The theater group is a six-week program that has taken place every summer for more than 50 years. The directors, casts and crews of the productions are made up of students, and faculty serve as advisers. The performances are free.

A permanent venue will cost the College of Arts and Letters about $750,000, which will be funded through gifts. It will include a stage, seating, lighting and audio. It will be located between Fairchild Theater and the Kresge Art Center.

The creation of the new theater venue was passed at the most recent MSU Board of Trustees meeting. Normally the board only considers projects that cost more than $1 million, but had to consider this because it is a environmental footprint change.

A timeline to complete the project should be available in the next month.

“We’re very excited to see the outpouring of support for the program from donors and alumni, and to see the tradition of the theater staying alive,” said Kirk Domer, chair of the Department of Theatre.

He said the full amount has not been raised to this point, but the college and department are 100 percent committed to the renovation.

Rob Roznowski, artistic director of Summer Circle Theater and head of acting and directing, said the stage hasn’t always been level and older patrons have had trouble getting down the hill to it.

The semi-permanent stage is set up by students at the beginning of the program each summer.

“We spend a lot of time setting up the space when we could be creating the art,” Domer said.

Andrew Head, a graduate student in the acting program, participated in the theater group this past summer and said the new stage will make plays better. It will be beneficial, and possibly raise the quality of performances with the permanent space.

“It will put us in a position of knowing what we’re working with,” Head said.

In addition to being used by Summer Circle Theater, the venue could be used for receptions and weddings.