Bay Street Theatre Interns Take On Complicated and Intense Drama

A pathologist steals the brain of Albert Einstein. A neuropsychologist embarks on her first romance with another woman. A seizure patient forgets everything except how much he loves his girlfriend.

That's just a short summary of the plotline of “Incognito,” a drama by British playwright Nick Payne which, from August 8 through 10, will be performed for the public by the summer interns of Sag Harbor's Bay Street Theater.

Each year, Bay Street invites 17 college students and recent graduates interested in a variety of theatrical fields and four acting apprentices to lend a hand on the theater’s mainstage season. They come from all across the country to learn the craft from the pros, and this year for the first time, in addition to helping out with productions and events throughout the summer, the interns are producing their own play from beginning to end — designing, directing and acting in "Incognito" under the supervision of Bay Street's professional staff.

And it's quite an undertaking. To tell this story on stage, four actors must play 21 different characters, including Thomas Stoltz Harvey, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Einstein and kept his brain without permission for decades. The "Incognito" characters are largely based on real people who lived through the early 20th century through the 1970s, and despite the differences in their timelines, they all have interwoven storylines.

Enih Agwe, a New York University student from Maryland, is playing six characters in the play, including Mr. Einstein’s granddaughter, Evelyn Einstein.

“I prayed for it,” said Ms. Agwe of her summer apprenticeship with Bay Street. “I was like ‘God I need an acting job that provides housing and pays.’ I saw a flyer at school promoting this internship and I applied and now I’m here.”

Upon the first reading of “Incognito,” many of the actors said that they were nervous to play multiple characters. Ethan Metz, who attends Montclair State University in his home state of New Jersey, said that he stared at the at the script for a “solid 10 minutes in pure confusion.” Like Ms. Agwe, he is also playing six characters, including Mr. Einstein’s son, Hans Albert Einstein.

Adam Brett, who is from Long Island and studies at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, said that he was also confused at first, but as time passed, began to understand the play more deeply, as did his fellow cast members.

“The biggest challenge in playing six different characters has been finding the distinction between each of them,” Mr. Brett said. “How do they hold their body? How do they speak? What intentions do they hold?”

Those challenges were what enticed Kelly M. Beck, the director of “Incognito,” to select this show to produce.

“We settled on this one because it was challenging,” said Ms. Beck, a rising senior in Michigan State University’s directing program. “There was a lot of freedom in how we can interpret the piece and what it could be technically, with scenic design and lighting design, and there was the greatest range for us to play as artists.”

Bay Street's internship program is designed to keep the students busy working backstage, onstage, or in Bay Street’s office during the productions. They also help out with the theater's other summer programs, such as camps and art education workshops for children, the annual gala, and weekly comedy and music events.

“One of the biggest challenges for everyone involved, from the designers to the actors to us, [stage managers, directors and producers], is finding the balance because this isn’t our only job,” said Claire McEwen, originally from Kansas City, Missouri, who attended University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Three weeks before the show, the interns could be found rehearsing in a space at the Sag Harbor Inn, just minutes from the theater, where they were feeling confident about the play and the skills they were bringing to the production.

“I don’t think I could have asked for a better group of people,” Ms. Beck said. “I think that’s always a good feeling. As artists there’s always shows you hold onto that break a new barrier and I think that this is certainly one of them.”

Ms. McEwen added that she hopes the community turns out to support “Incognito,” Bay Street's first-ever intern production.

“Come support local artists,” Ms. McEwen said. “Come support art that is being done by young people.”

“Incognito” runs Thursday, August 8, through Saturday, August 10, with performances at 4 p.m. each day. Bay Street Theater is located on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. Tickets are sold “pay what you can style,” with proceeds supporting next year’s internship program. Tickets are also available online at baystreet.org and over the phone at 631-725-9500 for a fee of $10.