Going to a Washington island this summer? See some outdoor and indoor theater

Spending Seattle's long, languid summer days in the serenity of our many nearby islands is a gift of living in the Pacific Northwest, but natural beauty isn't all the islands have to offer. They're rich cultural communities, both individually and collectively, teeming with creativity and home to some deeply ambitious theatrical operations. Here are some of them, offering both outdoor and indoor productions. And if you're not headed to the islands, there's still some outdoor theater to see in and around Seattle this summer.

Bainbridge Island

Walking distance from the ferry terminal in Winslow, Kitsap County, you'll find the stunning Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts, but what you'll find onstage changes day to day. BPA, which celebrates its 70th anniversary next year, got a major overhaul to its venue during the pandemic, upgrading the mainstage theater, adding a studio theater and renovating a gorgeous lobby space that let the venue become a true hub for both BPA and other local performing arts.

Postrenovation, the company also began its Studio Series, which offers newer and more adventurous work by local artists and companies. "Meeting this moment in this country with a courageous voice is a hugely important responsibility of cultural institutions," said BPA Artistic Director Elizabeth Allum.

This summer, the series presents a staged reading of "All of Us, Quietly," a new musical presented in partnership with Bainbridge Island Theatre Lab July 10-12, and Gregory Murphy's play "The Countess," presented Aug. 26-30 by Circle of Fire Theatre.

In the summertime, BPA decamps to the outdoors to present a Shakespeare play in the stunning gardens at Bloedel Reserve. This year, Allum directs the melan-comedy "Twelfth Night," a tale of shipwrecks, infatuations and mistaken identities, running Aug. 8-23.

Bloedel may not have the bells and whistles of a traditional theater space, but "the story comes alive in a way that is unique and magical, and elevated in ways that we couldn't possibly do in a theater," Allum said. "‘Twelfth Night' in particular is such a joyful gem of a play, and a story that invites us to explore the gray areas of identity, perception, sexuality, love and grief. It's a very alive piece, and I'm so excited to take it into a setting like Bloedel."

Also playing: Island Theater Bainbridge's festival of 10-minute plays written by Kitsap County playwrights runs Aug. 20-22 at Buxton Center, and Ovation! Performing Arts Northwest presents "The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical" July 10-19 at Bainbridge High School Theater.

Whidbey Island

Summertime outdoor Shakespeare is a long theatrical tradition, and one that Island Shakespeare Festival in Langley both venerates and innovates on.

Executive Artistic Director Olena Hodges, who has worked with the company since its inception 17 years ago and took over leadership in 2017, said the company has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, both practically and philosophically.

Not only does ISF now cast actors from all over the country, it has also focused on articulating its values to maximize impact on its immediate community and the broader classical theater field. To that end, Hodges has forged a strong connection with Expand the Canon, a national organization dedicated to unearthing classic plays written by women and underrepresented genders.

"We have a long history of feminism on South Whidbey Island, so I had a sneaky suspicion that maybe Expand the Canon would actually do really well here," said Hodges. Her hunch proved correct, and now ISF plans to produce one ETC piece every other year.

This year, the company presents Shakespeare's political tragedy "Macbeth," running July 17-Sept. 6 in repertory with "Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest," a world-premiere adaptation of the Robin Hood story written by local playwright Erin Murray.

"What is the conversation that our community needs to have now?" is a question Hodges asks herself when programming an ISF season, including this duo of politically charged, class-conscious works.

"Having grown up here, I feel an intimate knowledge of the people who live here and the soul of South Whidbey Island," Hodges said. "So it's a delightful challenge and responsibility to build empathy in the places we need it most."

A cornerstone of ISF's mission is access, and all tickets are pay-what-you-will, driven by a company belief that progress relies on everyone having access to cultural experiences. "If only the elite can access that, then what are we doing?" Hodges said.

Also playing: OutCast Productions presents a staged reading of Heidi Schreck's "What the Constitution Means to Me" June 27-28, and creative hub Whidbey Island Center for the Arts hosts New Works June - featuring new solo theater pieces by local artists Alyssa Keene and Eric Mulholland - June 4-14.

Vashon Island

For 50 years, Drama Dock Theatre Company has been capitalizing on what Artistic Director Kelly Godell calls the "crazy vortex hub" of Vashon Island, "where incredibly talented folks with rich, diverse extracurricular lives and career paths all converge into a melting pot, and there is an access to artistry that is unparalleled."

This summer, in its regular performance home at Vashon Center for the Arts, Drama Dock presents Jonathan Larson's '90s rock musical "Rent" (July 20-23), set in New York's East Village during the AIDS crisis. The musical, which wrestles with ideas of art, creation, chosen family and resilience, turns 30 this year and felt like a symbiotic programming choice for Drama Dock and a resonant choice for Vashon, Godell said.

Vashon is a small community, she said, and so "the relationship between artist and art and audience is really unique and personal."

Also playing: New theater company Ghost Boat Theater presents its inaugural show, Jennifer Dice's comedy "One Thing After Another," based on Homer's "Odyssey," from June 26-28 at the Open Space for Arts & Community.

San Juan Islands

The star-studded origin story of San Juan Community Theater in Friday Harbor begins with legendary actor Helen Hayes, who performed at a fundraising gala for a permanent theater space on the island in the '80s, opening floodgates of community support and paving the way for the company that's still thriving today.

SJCT is a community theater in name but a performing arts center in function, said Artistic Director Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey, who left a long tenure as director of education and outreach at Seattle's Taproot Theatre to take over SJCT in 2018.

In addition to its mainstage theater program - which is almost exclusively directed, acted, produced and designed by locals - SJCT also partners with other local arts organizations, hosts education programs (including a family theater program where elementary school students and their parents do a show together every fall) and presents touring musical artists.

This summer, the company presents Lanford Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning romantic comedy "Talley's Folly" July 2-Aug. 2.

Programming for the company poses an interesting challenge, said Kessler-Jeffrey, particularly in the summertime. His chief considerations are: What are great shows to experience after a long day basking in the beauty of the San Juan Islands, and what are those special, unique experiences that can only be had in a theater?

"Talley's Folly," which Kessler-Jeffrey fell in love with decades ago and finally gets to direct, fits that bill nicely. "It's an incredible piece of American theater and a gorgeous piece of writing," he said. "And one of the characters addresses the audience directly, so there's an intimate connection that you can't get anywhere else."

Also playing: The Actors Theatre of Orcas Island presents Ken Ludwig's over-the-top backstage farce "Moon Over Buffalo" July 10-25 at the Orcas Island Grange in Eastsound, San Juan County.

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