Area actors welcome another troupe

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Making use of local theatrical talent, Joseph Dickson hopes to contribute to the already esteemed scene with the opening of a new theater company.

“There is always room and a need for more high-quality theater,” he said.

With many companies shutting down or slowing the pace of their production schedule throughout recent years, Dickson said the opening of his new company, Over the Ledge Theatre Co., which opened its inaugural show Nov. 3, is crucial for the area’s acting community.

“It’s important that new groups come in to keep Lansing’s theater community vibrant and varied,” he said. “Lansing produces quite a bit of theater per capita compared to other urban areas, and I think that’s something we should be proud of.”

Dickson said he decided to open another company, which is located at The Ledges Playhouse, 133 Fitzgerald Park Drive, in Grand Ledge, Mich., because he has several ideas for new productions but none that fit into what other local companies currently are doing.

Tony Caselli, who is the artistic director at the Williamston Theatre, 122 S. Putnam St., in Williamston, Mich., said rather than viewing the opening of Over the Ledge Theatre Co. as a threat, he welcomes the addition.

“The more people who are exposed to (theater), the more people want to go to it and want to support it,” he said. “The more it’s around and available, the more that people feel like they can go to it, and it can be a normal part of their lives.”

Caselli said he hopes more exposure to theater in the Lansing area will increase the amount of time people spend seeing shows.

“Theater doesn’t have to be an elitist (event in which) you have to spend $100 on a ticket and go once a year to a big Broadway play,” Caselli said. “Being able to say, ‘I’m going to go to a play next week,’ all the time is a good thing.”

Not only does another company mean more theater enthusiasts can have easier access to a wide range of productions, but it also gives student actors more opportunities to perform professionally.

Many local companies, such as Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Drive, in Lansing, hold open castings where students can audition.

Although most students perform with MSU’s theater department, some, such as theatre junior Eric Eilersen, also choose to work with a professional company.

Eilersen had the opportunity to work at the Williamston Theatre earlier this semester in the production “The Dead Guy.”

“Working with (the Williamson Theatre), I think I’ve gotten a glimpse into what working in the professional world is going to be like,” he said.

Because of the surplus of college-age students in the area coming from various backgrounds, such as Eilersen, Dickson said Lansing is a solid location for a theater company.

“You’ve got so many colleges factored in one spot, (and) all of those colleges have different cross sections of students and faculty,” he said. “(Lansing has) a huge mishmash of different cultures in one spot.”

Students who work with the professional theaters, such as the Williamston Theatre, not only gain valuable experience, but they also are able to earn credit toward The Actors’ Equity Association, which is a labor union representing American actors in theater.

“It’s great that Williamston is allowing MSU students to kind of get a head start in the professional world and get a feel of what it’s like to be a part of an equity theater,” Eilersen said.

Eilersen said he has benefitted greatly from having the opportunity to work in two different theatrical environments — the Williamston Theatre and MSU’s Department of Theatre — while in college.

“We can learn a lot in the classroom, and it’s great. But one of the things we focus a lot on at MSU is the practical aspects of it all,” he said. “At Williamston, we really get that hands-on, practical experience that you really can’t get anywhere else.”

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