Schedule

Gilbert & Sullivan: “Patience” featuring Opera@Augustana

June 9, 10, 16, 17

Shakespeare: “As You Like It”

June 23, 24, 30 and July 1

Euripides: “Medea”

July 7, 8, 14, 15

Shakespeare: “The Winter’s Tale”

July 21, 22, 28, 29

Aristophanes: “The Frogs”

August 4, 5, 11, 12

Ballet Under the Stars featuring Ballet Quad-Cities

August 17, 18, 19

All performances are free and begin at 8 p.m. at the classic theater in Lincoln Park, 38th Street and 11th Avenue, Rock Island.

Free outdoor theater returns to Lincoln Park this weekend as the Genesius Guild opens its 51st season. The classic theater amid the oaks, just off 38th Street and 11th Avenue, across from the Augustana College campus, will host the Opera@Augustana production of “Patience” Saturday and Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. through June 17.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera is set in the late 1800s at the height of the aesthetic movement in literature. The action centers on two poets, Bunthorne, played by Michael Callahan, and Grosvenor, played by Nicholas Nolte, as they steal the hearts of the ladies who were previously engaged to soldiers.

“It’s basically making fun of the aesthetic movement,” said John Pfautz, who is co-directing the production with Angela Hand. “The women have changed all their movements to be very flowing and Grecian.”

One of the smitten dames, Lady Angela, is portrayed by recent Rocky grad Dorothy Hoskins. This is her third season performing on the Genesius Guild stage. Hoskins says she loves the unpredictability of performing outdoors.

“I really like Genesius Guild, because it’s in the middle of the park, and there’s trees and squirrels and butterflies that land on people’s heads during the shows,” Hoskins said. “It’s just a really nice theater.”

Hoskins will be heading to Millikin University this fall to pursue a major in acting, but promises to return to Rock Island for summer productions at the Guild.

Hoskins is one of dozens of local actors who will appear on the Genesius stage this summer. Executive Director Doug Tschopp said nearly 80 people turned out for auditions in late May and early June. The directors of the two Shakespearean and two Greek plays were able to cast almost all who tried out or find roles for them backstage. Tschopp says this commitment to including everyone is part of Genesius Guild’s mission.

“The board has reaffirmed our educational mission,” Tschopp said. “We really focus on training new actors.”

Tschopp says the transition into Genesius Guild’s first season without founder Don Wooten at the helm has been smooth.

“Don Wooten really carried all the balls,” Tschopp said. “The biggest change this year is that we’ve empowered committees to carry the workload.”

The artistic committee selected the plays and directors for the season and oversaw auditions. On the slate are two Shakespearen comedies, “As You Like It” and “The Winter’s Tale,” the Greek comedy, “The Frogs,” by Aristophanes and Euripedes’ “Medea.”

Tschopp points out the Shakespeare plays may not seem like comedies in the modern “ha-ha” sense, but are about a “path to a happy ending.” As is the tradition at Genesius Guild, “The Frogs” will be completely reinterpreted for a modern audience. “Medea,” having the most name-recognition, Tschopp says is “the heavy” in the line-up.

The season will close with “Ballet Under the Stars,” a selection of dance performances by Ballet Quad-Cities Aug. 17-19.

In addition to large casts, it takes many volunteers behind the scenes to produce a season this fast and furious.

“We’ve utilized more volunteers this year than ever,” Tschopp said. In fact, Dorothy Hoskins’ mother, Melinda, has stepped into the role of volunteer coordinator. Tschopp, who has served as lighting designer for the past 13 years, has passed along most of those duties to college students eager to get some hands-on tech experience. As part of his new duties, he’ll be charged with delivering the “LBs” before each performance.

The LBs (for Leonard Bernstein) are what Wooten called his pre-show speeches that gave historical context to the production and drew the audience in. The actors, who must stand ready at places during the spiel, have another interpretation of the acronym.

“The call them the Long and Boring,” Tschopp said.

For the audience, however, the LBs are anything but. In fact, Tschopp says Genesius Guild plans to write a grant to produce 25 of the LBs as podcasts that would be available on the Guild’s Web site, genesius.org. He sees them as useful not only to theater-goers, but to students studying Shakespearean and Greek theater. Naturally, Tschopp says he would tap Wooten to write and record the 5-minute segments.

For now, patrons can catch the LBs live every Saturday and Sunday evening at 8 p.m. All Genesius Guild performances are free and open to the public. Limited seating on chairs and metal bleachers is available, but many attendees prefer to bring a lawn chair or cushion. Bug repellent is also advised. Audience members are welcome to bring food to the park for a pre-show picnic.

For more information on Genesius Guild, visit genesius.org.

Contact Rock Island News Editor Melissa Coulter at (563) 383-2243 or rinews@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com/rockisland.