BAAY! program inspires Bellingham’s youth to challenge themselves in the arts

Ian Bivins, executive director of Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth, has extensive experience in the theater, but he’s the first to say that BAAY! is a lot more than acting.

“We’re not just a place where plays are performed,” he says. “And yet plays are a big part of what we do to engage the creativity of young people.”

BAAY!, a 12-year-old organization in downtown Bellingham and founded by David Post, has seen thousands of young people from 5 to 17 learn to challenge themselves in the arts.

“We have three branches,” Bivins says. “Our first branch is BAAY! Theatre – plays, musicals and a dance company.

“Our second branch is our BAAY! Pre-K School for 3- to 5-year-olds. We have programs of 2- and 3-days a week and a kindergarten readiness program.

“We call our third branch EduArts. It’s our after-school program where instructors take BAAY! to elementary school students.”

Do you want your children to learn an aspect of the visual arts? To play guitar? To learn improvisation and other performing arts?

BAAY! has a network of 36 to 40 contractors who enjoy teaching their artistic specialties to children. Each contractor spends several weeks on his or her specialty at a given school.

“They go to all the elementary schools, including our five Title I schools, where 60 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunches,” Bivins says. “Kids who get their first experience in the arts in our after-school programs are now coming to BAAY!”

BAAY! also performs “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for students 9-12 the weeks of Dec. 3 and Dec. 10.

In its past fiscal year, BAAY! awarded $36,000 in tuition breaks and scholarships. Bivins says no student is ever turned away for lack of finances, and families are allowed the evaluate how much they can afford.

Programs include a “Mini Pixie Theatre” for kids 5 and 6 and a “Mega Pixie Theatre” for those 7 and 8. There’s also dance companies for juniors (9-12) and seniors (13-17).

Bivins, 39, is well remembered at Western Washington University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in theater arts in 2002 after growing up in Helena, Montana.

Bivins came to BAAY! as a volunteer in 2014 and became executive director in June 2016.

He worked in theater companies in Minneapolis and New York for a decade.

“I loved Bellingham (as a student performer) and I thought I wanted to give Bellingham another try,” he says of his desire to return. “I really appreciate the community. The music scene, the theater scene, are awesome and the public schools are just great.”

As Bivins puts it about Post’s dream that came true, “BAAY! Has reinvigorated arts programs in schools here and has given kids an incredible outlet.”

Details: baay.org/campus/calendar. Questions can be sent to baay.org/campus/registration. Call 360-306-8531 or e-mail officemanager@baay.org.