2024 Annual Report
OUR MISSION is to spark wonder, engender joy, offer insight, and enrich the communal imagination. We carry out this mission primarily through the elemental language of mask and puppet theater. We believe in handmade, people-powered theater as an antidote to electronic media and consumer culture. We believe that such theater must go out of its way to foster community and engage people from many walks of life. For that reason, much of our work is presented in non-traditional settings. Through collaborations with funders and community partners, a majority of our performances are offered free to the public.
At Tidewater Center, our waterfront cultural park in Saugerties, NY — we hosted 9 Waterfront Wednesdays. Each evening featured an Arm-of-the-Sea performance as well as an array of pre-show activities, including:
• The Water Stories Project - Participants add to a tapestry of community stories, led by Jill Olesker.
• Window on Esopus Creek - Environmental educators with fish tanks and microscopes offered startling insights into the flora and fauna of the Hudson Estuary
*NEW* Stream Discovery Table - An interactive installation demonstrating how rivers and streams shape the landscape via erosion, sediment transport and deposition.
*NEW* Paper Mill Exhibit & Papermaking Demonstrations - Providing a glimpse into the historic water-powered mill that occupied the Tidewater site for 135 years.
• Guest Presentations - Including short choir recitals, 3 theatrical acts, a history talk, and puppetry workshops.
TIDEWATER CENTER
TOURING SEASON
Our 42nd performance season featured 5 original productions in 37 performances reaching an estimated 9,000 people at venues and events throughout the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and NYC. A company of eight performers and two musicians brought these productions to life. In December, we collaborated with the Vanaver Caravan for 7 performances of our annual holiday extravaganza - INTO THE LIGHT. Venues included:
Newburgh Urban Farm • Newburgh • NY
Norrie Point Park • Staatsburg • NY
Peekskill Regeneration Farm • Peekskill • NY
Phoenicia Farmers Market • Phoenicia • NY
Randall’s Island Park • NY • NY
Riverbank Park • NY • NY
Rosendale Theater • Rosendale • NY
Sinterklaas • Rhinebeck • NY
Vassar College • Poughkeepsie • NY
West Kortright Centre • East Meredith • NY
Ashokan Center • Olivebridge • NY
Arts Inn •Fleischmanns • NY
Beacon Pumpkin Festival • Beacon • NY
Brooklyn Children’s Museum • Brooklyn • NY
Catskill Visitor Center • Mt Tremper • NY
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival • Saugerties • NY
Kingston Earth Fest • Kingston • NY
Maple Shade Farm • Delhi • NY
Mid Hudson Discovery Museum • Poughkeepsie • NY
Mountaintop Arboretum • Tannersville • NY
Cells from the 2024 Esopus Creek Puppet Suite.
We piloted a new Theater Arts Intensive, a camp for ages 9-14 in which participants created, rehearsed and presented a short work of puppet theater.
In August, our 2024 Esopus Creek Puppet Suite brought community volunteers and theater professionals together in a production that explored tipping points in climate change and human conflict.
Artist Katie Cushman giving a paper-making demonstration during the pre-show activities during Waterfront Wednesday.
Artists in Residence @ Tidewater included:
Storyteller Jill Olesker, who spearheads Water Stories Project.
Artist Katie Cushman who demonstrated paper-making in conjunction with the PaperMill Exhibit.
Performance artist Anna Laura Hafner who created a new theater piece about the affordable housing crisis in the Hudson Valley.
Sculptor & activist Dee Dee Maucher. Dee Dee created a seal figure of woven branches and vines that floated offshore of the Tidewater. It was an homage to “Sopy”, a harbor seal that has inhabited the Creek for a number of years.
Tidewater Logistics Coordinator Jared Reinmuth oversaw all public events at Tidewater coordinating volunteers and greeting visitors. His ebullient style as Master of Ceremonies has become a Tidewater hallmark. Meanwhile, Marketing Director Anna Hafner created a stream of social media posts, press releases and emails to our 1800-member list.
Environmental Educator Adam Pumilio managed the live Tidewater aquarium, Window on Esopus Creek.
In October, Tidewater Educators Adam Pumilio and Patrick Landewe welcomed 24 students and 5 teachers from Middle Way School for the Day in the Life of the Hudson River. This annual event involves over 9,000 students from Troy to NYC gathering data to create a “snapshot” of the 150-mile long Estuary.
The Middle Way students and educators met at the Saugerties Lighthouse where they participated in seine netting, water testing, weather and tide observations. They recorded their data an observations and then submitted them to the Day in the Life staff. This program will be offered again in 2025.
Young attendees at Waterfront Wednesday playing in the new hands-on Stream Discovery Table at the Tidewater Center.
YEAR IN NUMBERS
5 Original Productions
22 Rehearsal Sessions
14 Theater Arts Workshops
30 Performances on Tour
12 Performances at Tidewater Center
7 Performances of INTO THE LIGHT with Vanaver Caravan
9,000+ Audience Members Served
1,107 Tidewater Center Visitors
275+ Volunteer Hours Contributed
The Boar from the 2024 Esopus Creek Puppet Suite.
2024 Social Media
Discrete Website Visitors •12,689 •30% increase
1856 Email subscribers •36 Emails Sent
Instagram•2059 followers
15.3K Reach •140% increase
39K Views
2K Interactions •100% increase
Facebook•2,020 followers
50.5K Reach •70% increase
10.2K Views
2.8K Interactions •17% increase
The Program Support. Center in October 2024.
2024 saw the construction of Tidewater’s first permanent facility — the Program Support Center. The building was designed by architect Dave Minch and built by local contractor Rob Andreassen and his crew. It sits upon a repurposed foundation from the former paper mill.
When completed, the facility will provide staff meeting space and a “greenroom” for performers and guest artists. Construction was made possible by a legislative grant from NYS senator Michelle Hinchey and support from the Kiwanis Club of Saugerties.
From the 2024 Esopus Creek Puppet Suite.
LOOKING AHEAD:
• Plans for 2025 include two new theater productions: RAGS TO RICHES: Story of a Saugerties Paper Mill which will run the month of July at the Tidewater; and DOG DAYS which will be presented in August as our 2025 Esopus Creek Puppet Suite.
• Arm-of-the-Sea’s touring program will continue bringing our distinctive style of live theater to venues and events throughout the Tri-State region.
• Building on the success of last season, we’re expanding our summer camp for older kids. The TIDEWATER ARTS & ECOLOGY CAMP will offer three different week-long sessions in June & August 2025.
• A new program, the THEATER ARTS INTENSIVE will offer a boot-camp dive into mask & puppet theater for ages 16 and up
• Site improvements slated for 2025 include: electrical service into the site, a ramp and dock for better water access, new landscaping, and a kayak storage area.
Artistic Director Marlena Marallo in the studio.
WHO WE ARE
2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Eli Winograd - Chair
Jolanda Jansen, Esq. - Co-Chair
Josephine Papagni - Treasurer
Susan Murphy - Secretary
FOUNDERS
Patrick Wadden & Marlena Marallo
AT LARGE
Eliza Blum Deborah Conathan Victoria Decker Shabazz Jackson Josephine Papagni Zack Redmond Soyal Smalls Rakel Stammer Peter Varner Shelley Wyant
Arm-of-the-Sea Alumni & Crew under the Tree of Life from the 2024 Esopus Creek Puppet Suite.
L-R: Helen Houghton, Trey Daniels, Maclain Maier, Patrick Wadden, Soyal Smalls, Eli Winograd, & MJ Smythe.
STAFF & PROGRAM LEADERS
2024 PERFORMANCE COMPANY:
Kerry Bergin Douglas Keller Joanna Grabiarz Helen Houghton Maclain Maier Dee Dee Maucher Nick Panken Soyal Smalls Rakel Stammer Monica Jean Smythe
MUSIC DIRECTOR:
Maclain Maier
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING: Anna Hafner
TIDEWATER LOGISTIC COORDINATOR: Jared Reinmuth
2024 HUDSON RIVER EDUCATORS: Adam Pumilio & Patrick Landewe
2024 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE:
Jill Olesker & Deborah Day - Water Stories Project (community artwork featuring shared stories)
Anna Laura Hafner - Heart of the Mountain (new theater work)
Katie Cushman - Paper-making demonstrations & workshops
Dee Dee Maucher - Bio-remediating sculpture "Sopy”
$238,465 total
$235,146 total
Our Director of Giving, Laura Kopzcak, has stepped down after 9 extraordinary years of planning and fundraising. Laura came aboard Arm-of-the-Sea in 2014 as a performer, just as the Tidewater project was forming.
She latched onto that project and wrote the foundation grant that brought the Tidewater Center to life. Then, she proceeded to secure funding for each successive step of development. Thanks a mill, LRK!
Thank you to our 2024 Donors, Sponsors & Volunteers
Brock Adler
Judy & John Allen
Claudia & Paul Andreassen
Skip Arthur
Anne Bailey
Brittany Barnard
Suzanne Bennett
Nancy Bernstein
Julie Bittman
Blum Family Fund
Matthew Bockelman
Edith Bolt
Molly Brooks
Alan Bryan & Ann Krupp
Matthew Burd
Toby & Anita Campion
Phyllis E Clark
Diane & Tom Colello
Debi & Ted Conathan
2025 INDIVIDUAL DONORS
Merle Cosgrove
Michelle Cowing
Michael Doyle & Eleanor Johnson
Frances Dunwell
Tory Ettlinger
Eric Friedman & Judy Hoyt
Angela Gaffney-Smith
Diane Galusha
Garry & Diane Kvistad
Diane Godfrey
Susan & Richard Goldman
Robin Goss & Dave Minch
Shelley Graham
Thomas Houghton
& Sarah Scott
Carole Kaye
Dr. Judith Kerman
Mark King
Lucinda Knaus
Laura Rock Kopczak
Jim Kricker & Jean Whelan
Jessica Kuonen
William Rock
Kathie Lacour
Terry Lagana
Patrick & Anna Landewe
Julian Lines
Molly Mackaman
Quince Marcum
Jean McAvoy
Michael McGuigan
Mary McNamara
Elin Menzies & Debra Moskowitz
Mary Ellen Mietus
Robin Minkoff
John Morano
Ernest Mortuzans
Cathy Muller
Susan J Murphy
Ellen Neilly
Abby Newton
Will Nixon
Maria Oliver
Melissa Ortquist
Joanne Pagano Weber
Josephine Papagni & Shabazz Jackson
Jim Peppler
Lily Piyathaisere
Gail Porter
Catherine & George Puzak
Alex Rappaport
Joan Reinmuth & Daniel Meyers
Bill Rock
Christy Rupp
Jed Schmidt & Minja Toeniges
Steve Schnoll
Joel Schuman & Lynne Gilson
Stephen & Lisbeth Shafer
Isabel Soffer
Sae Hoon Sohn
Tom Struzzieri
Susan Murphy & Peter Poccia
Ellen Tarlow
Chuck Thomas
Sarah Underhill
John Wadden & Kristin Dean
Paul Wadden & MeeHey Chang
Bethia Waterman
Wendy Weinburd
Andrea Lynn & Daniel Woodham
Shelley Wyant
BUSINESS & CIVIC ORGANIZATION SUPPORT
Cantine’s Island Homeowners Association
Kiwanis Club of Saugerties
Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation
Stewart’s Shops/Dake Family Fund
Town & Country Liquors
Ulster Savings Bank
PRO-BONO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Morgan Almquist • Photography
Laura Avello • Design Services
ELiza Blum • Technology Support
William Brinnier • Architect
Deborah Conathan • Administration
Trey Daniels • Tidewater Consultant
Jolanda Jansen • Professional Engineer
Dave Minch • Architect
Lanny Walter • Legal Services
Michael Nelson • Photography
Pete Varner • Construction Management
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The State of New York – including NYS DEC’s Hudson
River Estuary Program, the NYS Office of Children and
Family Services, and NYS Council on the Arts, with
support of the Governor and the NYS Legislature
The Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley
National Heritage Area
The County of Ulster’s Ulster County Cultural Services and
Promotion Fund, administered by Arts Mid-Hudson
Town of Saugerties Arts Commission
FOUNDATION SUPPORT
Upstate Coalition for a Fair Game
Klock Kingston Foundation
Ulster County Community Grants
Fund of the Community
Foundations of the Hudson Valley
Malcolm Gordon Charitable Fund
Laura Jane Musser Fund
NoVo Foundation
2024 TIDEWATER CENTER VOLUNTEERS
Mimi Bluestone
Phyllis Clark
Debi Conathan
Ted Conathan
Connie Cushman
Trey Daniels
Amy DiCesare
Rayann Fatizzi
Daniel Meyer
Colin Mossbrucker
Susan Murphy
Ron Palacio
Tricia Patterson
Lisa Pumilio
Quentin Pumilio
Wyatt Pumilio
Joanna Grabiarz
Nick Goldfrank
Judy Hinchey
Patrick Landewe
Cathy Lenz
Hannah Mangione
Jeri Mason
Dee Dee Maucher
Emma Rainey
Zack Redmond
Joan Reinmuth
Alma Rodriguez
Geraldine Ryan
Steve Schnoll
Joel Schuman
Dock Shuter
Monica Jean Smythe
R. Stang
Pete Varner
Adrian Williams
Shelley Wyant
Nora White