It’s fun being in the audience at Williamston Theatre.

I love the voices I hear at the theatre, a pocket-size treasure tucked into the fabric of historic downtown Williamston, Michigan. Most recently were raucously boisterous voices of the six players in the hilarious Joseph Zettelmaier comedy, “It Came From Mars,” directed by Tony Caselli.

The story revolves around the Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” 1938 radio broadcast, and its effect on the members of the WHQN Radio Studio in New York, about to rehearse for “Farlowe’s Mystery Theatre Hour.”

Waiting for the show to begin, I checked the opening message in the program, as I always do. I liked what Emily Sutton-Smith, the theatre’s development director, said: “Without an audience, we’d just be a bunch of crazy people acting out in a windowless room by ourselves.”

That struck a chord, when I thought about what she is saying here. I suppose that’s true about most everything we do. Without an audience, what does it matter?

I’m rather a neophyte in the culture of the theatre, even though I became briefly enchanted in college and took several classes for a minor in Speech and Theatre. You’d never know that from the decades that followed. I can’t really explain it, except for being busy with other interests. There was plenty of community theatre around, and the Wharton Center at Michigan State, and professional theatre in nearby Chelsea. Would you believe, I still haven’t been to the Purple Rose?

How did it happen, then, that the Williamston Theatre would capture my fancy and draw me back into enjoying this art form once again?

Looking back three years and several performances later, I realize it was a sequence of serendipity.

I was writing a blog for MichiganCountry.com and the Williamston Theatre fit into that realm. I’d been curious about this new professional theatre quietly getting established. And, then one day, my husband and I were having lunch with friends at Gracie’s Place, the restaurant across the street, when the director, John Lepard, walked in wearing his painting garb. I didn’t know it was him, until our friends spotted him and introduced us. He invited us over to see the remodeling going on, and I said I’d be back to see a show and write a story.

Well, I kept going back….and back. Once I saw my first show, “Maidens, Mothers and Crones: Voices From Women of the Midwest” (the first in a trilogy exploring stories of people in the American Midwest) -- with Sandra Birch, Sarah Benoit, Tiffany Mitchener, Deborah Solo and Emily Sutton-Smith -- I was hooked. And I mean “hook, line and sinker.” Sold. Forever a fan. It’s not anything you can explain; you must experience it. I felt like a distant memory was returning to me. Each time I’d attend another performance, the wonder of what they’re creating intrigued me even more.

I regret not seeing any of the 2006-2007 opening year’s productions. After “Maidens, Mothers and Crones,” I enjoyed the summertime jewel, Lanford Wilson’s “Talley’s Folley” (with Wayne David Parker and Kate Peckham) which wound down the 2007-2008 season.

Last season I was able to indulge in the gentle, nostalgic “Leaving Iowa” by Tim Clue and Spike Moran, with Bruce Bennett, John Lepard, Teri Clark Linden, Hugh Maguire and Anne Miranda -- and directed by Tony Caselli. And, I was mesmerized by the striking performances of Stephanie Koenig, Jennifer Shafer, Emily Sutton-smith, Kellyn Uhl and Gloria Vivalda in the Paul Zindel classic: “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” -- directed by John Lepard.

I couldn’t miss the next Voices from the Midwest, aptly named “Flyover USA” -- questioning "What is it to be a man in the 21st Century Midwest?" – featuring Tobin Hissong, John Lepard and Scott Norman. Directed by John Seibert, the stories reflected were as poignant and funny as “Voices From Women.” Following that, was the bawdy, of course, comedy directed by Tony Caselli, “The Complete William Shakespeare (Abridged).

Perhaps the most unusual theatre experience for me was the solo performance by John Lepard in Steve Murray’s classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” last Christmas season. The show was a heart-stopper, and like a fine favorite wine, I wished it could have been bottled for future holiday tradition.

Well, “It Came From Mars” was wild and crazy… and riotous acting fun. With the most actors on stage in its four-year history (Joseph Albright, Sandra Birch, Morgan Chard, Jacob Hodgson, Alysia Kolascz and Wayne David Parker), the theatre was rocking and roaring with laughter throughout. It was the world premiere for this comedy, a co-production with Performance Network of Ann Arbor.

With the conclusion of that show this week, tickets for the third in the trilogy of stories from the Midwest go on sale: “Home: Voices From Families of the Midwest” by Suze Regan and Annie Martin, directed by Regan.

The series concept came from W.T.’s artistic director, Tony Caselli. The final installment features Sandra Birch, Edmund Alyn Jones, John Lepard and Maggie Meyer exploring “the concept of family and its many definitions. Through song, scenes, and monologues, we'll examine how family both includes and transcends bloodlines, defining our worlds in very personal ways.”

I look forward to the experience. I’m curious about what stories will turn up that reflect on all of us who reside in the beautiful American Midwest.

Partly why I keep going back is my belief in the importance of expressing our creative spirit across the community. Williamston Theatre adds a rich voice to that expression in our area. And, it’s significant that the theatre has emerged and blossomed, despite the current economic situation in Michigan. “These days,” writes John Lepard in the newsletter to patrons, “it’s something to celebrate.”

I’ll keep going back, to help support the vision. “Across the state,” Lepard explains, “arts organizations are reducing their programming, cutting jobs, and closing their doors for good. The Lansing area has not been immune to the ravages of a this languid economy, most recently evidenced in the closing of the BoarsHead Theatre, a cultural anchor for the region for over 40 years.”

We can still enjoy quality professional theatre here, because of this community support. The theatre has created 50 job opportunities this year, and attendance has grown 15 percent each year. Now, in its fourth year, W.T. has accumulated increasing numbers of nominations and awards.

With a 71 percent reduction in state funding of the arts this year, Lepard lays it on the line: “This year we are looking at a possible $20,000 shortfall due to reduced grant opportunities.”

I’ll keep going back, not only to support the theatre, and help keep it open, but because I appreciate the wonderful stories being told there. I get a huge energy boost by witnessing the creativity. That, in turn, helps spark mine. And, we all need those sparks from time to time. We need to laugh; we need to cry; we need to take time out from our hectic lives, and just get lost in the stories: A good book, a good movie, a good play.

And, besides, it’s fun to be part of the audience at W.T., so the actors don’t have to think they’re crazy people acting out in a windowless room by themselves.

“It Came From Mars” concludes the weekend of April 16-18; “HOME: Voices From Families of the Midwest” runs May 12- June 13. For more information, check the following links:

Williamston Theatre – See current season schedules, get theatre info, or make donations.

Encore Michigan Review of It Came From Mars

Encore Michigan Interview with Tony Caselli, artistic director at Williamston Theatre.

Encore Michigan Interview with playwright Joseph Zettelmaier

Lansing City Pulse Review of It Came From Mars

John Lepard’s ‘Wonderful Life’ LivingstonTalk

Michigan Country Blog about Williamston Theatre and actor/director John Lepard.

Michigan Country Blog Flyover USA about the second production (2009) of the “Voices” trilogy.

(Article previously published at LivingstonTalk.com)

Susan Parcheta may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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