Bridge Street Theatre awarded capital project grant

CATSKILL―Bridge Street Theatre has been awarded a 2025 Capital Project Funding grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and construction is now underway on a new first-floor, ADA-compliant apartment at its Catskill performing arts complex.

The space will provide fully accessible, on-site housing for disabled and mobility-challenged artists during rehearsals and performances.

Construction began earlier this month and is currently in progress.

“This is a project we’ve dreamt of for years,” says John Sowle, Bridge Street Theatre’s Co-founder and artistic director emeritus.

The area currently under renovation has long been completely unusable—the only empty space in the entire complex, he noted.

“This new apartment will allow us to offer a fully accessible living arrangement for performers with physical disabilities or mobility challenges, as well as older artists who may not be able to navigate stairs. And it will provide us with a much-needed additional bathing facility,” Sowle said.

The project addresses a long-standing limitation in Bridge Street Theatre’s facilities. While the theatre itself is fully accessible, its current on-site artist housing is located on the second floor and can only be reached via stairs.

In 2017, when Bridge Street Theatre presented Ryan Haddad’s, Hello, Are You Single? The two-performance run explored the dating scene for a gay man with cerebral palsy.

“The only available housing required the use of stairs, which proved extremely difficult for him,” said Bride Street Theatre Co-Founder and Artistic Associate Steven Patterson.

“It became clear that if we wanted to continue bringing artists of that caliber to our stage, we needed to address these accessibility challenges. We’ve been working toward this ever since, and we’re incredibly grateful to NYSCA for making it possible,” Patterson said.

When not in use by artists with accessibility needs, the new apartment will expand Bridge Street Theatre’s housing capacity, adding an additional bedroom and bathroom in close proximity to the theatre’s first-floor dressing rooms. This increased capacity will support larger casts and allow the theatre to host visiting artists and ensembles more effectively.

“In the past,” said Sowle, “we’ve been unable to book certain artists because of these housing limitations. This new space will allow us to welcome a broader and more diverse range of performers and expand the work we’re able to present to our audiences.”

The project was designed by Brad Will of Ashokan Architecture, with construction by Craig Nowak Contracting, LLC, which also completed renovations on the theatre’s Charles and Priscilla Patterson Mainstage in 2016.

Construction is expected to be completed in time for the opening of Stephen Sachs’ Bakersfield Mist, the first production in Bridge Street Theatre’s 2026 Mainstage Season.