I hope everything’s going well…and that BAYFEST is still as wonderful as my memories prove it to be!
Jouman Barakat, Amaan, Jordan
Thank you so much to everyone at BAYFEST for making this month truly spectacular! Can’t thank you all enough for this amazing opportunity and I’m going to miss you all!
Briony Laidler, London, England
What an amazing experience Kai had. He can’t stop talking about it. Thank you endlessly for including him.
Melinda Nugent, parent of summer BAYFESTer
I just wanted to say thank you so much for everything. Since I have been back to school I have gotten complements on how much better I have got since the last time anyone has seen me, I really get majority of them for my consonants 🙂 and I have no one but you, Reed and Dr. Rap to thank for that. Since I have left BAYFEST I have auditioned for Chicago Youth Shakespeare Company and I got in! Which again would not have happen if it were not for all of you guys at BAYFEST. You guys have provided with the best summer yet in my life and have also given me the chance to meet incredible people that I would never forget and will always keep close to my heart, and all of us still keep in touch with each other over the glorious Facebook :). Again thank you so much for everything you guys have taught me so much about theatre and life also. Keep in touch
Taylor Green, Chicago
Thank you so much for helping me at BAYFEST, and working with me! And although I know I can be challenging, I only do to those who I respect the most, although its not the best quality in me. I trust your advice and will use it in my life.
Tamir Pettet, London, England
I want to say that I have not had such a growing and loving experience (for years) …thank you for bringing so much joy and love back into my life again… we have formed some incredibly strong life long bonds in no small part due to the magic you put together.
Gilda Lugo, Parent of summer BAYFESTer
My summer with the BAYFESTers was without a doubt a life changing experience. The support and training I got there over just a 3 week period was fantastic. It changed the way that I think about acting and I thank Robert and everyone at BAYFEST because I truly believe that they helped me gain a place at drama school this year. I also made some good friends from across the other side of the planet, and I can’t put a price on that. The entire experience was amazing and lots of fun!
Conor Cook, Leeds, England
I attended the BAYFEST/National Youth Theatre course in London (which) I look back on this time with a huge and glorious fondness, as those four weeks were some of the best of my life. In that short period I learnt more, both abstractly and practically, than I did in the university course I was enrolled in at the time. And this was due in no small part to the really rather inspirational teaching instincts of Robert Shampain. Through him and my splendid group of co-students I learnt rudimentary tai chi; tips for avoiding both the traps of creative complacency and the temptations of creative grandstanding. Through all this my confidence grew – a genuine confidence, replacing the paradoxical facade that is so often thrown up to hide and perpetuate insecurities. And without a doubt everything absorbed on the course has in some way fed into my career as an actor. I learnt a lot, I laughed a lot, I fell in love and I made some lifelong friends. Not bad for four weeks!
Jamie Treacher, London, England
It was the start of something I can’t imagine my life without. The nurturing, the pushing…were equally powerful. How I wish I wish I could go back again.
Douglas Thompson, Peterborough, UK
For the young performers on both sides of the Atlantic, BAYFEST is a wonderful opportunity.
HRH the Prince Edward
It was amazing, at such a young age, to be part of a serious commitment, one which required my full enthusiasm as well as a great deal of responsibility.
Pilar Ramos, Brooklyn, NY
I swear I can remember every bit… BAYFEST felt like an amalgamation of everything that is superlative about being young. If it were possible for the government to prescribe it, the world would be a better place!
Triona Kennedy, London
BAYFEST has managed, in a microcosm, to create a model for us all.
David N. Dinkins, Mayor, New York City
It was my experiences in BAYFEST that still help me along in life… It was there that my self-confidence was built… (I learned) to get along with people of different backgrounds and cultures… I didn’t have the same kind of problems other kids had when they went away to school…
D.J.Williams, NYC, NY
One of the most special things was learning how to work and relax and be able to communicate with adults – something I hadn’t done much of before.
Janira Arce, New York, NY
It was simply the best summer of my life so far.
Nicola Ball, Clwyd, North Wales
There are so many memories, but the strongest must be my 18th birthday, the tropical rainstorm that happened that night, and the water fight that ensued…
Nicholas Osmond, Hertfordshire, England
For the first time in my life I was able to have a creative voice, a contributing voice and, finally, a confident voice… I’ve never been so happy.
Logan Ann Atkinson, Florence, Alabama
I learned how to live away from my parents and depend on my friends…
Sherise Smith, Baldwin, NY