Summer Circle Theatre Memory Book

1967
LEANOR REIZEN

The two following memories involve me both as a performer and audience member.
In 1966 Summer Circle Theatre was located in Demonstration Hall, sharing space with the ROTC. . . I think. I had just moved to Okemos from the Detroit area and decided to audition for

Leanor Reizen

Once Upon A Mattress. The directors were the Rutledges, and Marie Black was the accompanist. Not knowing that the cast list would be posted in Fairchild, I waited for a phone call. While in the market (grocery, not stock) one morning, I bumped shopping carts with Barbara Rutledge, who asked me why I wasn’t at rehearsal. And that is how I learned Theatre Department procedure, and became Queen Aggravain with the incomparable Jack Dunlevy as my personal wizard.

Summer Circle Theatre, now performed out-of-doors, does have occasional distractions. During a performance I attended, a mallard duck/drake waddled up to the base of the raised stage. The actors couldn’t see him; the audience could! He stood there eyeing us all and solemnly quacking, knowing he was the center of attention.

Leanor Reizen as Ruth Winters in Plain and Fancy Summer 1969

Having made his own personal appearance, he spread his wings, and suddenly took off quacking happily, right over the actors’ heads! To the actors’ credit, they proceeded as if nothing had happened.

Plain and Fancy
Book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman
Music by Albert Hague

1967 MARK LERNER (mlerner@ballytech.com) I had just graduated from Lansing Waverly High School and was going to start my freshman year at MSU in September. A friend of mine and I auditioned for Summer Circle, which was performing in Demonstration Hall. Dave was cast as the Jester in Once Upon a Mattress. (In her comments, Leanor Reizen, whom I definitely remember in the part as Queen Aggravain) says it was 1966, but I'm pretty sure it was 1967.) I was cast in two plays, a bit role in The Physicists (I played a photographer, I think) and a nice speaking role ("Slim") in Of Mice and Men. There are many things I remember about Of Mice and Men, but here are the highlights: Duane Reed directed. The actors who played George, Lennie, and Curly's Wife were really, really good, especially Lennie. And it was during one of the performances that I went up on a line for the first and only time in my acting career. It wasn’t much of a line--"So what happened?"--in the middle of a long speech by George, but he paused and looked at me for a beat, and then, when I just sat there blankly, he carried on with "So THEN what happened was . . ." with just enough emphasis on "then" to let me know what I had done and to twist the knife a bit, and I was so embarrassed my blushing had to show through the makeup. I apologized profusely backstage but George just laughed about it. I wish I had a program so I could remember the actors' names. I'm sure some of them will have entries on www.imdb.com. I was only 17 and felt honored to have been cast in such a talented, experienced group. They were so much older--probably in their early 20s!

Bee Vary and Mitch Marion in The Days Between by Robert Anderson Summer 1966

Ken Beachler and Jan Paulich as Husband and Wife in The Lover by Harold Pinter Ken Beachler (Adolph) and Margaret Ingraham (Tekla) Creditors by August Stindberg (Photo by Russ Steffey) Two Scenes from a Trilogy on Love Summer 1966

 

Richard Vincent, Vicki Jean Sanchez, Tom Clark, Jan Paulich and Craig L. Jones in
Charley's Aunt
by Brandon Thomas
Summer 1966

 

ANDREA RUTLEDGE

When I was seven, I made my first appearance in Summer Circle playing one of the children in the first act of J.B. and then appearing as the child refugee in the second act. At some point there was a casting change among the children and I recommended my friend Amy Downs, who got the part. It was very cool to be in a play with my best friend.

Andrea Rutledge - Summer 1968

I remember a lot about 1968. There were three children’s show that year: Ice Wolf, Beauty and the Beast, and Treasure Island. Bonnie Raphael tells a great story on herself about this season. The three children’s shows were done in rep during the day, with Arms and the Man, J.B., and A Man for All Seasons running in the repertory atnight and Bonnie was in at least four of the six productions. Ice Wolf is an Inuit story and a number of the actors had to wear body makeup. Bonnie recalls coming in for the daytime show, putting on her makeup and stepping away from the mirror to get into costume only to realize that she was the only Inuit in a room full of pirates.
The Petunia Wars – As I remember them. The first year Summer Circle moved to Kresge Courtyard, this space had several flowerbeds in it planted with petunias. In the course of the summer, the audience trampled the petunias, much to the dismay of the university’s Building and Grounds crew. The second year, the stage was placed in a different part of the courtyard and the flower beds replanted. And trampled once again. This went on until the fourth year, when Buildings and Grounds gave up and planted ivy instead. At least that’s how I remember it. This is a rashomon – depending on how you talk to, you get different versions.

College of Arts & Letters - Department of Theatre

MSU Theatre Department Web Site

For information call 517-355-6690