I can say without a moment’s hesitation that I have the best beat at this whole paper.

For months I feared that everyone else knew this too, that every person would want to see three to four shows a week, that the secret was out.

I was sure I wouldn’t see a single day covering entertainment before MSU spat me out in December into a news-driven world that sees theater as just a pastime, if they see it at all.

But lucky me, here I am, reveling in my new backstage passes and dreading the day I will have to pass the torch.

Theater and I are a perfect fit. This beat was made for me or I was made for it, however you like to think about it. Either way, it’s love.

And I am doubly blessed because I have landed, quite unexpectedly, in the middle of a “sizzling” theater scene that rivals any other Midwest city with the sole exception of Chicago.

Despite being stuck in the middle of the country, far from coastal cities where performances are going on every minute of every day, Lansing holds its own when it comes to a wide variety of quality live theater.

Though Lansing-area newspapers don’t boast several full pages of theater reviews and nearly all working theater companies are nonprofit, opportunities are ample to see live, on-stage action without leaving town.

Last week, for example, three area companies kicked off the fall season with comedies varying from dark and a bit confusing to a lighthearted fable.

Bath Community Theatre Guild’s “Fools” and Lansing Civic Players’ “Move Over Mrs. Markham” made no pretenses of being “intelligent” theater, instead preferring one-liners and physical comedy to get the audience laughing.

On the other end of the comedic spectrum, Riverwalk Theatre’s “Fuddy Meers” got so dark at times that it almost ceased to be funny. Somehow, after certain elements of the plot were revealed, (I won’t give it away - the play’s still running for another two weeks), laughing seemed inappropriate.

The BoarsHead Theater is gearing up for a new season with “The Exact Center of the Universe,” a play by Joan Vail Thorne featuring the inimitable Carmen Decker as a fading Southern belle whose universe centers around her 35-year-old unmarried son, Appleton.

The MSU Department of Theatre opens its season this week with “Oxygen,” a play written by two chemists about the discovery of the title element. It bounces between the late 1700s and the 20th century, challenging the three male actors who play two characters each.

Meanwhile, rehearsals have begun for November’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “Three in the Back, Two in the Head” will open the third week of October in the Arena Theatre.

This second show is especially cool because the Arena Theatre, in the Auditorium basement, allows you to see the audience’s reaction on the other side of the stage. The audience sits on two to four sides and the actors have to play to each side simultaneously. The effect is intense; you feel like you’re acting and reacting at the same time.

As for the big-time shows, Wharton Center has already given us “Riverdance,” a beautiful, visually exciting show that made me want to be a dancer. The ever-popular “Les Miserablés” is sure to pack the house in a few weeks as well.

The rest of the season is so good, I’d pay to work this beat in the spring.

David Auburn’s “Proof,” American Theatre Magazine’s most-produced play of the 2002-03 season, will finish BoarsHead’s lineup in April.

“It’s very intriguing,” director Judith Peakes said. “It’s sort of a mystery. It deals with the fine line between genius and madness and what is the nature of genius.”

The second and third most-produced plays, Claudia Shear’s “Dirty Blonde” and Michael Frayn’s “Copenhagen,” are absent from Lansing-area theaters, though the Performance Network of Ann Arbor will produce the latter in March.

The beauty of theater is there’s so much more than meets the eye.

It’s like the meal your mother spent all day preparing, but that your family devours in what seems like milliseconds.

You don’t see them, but there are designers, lighting technicians, stage managers, dramaturgs, costumers, directors, producers and dozens of hours of rehearsal and brainstorming sessions that go into two hours in front of the audience.

And here’s the best part: You’re part of it.

When you go and sit in that auditorium, you’re a part of the performance. Theater can’t happen without you, and it’s different because you’re there. Your response changes what the actors do, and every night is unique because every audience is unique.

So, as my favorite professor likes to say, “Treat yourself, people.” Get out to Riverwalk or BoarsHead, and don’t let the chance to see some of the Midwest’s best performances pass you by.

Lindsay Frederickson, State News theater reporter, would love to treat you to a show sometime. For dibs on her extra ticket, e-mail her at freder69@msu.edu.