through opportunities like their New Works Festival, where scripts are selected, performed by professional casts, and refined through audience Q&As. Tracy makes the case plainly: you don’t find “the next Hamilton” without taking chances on original work.
A centerpiece of the episode is Bay Street’s Literature Live program—created to ensure more students experience professional theater while they’re still in school. Tracy describes how the program adapts curriculum-connected books into 90-minute productions (with full sets, lighting, costumes, and professional actors), and brings middle and high school students in for free—schools just cover transportation. The real magic, she says, is what happens when students from different backgrounds watch the same story and take away different insights, sparking conversation, empathy, and connection. Tommy ties it back to the heart of the show: when art creates understanding, it strengthens community—and that’s nonprofit work in action.
To close, Tracy shares how listeners can help: volunteer support (they need about 10 volunteers per night), donations, and community investment keep the theater thriving, since ticket revenue covers only part of what it takes to operate. Tommy leaves the door wide open for future collaboration—hinting at an upcoming visit, tour, and promotional content to help Bay Street reach even more people. It’s a high-energy, feel-good episode that spotlights how arts organizations don’t just entertain—they educate, inspire, and create the shared experiences that hold communities together.
Tune in for this sensible conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
Tommy D kicks off the new year by reminding listeners that Philanthropy in Phocus exists to help nonprofits amplify their message and tell their story, sharing a “day in the life” filled with needs assessments, networking, and mission-driven conversations that support the sector.
He welcomes Tracy Mitchell from Bay Street Theater (a Long Island Imagine Awards semi-finalist), spotlighting arts and culture as a powerful community impact space—and emphasizing that you never know when the work of a nonprofit will change a life.
The segment closes by setting up the heart of the episode: Tracy’s background, Bay Street’s programs, and the ultimate nonprofit question—what does the organization need, and how can the community step up to help?
Tommy D plugs Bay Street Theater and then slides into a fun, relatable moment about “Maxxinista” life—before shifting into the real heart of the segment: Tracy Mitchell’s origin story as a lifelong artist who became a producer across commercials, documentaries, feature films, and pioneering special-effects work (including Back to the Future: The Ride).
From there, the conversation becomes a love letter to arts and culture as community impact—how creativity, mentorship, and storytelling create an “infinite ripple effect,” reaching people who may never meet the artist but are still changed by the work.
Tracy ties it back to mission and legacy, describing the privilege of working alongside “American theater royalty” (from founders connected to Julie Andrews to the Schwartz family), while Tommy frames the arts as an access point for learning and transformation—exactly the kind of impact nonprofits strive to create every day.
Tommy D uses his trademark humor and warmth to pull listeners into Bay Street Theater’s world—an intimate 299-seat space where the audience feels “in the show,” and a year-round hub that combines professional mainstage productions (typically 3–4 summer shows, running 8 performances a week) with education, camps, comedy, music, and training.
The conversation then highlights a core nonprofit truth: the arts are for everyone, at every age—Tracy emphasizes you can create from “the time you learn to walk till the day you die,” while Tommy models that “try it now” mindset as he talks improv, performance, and how accessible storytelling has become.
Finally, Tracy connects impact to lived experience: what we’re exposed to early shapes what we love, and shows like Ragtime can feel especially urgent because great art mirrors the moment—setting up the next segment where they’ll dive into youth programming and how Bay Street gets that transformational experience in front of more young people.
Tracy pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to run a professional regional theater nonprofit: Bay Street is producing year-round while assembling creative teams, hiring seasonal production staff, and intentionally investing in new work—because “the next Hamilton” only exists if communities keep giving artists space to build, test, and grow stories over time.
She then spotlights Literature Live, the program she created to guarantee every middle and high school student can experience a live, fully produced professional show tied to what they’re studying (with study guides, optional classroom engagement, and free admission—schools just cover the bus), and she emphasizes how powerful it is when students from different backgrounds watch the same story and walk away with different insights.
The segment ends with a clear nonprofit call-to-action: Bay Street needs volunteers (about 10 per night), donations, and community partners, because ticket sales cover less than the full cost of keeping the mission running—and Tommy D doubles down on amplifying their story so more supporters can step in and help.
00:00:46.360 --> 00:00:53.209 Tommy DiMisa: What up, world? It's your boy Tommy D, the nonprofit sector connector.
00:00:53.210 --> 00:01:17.679 Tommy DiMisa: Feliz Ano Nueve, right? Because I call myself El Nino the Kid, but Feliz Ano Nueve, Happy New Year, gang. It's the 9th, it's the 9th of January. I mean, couple things we gotta point out. I don't know when you're supposed to stop saying Happy New Year, but you all haven't heard my voice in a few weeks, so I get to tell you all Happy New Year. I think we're right at that edge of saying it, I don't know, but I actually celebrated my 48th birthday the other day.
00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:41.699 Tommy DiMisa: January 6th, so this… that's a thing, too, so happy birthday to me. I might even sing to myself later on. I did bring a cake to the office, and I was like, I'm bringing an ice cream cake, we're gonna build a new culture here at the office, and we're all gonna have cake for our birthdays, so I bought an ice cream cake. Shout out to Holiday Farms, you can pick up a Carvell cake for $15.99, just… just shouting out Holiday Farms, in case anybody was wondering, where am I? I am not in my attic, although the song's gonna tell you later on.
00:01:41.860 --> 00:02:00.549 Tommy DiMisa: Join me in the attic, but I'm not in the attic. From the attic to the office, the worldwide headquarters of Vanguard Benefits, you know that's our company. And why Vanguard Benefits? Because employees matter. Where was I this week? Well, I'm going to tell you just yesterday where I was. Yesterday, I shout out to Queens, shout out to Jamaica Queens, where I was actually
00:02:00.550 --> 00:02:16.029 Tommy DiMisa: At the offices of one of our clients. By the way, maybe I didn't say, the show's philanthropy and focused. Your boy's the nonprofit sector connector. We do a bunch of things on the show, but we help nonprofits tell their story and amplify their message. That's one of the most important things, or two of the most important things we do on the show. Yesterday morning, Venture House.
00:02:16.030 --> 00:02:34.089 Tommy DiMisa: Queens Chamber of Commerce, we were doing an assessment for what nonprofits need, so it was a needs assessment, so it was about two dozen nonprofit leaders sitting around, networking, connecting, and doing some brainstorming, which was super fun, and it's always great. Shout out to Dr. Larry Grubler, shout out from TSI NY.
00:02:34.090 --> 00:02:58.990 Tommy DiMisa: Transitional Services for New York, who is the co-chair of that committee with my friend Christine Deska from Nonprofit Sector Strategies, and Sharia Hussain, who runs all the committees at the Queens Chamber of Commerce, and the whole team at Venture House for hosting us. But that was where I started my day in Queens. Then, started a journey out to Long Island, where I was heading out to this concert, and I got on a call with Paul Howard from Sattel Institute, and Jeffrey Abrama was the CEO
00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:13.749 Tommy DiMisa: of the P.D. Green program to talk about P.D. Green and the great work they're doing nationally as it relates to educating folks incarcerated or formerly incarcerated. I'm, like, literally on the expressway. Like, I pulled over and took that meeting on the LIE on my way out to
00:03:13.750 --> 00:03:25.449 Tommy DiMisa: Paws of War, because I had an awesome meeting with the folks at Paws of War yesterday. That's a day in the life of Tommy D, you know, the Director of Strategic Alliances over at Vanguard, but also the one and only non-profit sector.
00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:35.599 Tommy DiMisa: connector. I love that little extra pause. I think the pause is going to be even more elongated in 2026. Tracy Mitchell is here. I called Tracy Mitchell a couple weeks ago, and I was like, Tracy Mitchell.
00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:58.310 Tommy DiMisa: I'm Tommy D. And I said, sometimes that means some things, it depends on the room I'm in, but when I'm in my office, I think it means a lot. So I was like, Tracy, here's the deal. I've been on the committee for the Long Island Imagine Awards for, I don't know, close to 10 years. Vanguard Benefits sponsors the Rising Star Award, and I was like, I gotta tell you something, man. I said, the one category that… I get to read all the applications, and the one category
00:03:58.920 --> 00:04:02.590 Tommy DiMisa: that I want to become more familiar with, and, and really…
00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:08.819 Tommy DiMisa: more well-read on, if you will, or more well-experienced, is the arts and culture category, right? I'm…
00:04:08.920 --> 00:04:27.579 Tommy DiMisa: I love music, I love the arts, I'm on the board of Spirit Huntington Arts Center. I said, but I don't really… I said, when I get to this category every year to read these applications, it is not where I excel. So I said, I am challenging myself, when I called you, I said, I'm challenging myself to… especially shout out to my friend Hilary Needle.
00:04:27.580 --> 00:04:42.830 Tommy DiMisa: who is our event planner for the Long Island Imagine Awards and the New York City Imagine Awards, and I know she digs this category, arts and culture. And I'm like, I want to challenge myself to be more aware of it. So, long short, I called you up. Then, subsequently.
00:04:42.830 --> 00:05:03.470 Tommy DiMisa: your organization, the Bay Street theater, became a semi-finalist in the Long Island Imagine Wars for this year, so shout out to that, super exciting, right? And just yesterday, I was telling you that I'm going to be the one to come out and do your interview. So, you know, a little bit of, like, home cooking, as I like to say. I've said a lot, Tracy Mitchell, good morning, what's going on? How you doing?
00:05:03.470 --> 00:05:20.330 Tracy Mitchell: I'm doing well, it's that… boy, you are good, sir. It's like the trifecta of, you know, meet and greet and getting to know each other. I'm well, thank you. I'm in my office here at the Bay Street theater in Sag Harbor, Long Island.
00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:31.640 Tommy DiMisa: I'm digging the whole background, man. You got a pretty cool office. I love… I mean, like, you know, for you all that are not, like, watching, but are only listening, you have, like, a window that looks like… I don't think it looks outside. Does it go.
00:05:31.640 --> 00:05:48.239 Tracy Mitchell: No, that looks into the theater, so I actually overlooked the stage, some of the seating. I, of course, I need to close the curtain, when something's actually on, but I can watch rehearsals. I… there is no soundproofing, sadly.
00:05:48.470 --> 00:06:05.550 Tracy Mitchell: Because while I love listening to the rehearsals of the professionals, and for, you know, but hearing the kids rehearse maybe for a week long, all day, and I can't… it doesn't matter what I'm doing, they're singing loud, and my, you know, I'll be on…
00:06:05.550 --> 00:06:07.420 Tommy DiMisa: You're trying to run a meeting, you're trying to do, like.
00:06:07.420 --> 00:06:14.399 Tracy Mitchell: meeting on a phone call, and they'll be like, what's that in your background? I'm like, well, we do, we are in the world of theater and entertainment.
00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:34.680 Tommy DiMisa: I love that, and I think that's, you know, listen, it's probably a little distracting, and I know from distracting, shout out to all my other neurodiverse people, hashtag ADHD, but I know a little bit about it, but I know a little bit about that, but I would just be like, so, that's so cool, but I think if you're on with a donor, if you're on with one of your stakeholders, and what they're hearing in the background is the work your organization does.
00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:39.090 Tommy DiMisa: shoot, man, what's cooler than that? Like, and now, again, it is distracting.
00:06:39.090 --> 00:06:45.770 Tommy DiMisa: But at the same time, it's like, that's what we do here. So my… you know, I have two boys, two girls, my younger daughter is a performer.
00:06:45.770 --> 00:07:03.609 Tommy DiMisa: And she's in, I think it's, like, Beetlejuice Jr. right now. So she's, you know, but it's funny because you can hear, so she's 13, so you can hear, like, the quote-unquote drama, and I don't mean the actual drama on stage, but the drama behind, and who's saying this about who, and who's been in the program longer, and it's like.
00:07:03.640 --> 00:07:10.919 Tommy DiMisa: And it's, like, very, you know, it's extra. That's human beings, though, man. We are… we are an interesting species, I say that, for sure, you know?
00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:19.120 Tracy Mitchell: I always say, around here, it doesn't even have to be with kids, it's with adults, too, it's, let's keep the drama on the stage, folks.
00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:35.669 Tommy DiMisa: I love… oh my god, let's keep the drama on the stage. I'm totally gonna borrow that. My sister says I… you have to just borrow it twice, and then it's yours. So I'll give you credit for the first few times. Let's keep the drama on stage, and then… and then you can… I can own it. Apparently, that's true. My little sister told me, so I guess she knows, she's a doctor.
00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:48.140 Tracy Mitchell: then it must be true. But you're right about, going back to, like, being on the phone, and sometimes, you know, sometimes a distraction, but it… what's really good is if I'm in the middle of a really tough day.
00:07:48.240 --> 00:08:12.390 Tracy Mitchell: It is really good to remind myself, this is why we do what we do. You know, to look out and see these kids learning things, and you never know when you're changing a life, both on the stage, the people that are working on there, and the people that are coming in to see… see what we're doing. You never know when you're gonna touch somebody, when something is gonna resonate within your community.
00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:16.740 Tracy Mitchell: And, and that's… that's a big part of why we do what we do.
00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:26.609 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, and it's… it's so interesting, like, we're gonna get into programs about the organization and everything, the impact and stuff like that. It's just what you said there, I think, is so important, like, you know.
00:08:26.610 --> 00:08:42.599 Tommy DiMisa: I find, especially with music… now, my musical taste is very varied. It's very wild, like, all different, but, you know, from hip-hop music that I grew up listening to in the 90s, to obviously the Beatles, I say, obviously, because I don't understand when people don't…
00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:50.000 Tommy DiMisa: like, if you don't listen to… you don't have to love, but I think you should, but if you don't listen to the Beatles and do some work there, but the doors to…
00:08:50.030 --> 00:08:57.979 Tommy DiMisa: I was listening to Bach and Beethoven over the weekend, man, and there's so many things, like, and I like to listen sometimes, even, like.
00:08:58.050 --> 00:09:17.300 Tommy DiMisa: you know, there's, like, some Radiohead songs that… I saw… I brought this up on a show recently. Like, I don't mind being melancholic sometimes. I actually dig that vibe, being kind of, you know, trying out that emotion a little bit, you know? It doesn't have to be, like, every… but then there's, like, there's a group from… from,
00:09:17.300 --> 00:09:31.189 Tommy DiMisa: from South Africa called Deontwart that does this, like, rap rave music, and it's wild, and if I gotta get pumped up for something, it's, like, heavy, I go there. So music has that, but I mean, the arts… I started to tell you before we started the show today.
00:09:31.190 --> 00:09:53.639 Tommy DiMisa: about Hamilton, so I say, I'm gonna tell you a story about Hamilton. So, I absolutely love that show, and I've never seen it in person. I've seen it, like, on Disney+, and I listened to it on… I listened to the whole, like, the entire show, like, on YouTube, right? But my wife was gonna buy tickets, because it was my birthday the other day, and she… so she's, like, all fired up, because she was found, like.
00:09:53.750 --> 00:10:03.099 Tommy DiMisa: tickets for $600. So, this is, like, not a joke on her, it's just because I've been in the… so she was, like, fired up. She was gonna buy the tickets, the whole thing.
00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:24.260 Tommy DiMisa: she didn't realize, because she was probably distracted by doing 3 things at the same time, but the tickets were not $600 for 6 tickets, they were $600 apiece. Per piece. So that's $3,600, so we're not going to see Hamilton, is my point. But I was saying to you, and that's what we call the show, you know, Broadway in the Hamptons, right? So, this is…
00:10:24.260 --> 00:10:30.170 Tommy DiMisa: you know, there's so much art and culture here on our island, right here on Long Island.
00:10:30.170 --> 00:10:51.459 Tommy DiMisa: And, you know, Judy Beck was on the show from, Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame a couple months ago. You know, there's so much here, man, and I… actually, they're… they had this great Billy Joel thing going on, but they just… I think they just have, like, Everybody Loves Raymond set out there, like Ray Romano's thing, so I gotta get out there to check that out. Let's get into your background, though. I mean, I really want to…
00:10:51.460 --> 00:11:10.560 Tracy Mitchell: Before we leave the Hamilton thing, tell your wife, no matter what she does, you should, when you're buying Broadway tickets, little tip for your listeners and viewers, they should always go to the official website. So, it's Hamilton, you type into your Google or whatever, your search.
00:11:10.560 --> 00:11:19.200 Tracy Mitchell: it should be Hamilton Official Site, and make sure you go there, because a lot of times what you're getting is the resellers that come up first.
00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:24.130 Tommy DiMisa: And are always going to be more expensive. Because they're paying for that ad space, right?
00:11:24.130 --> 00:11:24.570 Tracy Mitchell: Correct.
00:11:24.570 --> 00:11:41.020 Tommy DiMisa: And we don't know. I mean, like, recently, I was renting a car, and, like, I had to go pick it up, and I was trying to call them ahead of time, and I googled Hertz, and I think I'm on with Hertz, but I'm, like, 10 minutes into a conversation, and I realized that they wanted me to cancel the reservation and get a new reservation.
00:11:41.020 --> 00:11:41.370 Tracy Mitchell: Congrats.
00:11:41.370 --> 00:11:50.050 Tommy DiMisa: Wait a minute, hold on, that doesn't make sense, because you Google quick, so I love that. So make sure, again, you go to the official website, not just for Hamilton, but anything you want.
00:11:50.050 --> 00:12:06.509 Tracy Mitchell: Any particular show, whether it's Broadway or off-Broadway, you almost always will end up somewhere else if you don't type in the official site, and then you're… then the main part… you want the money to go to the people that are creating the work. You don't want it going to resellers, if you can avoid it.
00:12:06.510 --> 00:12:11.449 Tracy Mitchell: Now, if you really want to see something and you can't get it, then you're gonna have to ante up.
00:12:11.710 --> 00:12:22.130 Tommy DiMisa: Of course, of course. And listen, when we were younger, my nana used to take us to see shows, like, every year for Christmas. It was so cool to… to just see
00:12:22.460 --> 00:12:38.919 Tommy DiMisa: Broadway's a trip, man. And, you know, like, I think as… I'll just say, as men, maybe we're not always inclined to go to see Broadway shows, gang, but, like, it is great seeing Broadway. But, like, one show, and then we gotta get into your story, but one show… I was telling somebody about this yesterday.
00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:48.489 Tommy DiMisa: it's… I've never seen it, but I watched the movie of… so I love this story, and I didn't realize it's a bit of a gory musical, but…
00:12:49.180 --> 00:12:53.779 Tommy DiMisa: I started to watch it with my younger two, and I was like, I can't watch this with them. Sweeney Todd.
00:12:53.780 --> 00:12:55.139 Tracy Mitchell: Anytime, I knew that's where you were.
00:12:55.140 --> 00:12:56.739 Tommy DiMisa: You knew where I was going.
00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:58.740 Tracy Mitchell: We even go over Fleet Street.
00:12:58.740 --> 00:13:21.999 Tommy DiMisa: I love it, I love Mr. Todd. Great show, great show. Johnny Depp and the Tim Burton, Johnny Depp one with Helena Bonham Carter. I love, love, love that show, and I can watch it, but I didn't realize, because I'm an adult, and I was telling a guy at the office yesterday about Sweeney Todd, I was like, I didn't realize there's some really gory stuff. I mean, what the story is, is a kind of a messed up thing, but I still watch it, and the beginning of the story is, like.
00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:24.280 Tommy DiMisa: Blood draining through the streets, and…
00:13:24.280 --> 00:13:29.420 Tommy DiMisa: my kids are like, what's going on? And I go, maybe we shouldn't watch this, let's put on Mary Poppins. Right.
00:13:29.420 --> 00:13:36.869 Tracy Mitchell: Now, Mary… the real Mary Poppins, you know, is a part of Bay Street's history. Did you know that?
00:13:36.870 --> 00:13:41.849 Tommy DiMisa: I… I didn't, but I actually… it's part of my history, I grew up on that, that, like, I'm…
00:13:42.590 --> 00:13:44.170 Tommy DiMisa: 100%, yeah.
00:13:44.170 --> 00:13:44.710 Tracy Mitchell: So…
00:13:44.780 --> 00:13:46.129 Tommy DiMisa: What's the story there?
00:13:46.130 --> 00:13:55.670 Tracy Mitchell: Our theater… well, first of all, Julie Andrews lives here in Sag Harbor, but our theater was founded by 3 people. Julie Andrews' daughter.
00:13:55.780 --> 00:14:03.739 Tracy Mitchell: Emma Walton Hamilton, and her husband, Steve Hamilton, and the third person, whose name
00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:12.590 Tracy Mitchell: You may not know, but it was Sybil Christopher. Sybil has since passed away, but Sybil Christopher was the original Mrs. Richard Burton.
00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:13.990 Tommy DiMisa: I'm kidding.
00:14:14.140 --> 00:14:20.279 Tracy Mitchell: So, our theater was founded by, sort of, Theater royalty, if you will.
00:14:20.300 --> 00:14:39.689 Tracy Mitchell: And, and there's pictures here of Julie Anders, you know, mopping the floor the first night because the theater was, you know, about to open 35 years ago, and she, you know, all of a sudden there was this thunderous downpour, and the lobby flooded.
00:14:39.690 --> 00:14:40.720 Tommy DiMisa: You know…
00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:44.480 Tracy Mitchell: So, and she's still very much involved with the theater.
00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:51.950 Tommy DiMisa: I had no idea. I had no idea, but that's the universe, right? Like, I'm just ranting and raving about stuff, and I get to Mary Poppins, and there we go, but…
00:14:51.950 --> 00:15:09.730 Tommy DiMisa: Wow, I had no clue, no clue. So, we got so many of those anecdotes and stories that you're gonna get into with me. I can't believe this is what I did to myself today. It is the first show back, gang, after a couple weeks off, you know, we took the vacation here at the network, but we're gonna take a break. I can't believe that happened. So, Tracy, here's part of the show.
00:15:09.730 --> 00:15:27.499 Tommy DiMisa: We've run out of time, before we run out of words, just how it's gonna go, so I promise you, even when we're done, we're not done. The show will be over, but you and I gotta talk for hours in the future. So, we're gonna take a break. We come back, I want to jump right into your background. You know, you've been here now at Bay Street now for 19 years.
00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:44.250 Tommy DiMisa: there's a whole story of your background in the arts, right? In film, in all this work, so I want to hear your story. Then we get to Bay Street, then we get to programs, then we always get to, what do you need, man? How can Tommy D help? How can the network help? How can our world help? And that's what it's all about. How's that sound for a show?
00:15:44.410 --> 00:15:45.620 Tracy Mitchell: Sounds good to me.
00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:52.280 Tommy DiMisa: Alright, let's do it. We'll be right back. The one and only, El Nino, the kid, Tommy D, philanthropy, in. Focus, right back.
00:17:32.390 --> 00:17:55.689 Tommy DiMisa: put a line through it, join Tommy in the office. Bay Street theater. Go to BayStreet.org, Bay Street.org. I realized as I was sharing the screen, I shared the wrong theater. Baystreet.org for the Bay Street theater. I got a request. What does it say on your mug, Tommy D? It says, I love taking long, leisurely walks down the aisles of TJ Maxx. I am a Maxinista. If you know, you know, and if you don't know, well, let me tell you.
00:17:55.730 --> 00:18:11.439 Tommy DiMisa: TJ Maxx is a cool store, you can get really good stuff. Don't go there expecting something specific, but you'll go there and find some treats. And the bad thing about it is, if you're like me, you end up buying a lot of things you don't need, especially mugs. Like, there's another mug over here on my desk, this one with the mushrooms on it.
00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:19.480 Tommy DiMisa: I like this one. I've walked out of TJ Maxx. I like cool coffee mugs, and they're only $4.99. They should be a sponsor of the show. Tracy Mitchell, let's get into it. So…
00:18:19.710 --> 00:18:32.869 Tommy DiMisa: You have this really cool story to tell about your background, and then we'll talk about how you get to the role you're in as Executive Director at Bay Street Theory. Let's talk about you and your background, please, tell me.
00:18:33.050 --> 00:18:50.969 Tracy Mitchell: Sure. I started my… people should know I was an artist as a kid. I was a child singer, I was in a group that traveled, etc, etc. I always called it, like a young up with people, but it wasn't a cult, for your listeners, they'll understand.
00:18:50.970 --> 00:18:57.840 Tracy Mitchell: I ended up, getting into the world of, television and film. I was a
00:18:57.860 --> 00:19:09.490 Tracy Mitchell: producer, and so I started off in commercials, went to long format, and eventually ended up in feature films, and then special effects.
00:19:09.610 --> 00:19:22.330 Tracy Mitchell: I, did some documentary work as well, and have always worked with really interesting people, fascinating, stars, as well as people that you might not have heard of.
00:19:22.330 --> 00:19:41.509 Tracy Mitchell: And I ended with special effects, when producing Back to the Future The Ride for Universal Studios in, yeah, in IMAX. So it was the large format, 70 millimeter, and, it was one of the first of its, of its kind.
00:19:41.610 --> 00:19:59.790 Tracy Mitchell: And it was a time when we were learning how to program the movement of flight simulators for entertainment purposes with film. So, it was a really monumental time, back in the late 80s that that took place.
00:19:59.790 --> 00:20:11.630 Tommy DiMisa: So, first of all, one of my favorite movies, Back to the Future, huge Michael J. Fox, love Michael J. Fox, Alex P. Keaton, you know, Family Ties, love that whole thing, you know, and…
00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:19.990 Tommy DiMisa: it, you know, because that was just a great show, because he got his parents, who are these hippies, and, like, he's, like, this young Republican. It was such a trip, man. That was, like…
00:20:19.990 --> 00:20:31.939 Tommy DiMisa: I think that was when we were more civil to people, who had different ideas. All right, Tom, get back to business. But, so, I do… I do love that movie, but I never… my problem with those kind of rides is
00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:33.839 Tommy DiMisa: I get, like, motion sickness, man.
00:20:33.840 --> 00:20:34.799 Tracy Mitchell: So do I.
00:20:34.800 --> 00:20:37.140 Tommy DiMisa: So, could you go on there, or what?
00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:48.110 Tracy Mitchell: So, the funny thing is, is we had in our… we took an old textile factory in Massachusetts, western Massachusetts, and we created a studio out of it.
00:20:48.290 --> 00:20:52.529 Tracy Mitchell: And we actually put in a flight simulator.
00:20:52.710 --> 00:21:07.060 Tracy Mitchell: And because, I do get sick looking at a rocking chair, I literally… they literally used me as kind of the canary in the coal mine. So if Tracy could take it, they knew it was okay for the masses, so I…
00:21:07.060 --> 00:21:16.619 Tommy DiMisa: I can't even tell you. Dude, it kills me, Tracy, because, like, raising four kids, like, my wife and I, it kind of sucks for her, because she… but she likes, like, those kind of rides.
00:21:16.620 --> 00:21:17.620 Tracy Mitchell: Right? Okay.
00:21:17.620 --> 00:21:33.299 Tommy DiMisa: But, like, I like something that's gonna go fast, but if it's gonna make me upside down or dizzy, we got… we got problems. And to the point where, like, let's say you and I were gonna go out, let's have coffee, right? And you're like, Tommy D, you know, why don't we take one car? I'd be like, Tracy, you can't drive. And maybe you would say the same thing.
00:21:33.300 --> 00:21:34.430 Tracy Mitchell: The exact same way, I gotta die.
00:21:34.430 --> 00:21:54.040 Tommy DiMisa: like, it kills my wife, because, like, if we're going out, the six of us, I must drive, not for control, just for the fact that I don't want to get nauseous. Like, that… it's crazy. So, I always bow out, like, we go to Hershey a couple times, like, you know, try to go every year, and there's, like, this one stupid ride, like, it's nothing. It's like a nothing ride.
00:21:54.040 --> 00:22:10.170 Tommy DiMisa: But, like, you just go, like, you're on a little cart, and it goes to the left, and it goes to the right, and you have these, like, laser guns that you're trying to shoot M&Ms, or Reese's Pieces, or something like that. It's like… and I go… I say to my kids, I can't. And it's, like, not scary, it's… I just don't want to ruin the rest of my day.
00:22:10.170 --> 00:22:18.839 Tommy DiMisa: like, being nauseous now, like, that's an old form. So, anyway. So that's universal, so that's… was that… you say that was kind of your last.
00:22:18.850 --> 00:22:38.350 Tracy Mitchell: That was my, sort of, foray. Well, and then I did a, a documentary, a two-hour primetime special for ABC called About Us, The Dignity of Children, and Oprah was my host, and we got nominated for two, Primetime Emmy nominations, which was cool, but…
00:22:38.350 --> 00:22:56.519 Tracy Mitchell: That was a time where we began… began to see that the networks were no longer gonna spend the kind of money on long-format programs. I mean, they used to… we used to spend 3 years creating… 3 or 4 years creating, you know, a 2-hour special, or…
00:22:56.550 --> 00:22:58.609 Tracy Mitchell: You know, it depends on what it is.
00:22:58.610 --> 00:23:02.450 Tommy DiMisa: What was changing? What was the change there? Can you ask about, like, Netflix and streaming?
00:23:02.450 --> 00:23:21.310 Tracy Mitchell: Because we went from film… I'm dating myself now, I'm a little older than you, Tony. But we went from film to tape, and it was a whole new ballgame, you know, and then once that happened, the cost came down. Well, we actually went from 35mm to, 16 millimeter, then to tape.
00:23:21.310 --> 00:23:32.789 Tracy Mitchell: And, this was all pre-digital, right? So once that happened, of course, time periods got shorter, and also the business changed. You know, this…
00:23:32.890 --> 00:23:45.790 Tracy Mitchell: the advent of cable and all that sort of stuff changed everything. So, and it's for the good, because it takes, as we all know, we're all filmmakers now, right? We all have our phones, you know?
00:23:45.790 --> 00:23:49.659 Tommy DiMisa: Listen, it's so true. You just do it, and I say, like, you know, I do…
00:23:49.660 --> 00:24:13.259 Tommy DiMisa: four different shows, like, you know, I'll tell you about them later, but… or I'll tell everybody about them now. Hashtag ending the stigma together, we do in the studio, North Shore TV, talk about ending the stigma around serious and persistent mental illness, and what Tommy D says, general mental health. I do a show called Long Island Changemakers, and then we do a show called The Professionals and Animal Lovers Show. And, gang, the barrier to entry is not very high, and that stuff is more…
00:24:13.260 --> 00:24:19.979 Tommy DiMisa: like, organized, what I… my shows, right? What I'm talking… but you and I could just… I'm gonna come to Bay Street theater, I'm gonna turn my, you know.
00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:29.109 Tommy DiMisa: iPhone around, I'm gonna shoot some videos. Like, that's how… how real this is, right? So it's a game changer. Did you ever imagine that? Like, being somebody who's been in this work?
00:24:29.670 --> 00:24:37.230 Tracy Mitchell: Not in a million years. Like, you know, back in the day when we were shooting feature films, you know, it would take… well, first of all, you weren't…
00:24:37.500 --> 00:24:57.119 Tracy Mitchell: at a computer back then, you know, you were doing things on paper, and all that sort of stuff. So, but, you know, once we got into special effects, that was a whole different world. Once we got into IMAX, you know, 70mm stuff, and curved… curved screen domes, and, you know, it was really,
00:24:57.350 --> 00:25:02.929 Tracy Mitchell: I loved seeing the changeover as we went through the years, and it was… it was great.
00:25:02.930 --> 00:25:05.949 Tommy DiMisa: That's awesome. I wanna… I wanna ask you this. So, I…
00:25:06.060 --> 00:25:07.560 Tommy DiMisa: I don't know if it would…
00:25:07.780 --> 00:25:19.119 Tommy DiMisa: I can't tell if I would be starstruck anymore. Like, I used to think when I was younger that there's people I want… I would meet, and I'd be like, oh my god. So, like, I'll give you an example. So, my brother used to go to this vacation spot.
00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:37.399 Tommy DiMisa: and on the treadmill next to him, there's only ever been four of them in the history of the world, and one of them was on the treadmill next to him, and his name is Sir Paul McCartney. And I was like, that might be the one where I would be humming and humming, humming and not be able to speak, right? It turns out they actually were at
00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:42.740 Tommy DiMisa: they were at dinner a couple of tables away from each other in this same place, right? Later on that week.
00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:55.069 Tommy DiMisa: Is there or was there anybody for you that, like, when you met them… I mean, you just mentioned Oprah. That's a pretty big one. That's a pretty big name. Now, did you get to interact with folks? I mean, we're, like, on a…
00:25:55.070 --> 00:26:12.029 Tracy Mitchell: Sometimes I do beyond just the shoot, and sometimes, you know, and sometimes I end up having a nice friendship with them. You know, there are people that I've worked with here, at Bay Street even, that I see many times. Julie Andrews is one of them, and she.
00:26:12.030 --> 00:26:12.540 Tommy DiMisa: I would say.
00:26:12.540 --> 00:26:17.569 Tracy Mitchell: You know, I'm a kid… a kid from a small town in Ohio.
00:26:17.910 --> 00:26:29.170 Tracy Mitchell: play her. She was my first role in my third grade, version of Mary Poppins, you know, that kind of stuff. So, I don't get starstruck, but there are people that
00:26:29.370 --> 00:26:48.889 Tracy Mitchell: when I meet them, I just… it's someone that I've so admire for their talent, and… and when they're really nice people on top of it, you know, like Steven Schwartz, he wrote little things like Pippin, Wicked, Godspell, you know, and just the talent.
00:26:49.070 --> 00:27:02.480 Tracy Mitchell: in his mind that he puts out into the world, I mean, think about all those… even just those three shows, and the number of songs that go into that. I mean, you know, Godspell…
00:27:02.560 --> 00:27:11.110 Tracy Mitchell: alone has probably 12 hits that, you know, you can sing off the top of your head, if you've seen the show. So, it's,
00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:19.180 Tracy Mitchell: That, to me, is the part that is so exciting when you meet somebody. It's like, where does all that
00:27:19.390 --> 00:27:21.609 Tracy Mitchell: Where'd just come from?
00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:22.810 Tommy DiMisa: Awesome.
00:27:22.810 --> 00:27:23.190 Tracy Mitchell: Yeah.
00:27:23.190 --> 00:27:37.570 Tommy DiMisa: That's so cool. Like, I wonder, like, if, you know, I talk a lot about, like, the ripple effect and things like that, and, you know, how we all… I believe that ripple effect is really infinite, because we just, when we connect with people, things happen. But, you know, like, you mentioned Steven Schwartz, like.
00:27:38.550 --> 00:28:00.209 Tommy DiMisa: people around the world will never meet him, who'll never have any connection, are impacted by the work these people are doing. And I mentioned earlier the Beatles, and I mentioned how, you know, music in general can change our mood, and I used to laugh because the Tasmanian Devil cartoon, it used to say, like, Taz would be losing his mind, and they'd be like, music soothes, this is the savage beast. And it would be… they'd play some tunes, and all of a sudden, Taz is chilling out.
00:28:00.210 --> 00:28:05.430 Tommy DiMisa: But it is music and all art, for that matter, but music impacts us, man, and…
00:28:05.840 --> 00:28:19.089 Tommy DiMisa: you know, like I say, people that you'll never… like, you'll never interact with the creator, but it all came from the creator's mind, and you know, and I've even heard, like, a lot of this stuff, and…
00:28:19.550 --> 00:28:31.409 Tommy DiMisa: I guess this goes to, like, where somebody's belief set is, religion, or spirituality, or whatever, but, like, things, like, come to us. Like, you know, a lot of folks, and, you know, I'm not gonna speak for anybody, but I've heard, like.
00:28:31.550 --> 00:28:45.760 Tommy DiMisa: like, through meditation, through connection, through the universe, through God, whatever, some kind of divinity, and I believe we all have divinity inside of us, and that's a whole other story, but that there's that connection, and all that comes from… comes through us, and we become, like.
00:28:45.870 --> 00:28:50.250 Tommy DiMisa: I don't know, the vessel for bringing that across? Like, you know, have you heard some of that? What do you think?
00:28:50.250 --> 00:28:57.740 Tracy Mitchell: Absolutely. I do think that, you know, certain people… well, I'll just say this, you know,
00:28:57.810 --> 00:29:04.369 Tracy Mitchell: the talents, even within the gene pool, you know, may vary, right? So.
00:29:04.370 --> 00:29:18.430 Tracy Mitchell: I mentioned Steven Schwartz. Well, Scott Schwartz is my partner here at Bay Street theater, his son. So Scott is an incredible director, and he's our artistic director as well. So, you know, the… it just…
00:29:18.780 --> 00:29:29.939 Tracy Mitchell: It's a wonderful, incredible privilege for me, to be working with, these top families, and to start with
00:29:30.490 --> 00:29:48.819 Tracy Mitchell: someone like, you know, the people that I mentioned as our founders, and then go on to the current, most profound, I think, along with Lin-Manuel, Miranda, you have the next generation of
00:29:48.860 --> 00:29:55.900 Tracy Mitchell: theater makers, and it is theater royalty. It's the American theater royalty.
00:29:55.900 --> 00:30:13.969 Tommy DiMisa: I love that. And I gotta say something, too. We're gonna take a break real quick, and then we're gonna come back, we're gonna really get into Bay Street theater, and what goes on there, the history, and really the programming. I can't wait… I mean, I can wait, because I have to wait, but I'm coming out to see a show, like, super, like, as soon as we can. The thing… you're not gonna do a tour, we're gonna do a whole thing.
00:30:13.970 --> 00:30:16.070 Tommy DiMisa: But, it was,
00:30:16.070 --> 00:30:34.520 Tommy DiMisa: I've totally lost my train of thought, but it'll come back to me. But it's just like… I know what it was. I was watching a YouTube… I love YouTube, by the way. I was watching a YouTube video about the author of the actual Hamilton book, when Lin-Manuel Miranda reached out to him and said, look, I read your book, I'm just, like, jazzed, and I'm gonna make
00:30:34.520 --> 00:30:41.959 Tommy DiMisa: you know, a rap show. Like, I think the term he used was, like, hip-hop, and this guy's an older man, and he doesn't…
00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:55.799 Tommy DiMisa: didn't know from hip-hop, and it was just very, very funny to, like, hear that. And again, you wrote this book, and this, you know, talking about a historical book. It's in an era 250 years ago, or whatever, and, like.
00:30:55.800 --> 00:31:06.309 Tommy DiMisa: this young guy comes up to you and is gonna say, like, we're gonna make this into a hip-hop show. I mean, first of all, I love the show. We sing it at my house all the time, talking about great songs, it is so awesome. Yeah. But, anyway, it's just so…
00:31:06.310 --> 00:31:09.219 Tracy Mitchell: Would you have invested in that idea? Probably not.
00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:17.599 Tommy DiMisa: I don't know, man. I don't know. I mean, you know, look, I can't tell you because I only know that it was definitely a winner. Now, we know that, right?
00:31:17.600 --> 00:31:17.940 Tracy Mitchell: Right.
00:31:18.230 --> 00:31:23.520 Tommy DiMisa: But, you know, like, it's… what? And how much history did it bring to, you know.
00:31:23.560 --> 00:31:42.519 Tommy DiMisa: different… like, you know, you think about it, so I have four kids who are in school, and sometimes they go, I don't want to go to school, or they're not enthusiastic about certain things, but, like, for the… now, I know there's talk that some of the… there's some inaccuracies and things that are not exactly right on in the show, whatever, a little poetic license, right? Fair enough.
00:31:42.670 --> 00:31:45.080 Tommy DiMisa: But, like, just the fact that
00:31:45.080 --> 00:32:08.779 Tommy DiMisa: I mean, I personally would, and have gone and done some research because I've listened to the show so many times, so I want to go check out what is right on and what's not. So that, to me, is just another foray into, let me go learn, man, and we can learn through these vehicles to… and if that exposes somebody to something, and we'll talk about Literature Live in a minute when we come back, because, like.
00:32:08.800 --> 00:32:19.549 Tommy DiMisa: that exposure point for people, that's a game changer. So, arts and culture is super important. Again, we're gonna take a break. Philanthropy and focus. Tracy Mitchell, Executive Director of the Bay Street theater, is here.
00:32:19.770 --> 00:32:20.960 Tommy DiMisa: I'm out of breath.
00:32:21.600 --> 00:32:23.090 Tommy DiMisa: Back, eat back.
00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:31.810 Tommy DiMisa: VP of Business Development at the Queens Chamber of Commerce, lead singer of Damaged Goods, who was singing that tune. It was, as I always say, it was a Lennon and McCartney type of thing. We wrote the lyrics together, but he was the one who laid it down and sang or sung the song. He singed it. I'm not sure if it was sang or sung, but he had done it in the past, so that's what I'm trying to say to you all.
00:34:31.810 --> 00:34:45.939 Tommy DiMisa: And, you know, it might be time to rehash that song, I've been saying it, I think it needs a reggae vibe to it, and we gotta mention that Tommy's not always in the attic anymore, they let me out, I'm on a work release program, they released me from the attic so I can go to work.
00:34:46.170 --> 00:34:56.829 Tommy DiMisa: And we… I was showing this really cool… on the website, baitstreet.org, this virtual tour. By the way, I mean, this is not a big theater, like, you are right on top of the show.
00:34:56.830 --> 00:35:00.649 Tracy Mitchell: Yeah, that's why we say it's intimate, close, and…
00:35:00.930 --> 00:35:07.120 Tracy Mitchell: And really, you are in the show. It's 299 seats.
00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:09.110 Tommy DiMisa: And.
00:35:09.110 --> 00:35:13.800 Tracy Mitchell: we put some… you were showing the set of My Fair Lady, I believe?
00:35:13.800 --> 00:35:14.470 Tommy DiMisa: Yes.
00:35:14.470 --> 00:35:20.600 Tracy Mitchell: And, we do some incredible things in a small space.
00:35:20.850 --> 00:35:30.109 Tommy DiMisa: And it's so cool, yeah. Again, gang, website, baystreet.org, Bay Street.org. So, how many shows
00:35:30.390 --> 00:35:49.549 Tommy DiMisa: I… before… let's just… I wanna… I wanna answer that first. Like, how many shows a year are put on? And when I say that, let me just be, like, real clear, like, proper, like, shows, like, not… not school-related stuff, because we'll get into that, but, like, you know, do we do 4 a year, 3 a year? What's that look like?
00:35:49.790 --> 00:35:56.050 Tracy Mitchell: So, first of all, let me be clear, Bay Street's open year-round, so, we are…
00:35:56.160 --> 00:36:08.000 Tracy Mitchell: first and foremost, a professional regional theater, which means we use all of the same folks that are on Broadway, all the same design teams, lighting, costume, all of that.
00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:24.610 Tracy Mitchell: And to specifically answer your question, our main stage, when we do the primary producing of either new shows or reimagining of classics or musicals, those are done in the summertime. So usually there's 3 or 4
00:36:24.660 --> 00:36:28.909 Tracy Mitchell: Shows, and they may run… they run 8 shows a week.
00:36:29.070 --> 00:36:34.250 Tracy Mitchell: So 8 performances a week of that show for either 3, 4, or 5 weeks.
00:36:34.470 --> 00:36:41.980 Tracy Mitchell: Once in a while, there'll be a one-week run of something, if it's a special, like, with Mike Birbiglia, or something like that.
00:36:42.040 --> 00:36:57.450 Tracy Mitchell: And then the rest of the time, we also have theater throughout the year. We have education, we have music, performances, comedy, training, camps, etc. So, it's busy here year-round.
00:36:57.450 --> 00:37:13.969 Tommy DiMisa: I love that. So, if you say education, I want to get into the education of our youth and things like that, but, you know, I've been really… there's this school in Forest Hills, and I don't even know them, but it's called FoHai Improv.
00:37:13.970 --> 00:37:18.319 Tommy DiMisa: So, like, like, as in Forest Hill, F-O-H-I, Queens.
00:37:18.390 --> 00:37:22.539 Tommy DiMisa: So, we want to go take some improv classes. So, I'm thinking…
00:37:22.540 --> 00:37:23.589 Tracy Mitchell: We have them.
00:37:23.590 --> 00:37:46.300 Tommy DiMisa: So, good. So let's go there right now, because I've been thinking about it, and yes, I'm a bit of a performer, no training other than just being alive for 48 years. But, like, you know, I think… so the only show I ever did, Tracy, and I was gonna call you Tracy Mitchell, because sometimes I like first and last names together, so the only show I ever did, Tracy Mitchell, was… I was in the sixth grade
00:37:46.450 --> 00:37:57.450 Tommy DiMisa: play, I guess it was really a musical. It was… and that is… it was The Wizard of Oz at the Washington Street School in Franklin Square, where I grew up. I was the Tin Man.
00:37:57.610 --> 00:38:06.999 Tommy DiMisa: And I thought I did very well, but it was like, for whatever reason in my life, I never did anything ever again. And it was just, you know.
00:38:07.310 --> 00:38:15.879 Tommy DiMisa: I went to Chaminade High School, and I didn't get involved in any sort of, like, plays or musicals or whatever, just because I didn't. Do I…
00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:36.110 Tommy DiMisa: I don't regret things in life. I try to go, well, it's all good, you didn't do it, so let's try stuff now. So my point is, I fancy myself a bit of a performer. Sometimes I just break out into song, and I don't know if it's any good, because from where my ears are placed, it sounds good. So I don't know what the rest of the world thinks about it, but when I sing, I think I sing pretty well.
00:38:36.110 --> 00:38:40.949 Tommy DiMisa: So, I don't know, guys, check it out on the internet, let me know, give me some feedback.
00:38:40.950 --> 00:38:56.750 Tracy Mitchell: The good thing, I was just gonna say, the good thing is that, you know, with the arts, that's the best thing. You can do it from the time you learn to walk till the day you die, and whether it's acting or singing or improv, or comedy, whatever it might be, you can always do it.
00:38:56.980 --> 00:39:09.500 Tommy DiMisa: Love that, and as long as you can get up and speak and move around, you can do stuff, I love that, you know? And you don't even have to get up and… you just, as long as you've got breath in your lungs, man, you can do stuff. You know, it's funny, like.
00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:12.040 Tommy DiMisa: one… I'll tell you just one quick story, like.
00:39:13.010 --> 00:39:18.409 Tommy DiMisa: I tell you about, like, I don't know if this is the right word, eclectic, but varied interests of my musical interests.
00:39:18.420 --> 00:39:29.040 Tommy DiMisa: Dude, I was out in, we were flying out to Hawaii when I worked with ADP many years ago for President's Club. We stayed over for 2 days in California.
00:39:29.040 --> 00:39:46.260 Tommy DiMisa: And we drove out to the desert to a, the place, I don't even know if it's around anymore, it was called Palla Casino, P-A-L-A. Tony Bennett was performing outside. Now I'm, like, at the time, like, 25 years, 26 years old, right? And my girlfriend, who's now my wife.
00:39:46.310 --> 00:40:00.990 Tommy DiMisa: And I and a couple other couples, we're hanging out out there, and we're dancing, like, in the… it's outside at this resort. It was so freaking cool. I mean, the crooners, man, like, these guys, like the Rat Pack, you know, like Sinatra, and Dino, and…
00:40:00.990 --> 00:40:04.319 Tracy Mitchell: I had a dog named Sinatra, that's how much I love that music.
00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:16.109 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, my God. I mean, like, you know, that big band era, you know, where Frank's got the whole band behind him, and he's being all with the people, and, like, I, like, got some swag. I love all that stuff.
00:40:16.110 --> 00:40:26.439 Tracy Mitchell: If you love that, and your wife can't take you to Hamilton, then go see Just In Time, starring Jonathan Groff, that's on Broadway right now. He'll be in it until, like, mid-March.
00:40:26.440 --> 00:40:26.760 Tommy DiMisa: Wow.
00:40:26.760 --> 00:40:32.159 Tracy Mitchell: See it with him. It's… it's that kind of music and that kind of…
00:40:32.160 --> 00:40:39.650 Tommy DiMisa: I love that, I love that. You know what was a great show, by the way, too, and we gotta get back to your story, but what was a great show was when I first saw Jersey Boys.
00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:49.220 Tommy DiMisa: I absolutely love that show. That was… and that was a hard ticket to get. Like, so much was a hard ticket to get that I went with my…
00:40:49.220 --> 00:41:07.179 Tommy DiMisa: my siblings and my parents, my wife was there, so I'm guessing it was, like, an era of, like, maybe my brother had a girl there, I don't remember who was… who was with who at the time, but we were in the front row. Like, front, front row. Now, that always… that sounds like a good thing in some cities. Not always a great thing at Broadway, because you're, like, staring up, so it wasn't the best, but…
00:41:07.180 --> 00:41:10.210 Tommy DiMisa: But it was just such a great show to see, man, so…
00:41:10.210 --> 00:41:11.230 Tracy Mitchell: Everyone loves that show.
00:41:11.230 --> 00:41:24.140 Tommy DiMisa: Do you have… can you say, just, like, in your experience, and whether it be Bay Street or… or just all the things, like, this… I'm gonna use this word, which is, like, a crazy word to use, but do you have, like, a favorite show or something that…
00:41:24.140 --> 00:41:34.809 Tommy DiMisa: And I have a second follow-up question to that, which you can think about, which is, do you remember the first concert you ever went to? So you pick which one you want, like, favorite or first, and you can do both, but it's…
00:41:35.700 --> 00:41:53.429 Tracy Mitchell: I do not remember the very first concert, but I do, I do know that the way I got started in that whole realm of singing was that I just heard all of these classic albums.
00:41:53.430 --> 00:41:55.750 Tracy Mitchell: Oklahoma, Camelot.
00:41:55.750 --> 00:42:19.999 Tracy Mitchell: you know, carousel. And they used to be on our stereo, and they would drop… there would be 8… a stack of 8 records, right? And one… they would drop down one at a time, and you know, you'd hear the whole album, and then another one. And we used to play those over and over, because my parents weren't wealthy, didn't have a lot of albums. We'd heard the same shows, you knew every word to every…
00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:30.289 Tracy Mitchell: every show. So, those are some of the ones that stick in my head as the first things that I heard, and I think that that plays a huge part in what you end up…
00:42:30.300 --> 00:42:43.420 Tracy Mitchell: really liking or not liking. It doesn't mean you stay only in that genre, but because of that, and because of the songs of Sinatra in the 1950s, those kinds of things that they also played,
00:42:43.440 --> 00:42:57.639 Tracy Mitchell: I think that was at the core of what I first learned and heard and fell in love with, and then kind of branched out. Like you, I mean, I like all different kinds of music, and I studied classical as well as, you know, Broadway, but…
00:42:57.710 --> 00:43:05.389 Tracy Mitchell: Yeah, that… and in terms of favorite shows, people ask me that, and it's very difficult. It's like.
00:43:05.480 --> 00:43:16.779 Tracy Mitchell: favorite shows on Broadway right now, you know, in terms of musicals, would be Justin Time, it would be Hamilton, it would be Wicked, it would be, you know, so…
00:43:16.780 --> 00:43:34.229 Tracy Mitchell: And I've seen the classics, you know, for kids, Lion King, you know, it depends on what you're looking for, right? Who you're bringing to the theater, what they've seen before, or whether you're looking for a straight play or drama, you know.
00:43:34.230 --> 00:43:41.290 Tracy Mitchell: So there's a lot to pick one from. In terms of at Bay Street, we've done versions of
00:43:41.340 --> 00:43:53.070 Tracy Mitchell: Aveda, Ragtime, and by the way, Ragtime, I think, is one of my favorite, shows, because it's… it's very… the music is beautiful.
00:43:53.070 --> 00:44:04.340 Tracy Mitchell: Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens wrote it, and they used to live here in Sag Harbor. They used to be very involved in the theater when they, when they were here.
00:44:04.340 --> 00:44:13.090 Tracy Mitchell: And, so it holds a deep place in my heart. I think it tells an amazing story that is so prescient right now.
00:44:13.150 --> 00:44:15.759 Tracy Mitchell: So that's another thing, it's like, what time, you know…
00:44:15.760 --> 00:44:28.930 Tommy DiMisa: How is this, like, how's this relating to things that are going on in life? Like, that's where… because that resonates, right? Art and life, life and art, right? So that's where… I love that. So I gotta check out RedCon now, which I've never seen. Oh my god.
00:44:29.310 --> 00:44:30.280 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.
00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:31.430 Tracy Mitchell: David Center right now, and it's.
00:44:31.430 --> 00:44:32.330 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, it is?
00:44:32.330 --> 00:44:48.659 Tracy Mitchell: Absolutely spectacular, and I think that, for me, the guy that is the lead in it right now is one of the most… Josh Henry. I think he's one of the most talented people on Broadway right now. He's just… he just is…
00:44:49.280 --> 00:45:08.909 Tommy DiMisa: Take a quick break. When we come back, I really want to get into programming, and what goes on at Bay Street, what that experience feels like, you know, as it relates to youth, and really getting this in front of so many young people, and all the programming. We'll get into that, and what's upcoming, and things like that. Believe it or not, this show goes so fast. My first concert, since I know people are wondering, Debbie Gibson.
00:45:09.610 --> 00:45:29.520 Tommy DiMisa: City Music, pretty sure it was 84 or 85. I was born in 78, my uncle buddy got tickets and took my two cousins, my cousin Vinnie, my cousin Mickey, and me, and we went to see Debbie Gibson. Now goes by Deborah, I believe, but she used to be called Little Debbie Gibson. Alright, we'll be right back. She's from Long Island, by the way, gang. Right back.
00:45:29.540 --> 00:45:30.920 Tommy DiMisa: philanthropy and.
00:47:04.170 --> 00:47:17.460 Tommy DiMisa: is a game show host, so this is the lightning round! So, I always wanted to be a game show host, and sometimes in my life, I feel like I am a game show host, but I actually have this idea for a game show. It's, I don't… it doesn't really have a title, but it's like…
00:47:17.460 --> 00:47:35.040 Tommy DiMisa: it's kind of like that show Double Dare that used to be on Nickelodeon, except instead of kids or families, it's non-profit leaders. So it's… you take, like, a team of, like, 3 executive directors from a nonprofit against another… you pit them against another team, and then, like, I'm the host, and I ask them, like, questions.
00:47:35.060 --> 00:47:39.860 Tommy DiMisa: Like, maybe they're, like, fun questions or zany questions, and then they have to do, like, tricks.
00:47:39.870 --> 00:47:57.139 Tommy DiMisa: like, I don't know what that's gonna be yet, but gang, if you want to work with me on that, it's… I would be the host, and I would need, like, a creative partner who would just be like, alright, Tommy, that's insane, we'll do that much, we can't do all of that, but some stuff. Anyway, it's called, it doesn't have a title, it's called,
00:47:57.230 --> 00:48:06.399 Tommy DiMisa: the non-profit showdown with Tommy D. Just made that up. Tracy Mitchell, what goes on at this organization? Maybe you could be one of the first contestants on that show, bud.
00:48:06.400 --> 00:48:10.260 Tracy Mitchell: I freeze up the minute someone says, like.
00:48:10.620 --> 00:48:13.179 Tracy Mitchell: you know, competition. That's not my.
00:48:13.180 --> 00:48:24.859 Tommy DiMisa: Well, we could do it… maybe we could do it on the stage. Maybe that's what… stop, Tommy. Stop asking for things. You're supposed to give first. Okay, Tracy, tell me what is going on, what… talk about programming, what goes on out there, please.
00:48:25.080 --> 00:48:41.009 Tracy Mitchell: So, sure, we are in the middle right now of, as you can imagine, prepping for that summer… that busy summer season. While we still have things happening on the stage, there's music every weekend. Right now, it's Nancy Atlas, from the East End with special guests.
00:48:41.010 --> 00:48:50.160 Tracy Mitchell: We also have a Motown band coming up, we have comedy, but right now, if you ask, what am I working on? I am busy…
00:48:50.160 --> 00:48:54.729 Tracy Mitchell: Booking in some fabulous, singers.
00:48:54.740 --> 00:49:11.789 Tracy Mitchell: for… like I said, we have those shows, there are 8 performances a week. The only night they get off is Monday night, which the cast gets off on Monday nights, which means that's the one night I can put in some specialty singers or specialty comedy, so that's what I'm in the middle of doing right now.
00:49:11.790 --> 00:49:15.280 Tracy Mitchell: We look at Broadway stars from across,
00:49:15.280 --> 00:49:30.550 Tracy Mitchell: all kind of genres, but a lot of Broadway. And so we're prepping, we're getting… we're booking, we have, directors, and then they have to pick their creative teams, like, as I was saying, the
00:49:30.910 --> 00:49:45.009 Tracy Mitchell: lighting designer, the set designer, sound, projection designers, costume, all that sort of thing. And so those folks are being hired now. The production side is busy getting
00:49:45.110 --> 00:49:59.820 Tracy Mitchell: 22 people in that are hired just for summer to actually run the shows, build the sets, you know, everything is from scratch. This isn't a place where we're taking a show that's already
00:49:59.820 --> 00:50:17.420 Tracy Mitchell: been done and taking it in and presenting it. No, we are producers, which means you start from scratch, you have a new idea for something that's been, been done before, or you're producing new work. And I'm very excited that we always produce new work, because
00:50:17.420 --> 00:50:33.759 Tracy Mitchell: Even though it's very difficult, because people don't know the title, they haven't heard of it before, right? So unless you have a star in it, it's often hard to sell it, but you're trying to find the next and allow artists to create, the next great story.
00:50:33.860 --> 00:50:45.650 Tracy Mitchell: And what's going to work, for the future. How are you going to find that next Hamilton if you don't reach out and produce new work? So that's what regional theaters are about.
00:50:45.860 --> 00:50:46.370 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.
00:50:46.370 --> 00:50:47.390 Tracy Mitchell: First and foremost.
00:50:47.390 --> 00:50:54.950 Tommy DiMisa: Give that opportunity to folks to kind of cut their teeth and see what they got, and if they got something there, and let them play, right?
00:50:55.210 --> 00:51:09.739 Tracy Mitchell: And that's how people, you know, you don't just come to Broadway and do a show. Oftentimes, musicals take, a minimum of 10 years, is sort of the average of what it takes to get a musical, really, to Broadway.
00:51:09.740 --> 00:51:18.959 Tracy Mitchell: But straight shows take a lot of work, too. You may come together for our New Works Festival, we actually allow artists to come together, we take all…
00:51:19.260 --> 00:51:31.209 Tracy Mitchell: first of all, we have, submissions. We had to cut it off because after the first year, we didn't have a cutoff, and within 24 hours, we had over 600 scripts.
00:51:31.210 --> 00:51:31.740 Tommy DiMisa: Oh my god.
00:51:31.740 --> 00:51:33.619 Tracy Mitchell: So, it tells you the kind of…
00:51:33.620 --> 00:51:37.150 Tommy DiMisa: That's exciting, but not manageable, right? Correct.
00:51:37.150 --> 00:51:39.800 Tracy Mitchell: So now we only accept… I don't know what it is.
00:51:39.810 --> 00:51:41.410 Tracy Mitchell: 200 or something.
00:51:41.410 --> 00:52:01.739 Tracy Mitchell: But, it's an opportunity for people that aren't represented yet by agents or anything like that. They actually can submit a script, and then the ones that are chosen, we actually provide them with a professional cast, professional director, and they get to work on the show, hear it, and they hear it out loud with an audience. That's…
00:52:01.740 --> 00:52:03.020 Tracy Mitchell: The, the other part…
00:52:03.020 --> 00:52:13.649 Tommy DiMisa: it's one, right? It's one thing to what my imagination was, right? It's another thing to get it on a stage, and then it's, what the heck do people think of it? Like, right? Like, that's a big part of it.
00:52:13.650 --> 00:52:29.749 Tracy Mitchell: That's exactly right. So we have a Q&A afterwards with the director, with the writer, and with the audience. So, the audience might say, hey, I didn't understand what happened here, and then the writer realizes, oh gosh, yeah, I never explained that, or whatever.
00:52:29.750 --> 00:52:39.820 Tommy DiMisa: It makes sense to him or her in their mind, but, like, because they know the whole thing. Like, if you know the whole story, and you leave out something, it's not… it needs to be filled in. Yeah, I love that.
00:52:39.820 --> 00:53:04.569 Tracy Mitchell: Or oftentimes you can see when an audience kind of dips, and you lose their intent… their attention, and they're, like, kind of sitting back in their chair, they're not… they're not leaning in, right? So you find where the rhythm is, and how to redo that. So, those are the kinds of things we do, and I was saying I was proud of the fact that we're starting our summer with a show that we discovered and worked on in our new works festival.
00:53:04.740 --> 00:53:12.279 Tracy Mitchell: So, we haven't announced our season yet, but I can tell you that that new… we have two new works.
00:53:12.520 --> 00:53:24.009 Tracy Mitchell: and two musicals that we're gonna be doing. And I don't think in the history of Bay Street that we've ever done two musicals in the course of a summer, so that's a really big deal.
00:53:24.010 --> 00:53:43.589 Tommy DiMisa: That's super exciting. Well, I think what we'll have to do is we'll have to figure out when you and I can talk about that as we get closer to the summer, when you're ready to announce, I'd be happy to come out and, you know, do some stuff just to, you know, help promote, because that's a big part of what I'm about. Plus, I'm on this new campaign called Tommy D, Takes Some Time to Learn About the Arts. That means… that working title needs some help.
00:53:43.590 --> 00:53:45.090 Tommy DiMisa: But, but we…
00:53:45.940 --> 00:54:03.579 Tommy DiMisa: Like, I'm on a campaign, man, I want to learn different things. You know, gang, as long as there's breath in my lungs, as I said earlier, we can learn stuff, we can do cool stuff. Let's talk about Literature Live, because I know that's an important component of what you all are up to. I'll share it on the website while you're talking about it, but I want… can we hit that a little bit?
00:54:03.580 --> 00:54:23.530 Tracy Mitchell: Sure, sure. Literature Live was a program that I started when, within a year of arriving at Bay Street, because I saw that my own daughter was only getting less than two classes in the theater each year. And I said, this is not good, because…
00:54:23.530 --> 00:54:24.430 Tracy Mitchell: how…
00:54:24.430 --> 00:54:37.239 Tracy Mitchell: How do you know what you love or don't love, whether it's music or theater or painting, drawing, unless you try it, unless you are exposed to it?
00:54:37.240 --> 00:54:40.130 Tommy DiMisa: exposure, right? We gotta be exposed to things, man.
00:54:40.130 --> 00:54:46.300 Tracy Mitchell: So my goal from that moment on was to ensure that
00:54:46.310 --> 00:55:00.429 Tracy Mitchell: Any student in middle school or high school, the goal would be to have them see a live professional show by the time they've graduated, and that we would provide that access. So, Literature Live is about taking
00:55:00.430 --> 00:55:12.660 Tracy Mitchell: a play or a story that's been covered in the curriculum. So we take books like, Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird,
00:55:12.720 --> 00:55:24.109 Tracy Mitchell: oh god, I'm blanking. We did, this year, Fahrenheit 451. So, all of those kinds of shows, and create a 90-minute play from them, if it… Right.
00:55:24.110 --> 00:55:32.780 Tommy DiMisa: connected to the work they're doing in the classroom, right? So this is, like, they're doing the work, they're reading it, and then this is, like, let's look at it through a different lens.
00:55:32.780 --> 00:55:38.799 Tracy Mitchell: Yes, so we take that, we create a 90-minute version of it, specifically for schools.
00:55:38.920 --> 00:55:51.639 Tracy Mitchell: All the school has to do is get themselves here. They just need to get that bus. We produce the show, they're coming for free. It's… everything that we do is with all the same
00:55:51.640 --> 00:56:01.169 Tracy Mitchell: kind of professional actors, same kind of… it's full-on, it's not sort of what I call, you know, four guys in a van kind of show.
00:56:01.170 --> 00:56:07.290 Tommy DiMisa: But it's not watered down. This is the same quality clothes that you're gonna see on a Friday night, Saturday night, right?
00:56:07.290 --> 00:56:11.980 Tracy Mitchell: Yep, full set, full lighting, full costumes, full everything.
00:56:11.980 --> 00:56:29.480 Tracy Mitchell: They come in, they will have already… the teachers will have already received a, study guide, so if there are ideas they want to talk about, we will also go into the classroom ahead of time if they're interested in that. And then they come see the show, and most importantly, Tommy D, is the…
00:56:29.480 --> 00:56:50.529 Tracy Mitchell: interaction, because there's different schools in there at the same time, and those schools are from different economic backgrounds. You'd be amazed, well, you know, across Long Island, this… what we have, and it's really incredible to hear what… we've all heard the… watched the same show, but we take away very different things.
00:56:50.530 --> 00:57:08.970 Tommy DiMisa: Because we bring so much to it. We bring our own backgrounds, and our own history and our own story to that, and we see it, and then, you know, if one young person says, wow, but I didn't even… I didn't even realize that. And then, what have we created? We've created a connection, community, which is, when you are the nonprofit sector connector, that's what the thing is all about.
00:57:08.970 --> 00:57:30.640 Tommy DiMisa: creating connection. I am just thrilled that we did this today. I'm thrilled that I reached out to you, because I was like, we gotta talk. This is so cool. I know there's so much more for you to tell. I'm gonna just tell them the website is Bay Street.org. Anything specific you need before we go that, like, maybe people who are listening can either help out?
00:57:31.600 --> 00:57:48.569 Tracy Mitchell: Yeah, I mean, look, we take any kind of support, help, volunteers. Our volunteers are sort of the backbone of what happens. We need 10 per night, you know, they can watch the show, etc. We always need them. We always need, funding, because
00:57:48.570 --> 00:57:54.570 Tracy Mitchell: As everyone knows, less than half of your Ticket price pays to run
00:57:54.590 --> 00:58:01.099 Tracy Mitchell: the entire place. So, we need, donations and investment in our work.
00:58:01.100 --> 00:58:24.629 Tommy DiMisa: Constructors, partners, all that type of stuff. So, you and I are gonna do a thing. I'll probably bring a videographer, and with your permission, we'll do a tour together, and we'll make something happen, because I want to continue to help tell in this story. I'm jazzed to have met you. We gotta leave it there, because we're out of time, which is part of the show. Tracy Mitchell, so cool to meet you. Gang, the website is Bay Street.org. Your boy is the nonprofit sector connector, and as I tell you all the time, this has been another in
00:58:24.630 --> 00:58:28.750 Tommy DiMisa: Focus Production. Make it a great day, gang. Love you all. See you next Friday. Bye.
00:58:28.750 --> 00:58:29.290 Tommy DiMisa: parts.
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