Arc Stages: Making ‘Noises’ in Revamped Pleasantville Space

Through a nondescript parking lot on Wheeler Street, wedged between the Metro North tracks and Will Shortz’s Westchester Table Tennis Center, Arc Stages’ reclaimed industrial space offers the magic of live theater at every level: education, community and professional. 

This three-pronged approach owes much of its success to the organization’s trio of artistic directors, Adam Cohen, Stephanie Kovacs Cohen and Ann-Ngaire Martin, who began Arc Stages in 2012 with just slightly more than a dollar and a dream.

A huge step forward will be the November performance of Michael Frayne’s Noises Off (11/14-23), a witty, play-within-a-play comedy with which the trio aims to baptize the company’s revamped 144-seat theater with laughter. The multi-leveled, rotating set takes full advantage of the dimensions of the new space, which was a year and a half in the making. 

Arc Stages’ now-larger stage, nearly doubling the size of the previous 75-seater, reflects its growing ambitions and audience. “Besides a larger audience, the new stage allows for theatrical sets and technical realities that were not possible before,” said Stacey Bone-Gleason. 

Its season continues into the summer 2026 with First Lady Suite (1/30-2/8), A Little Night Music (3/20-28) and A New Brain (7/9-12).

Three Stages, Expansive Ideas

As one wanders through Arc Stages, the echo of children singing rings out from The Green Room; across the way, above a retired row of seats, one might spy a full drum kit, uncannily perched in a crawl space. In this Island of Lost Props, one wouldn’t be surprised to find a bolt or two from the boat-repair business that once shared the space. 

Arc Stages was named to honor the dramatic ’arc’ of a play as well as the over-arching ambition of three separate but conjoined theater endeavors. “You can take a class, be in a show, see a show—it all can be done here,” says Adam Cohen. 

Passing the baton to the next generation is crucial to Arc Stages, which also features a Summer Stage. “There are hundreds of kids in and out of the building,” says Kovacs Cohen. 

While Arc Stages is a marriage of its co-founders’ past endeavors—Adam Cohen’s Little Village Playhouse and Martin’s Chappaqua Drama Group—it has grown, in its decade-plus in Pleasantville, into an all-in-one theatrical experience featuring three forums that share the organization’s stage: Educational Stage, Community Stage and Next (professional) Stage.

Between pounding nails into the wall before a rehearsal, Noises’ director Martin gushed about the new room. “It was always one of my fantasies…you could do anything with a big two-story set.” Noises’ dual-level set includes a staircase, seven slamming doors and a rotating stage, requiring three assistant stage managers to maintain the flow. “Be careful what you wish for!” she laughs. Arc Stages hopes to install a new automatic curtain system in 2026 to complement the sizable 38-foot stage.  

Playwriting the Next Generation

A point of pride for Arc Stages is its Visions and Voices Playwriting Residency, a program that involves 13 Westchester and Connecticut elementary and middle schools. Over the course of the school year, students observe, study and then write their own plays: some are selected for subsequent performance. “The V and V program was originally funded by ArtsWestchester,” says Adam Cohen. “In a lot of ways we are here because of ArtsWestchester,” he said. 

“So many kids even this close to Broadway have never been to a show before,” says Kovacs Cohen. “This ignites inspiration and imagination,” she said. Observing the students as they watch their own plays, acted by professionals, has been a highlight for the co-founders. 

Local theatergoers are taking notice, said Kovacs Cohen. She adds: “We’re not in competition with anybody, but we are making a name for ourselves. You don’t have to go to Broadway to see a Broadway-level theater. We’re starting to make a mark.”

Adam Cohen emphasized part of the theater’s mission of venturing further afield in choice of material. “It’s important to share [not only] stories that have value, often ones off the beaten path, but new stories and ways of telling stories,” he said.

Certain moments have been memorable: for Martin, one was crafting papier-mâché trees for a set. For Adam Cohen, it was watching the audience react to Edward Albee’s challenging The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? “I felt we nailed it,” he says. Whether it’s nailing door hinges, or nailing a scene ending, Arc Stages is constructing a theatrical mainstay in Westchester.   

You May Also Enjoy

• 50 Years of The Ground Glass
• Wit and Whimsy Unite at Rye Arts Center
• Performing Arts Center at Purchase Announces 2025-26 Lineup
• White Plains Performing Art Center Kicks Off New Season

(photos courtesy of Arc Stages)