Two local theater companies are trading indoor stages for picnic blankets and evening breezes in July, bringing free and low-cost outdoor shows to parks near Olympia.
Animal Fire Theatre opens Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost on July 3 at Wonderwood Park in Lacey. String & Shadow Puppet Theater follows later in the month with Night at the Grand Opera at Decatur Woods Park in Olympia's West Side, starting July 24.
Director Drew Doyle, an Animal Fire regular, pitched Love's Labour's Lost to the company. The seldom-staged comedy follows a group of men who vow to give up women for three years, then immediately fall for a group of visiting ladies.
"Everybody likes the idea of having some fun these days," Doyle told OlyArts.
Scott Douglas, who co-runs Animal Fire with husband Brian Hatcher, plays Don Armado, a self-important blowhard he describes as "something out of a Hemingway novel." Douglas said the play's humor comes from characters misusing words to sound more important than they are.
The cast of 15 includes Maxwell Reister as the King of Navarre, Anne Tracy as the pedantic Holofernes, and actors Kalen McCrea, Isaac DeLarme, Adam Ashcraft, Korja Giles, Kimberlee Wolfson, Hillary Lucero, Sarah Forbes, Mandy Baker, Genevieve Marchand, Ed Thorpe, and Alex Tracy.
Animal Fire has staged Shakespeare at Wonderwood Park for multiple summers. The 40-acre park offers parking, restrooms, and picnic shelters. Bring insect repellent for the wooded setting.
Animal Fire Theatre: *Love's Labour's Lost*
- When: 7 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, July 3–26
- Where: Wonderwood Park (near the tennis courts), 5304 32nd Ave. SE, Lacey
- Cost: Free; donations appreciated
String & Shadow Puppet Theater, led by Emily McHugh and Donald Palardy, brings back its 2025 production Night at the Grand Opera at Decatur Woods Park for two weekends before heading out on a multi-state tour.
According to OlyArts, this is the first year since 2020 that the troupe has revived a show rather than premiering something new.
McHugh told OlyArts the cast refined the production and felt it was ready for a wider audience. The company plans to create a new show in 2027 focused entirely on local performances.
The production features elaborate sets inspired by pop-up books, with costume pieces resembling life-sized paper dolls. Anthony Szabo narrates as the Fly on the Wall. Much of the dialogue is improvised, and audience participation is encouraged.
String & Shadow Puppet Theater: *Night at the Grand Opera*
- When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, July 24–August 2
- Where: Decatur Woods Park, 1015 Decatur St. SW, Olympia
- Cost: $20–$35 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds
Both shows run during the midsummer weeks when many indoor theaters take a break. Animal Fire's opening night lands on the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
