Not even Mother Nature’s scorching heat and heavy rain can stop the actors of Summer Circle Theatre from opening up their 42nd season of entertainment.
The 2002 Summer Circle season continues its tradition of being the country’s only free-admission outside-theater program administered by a university.
This year’s performances began Wednesday with the play “A Month in the Country.” The shows run through June 8 and are held in the Auditorium courtyard, at the southeast corner of Farm Lane and Auditorium Road.
“A Month in the Country” is a 19th century Russian play by Ivan Turgenev about a love triangle and the dynamics of the relationships between its characters.
The only other full-length play in this year’s performances is “The Beaux’s Stratagem,” a restoration comedy about the British aristocracy mimicking life as art.
Two one-act plays, “Laundry and Bourbon,” a Southern comedy about the relationship among three women, and “Blind Date,” another Southern comedy about a mother who tries to get her plain-Jane daughter engaged, wrap up the Summer Circle season.
In 1961, Summer Circle held its first show, “Blithe Spirit,” in Demonstration Hall. In 1970 Summer Circle separated from the Department of Theatre. The show was moved outside and made free to the public.
The summer performances have drawn more than just students. The shows attract a variety of people, from theater buffs to local families to the occasional passer-by.
“Summer Circle has been a hit program since we moved it outdoors,” said Mary Job, director of “A Month in the Country.”
“The results have been extremely positive.”
Frank Rutledge, one of the program’s founders, said they average 700 people per day. On a day with nice weather as many as 1,200 spectators have shown up in the past.
East Lansing resident Jamie Roe said he enjoyed watching last year’s opening performance, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.” He said it was an event he could bring his entire family to.
“We have been anticipating the performance since last year,” Roe said. “We enjoyed the different theater setting, along with the weather. We brought our little girl and a picnic.”
Those taking in the outside performance won’t have to sit on the grass - MSU provides bleacher seating.
Rutledge said the program costs around $25,000 to run and is funded by multiple parties, such as MSU’s theater program and outside donors.
Rutledge said there are 36 actors in the four performances. Some play multiple roles in different plays. The casts are mainly composed of students, but there are faculty members and community residents in the plays.
Auditions were held in February, and the actors practiced for three weeks in preparation for Wednesday’s opening performance.
Job said there are many differences between giving a performance inside an auditorium and holding a performance outside.
“The major challenge is sound,” she said. “The actors are outside, so sound is absorbed in the air. They also are competing with the sounds of nature.”
Job explained outside performances are not highly technological - language, character and plot are most important.
Audience members will not encounter powerful acoustics, eye-catching lighting and other factors, such as Mother Nature not cooperating, make the outside performances far from an ideal setting for a play.
The actors take it all in stride.
“If it begins to rain, we will perform,” said R. Scott Cantrell, who plays German tutor Herr Schaff in “A Month in the Country.”
“Even if there is only one person in the audience, we will still perform.”
Some actors believe outside theater is less intimate than inside theater, but they gain satisfaction from seeing how enthusiastic audience members are about watching a free show.
“With the audience there, we feed off their energy,” Cantrell said. “It makes us that much better on stage.”
