THE OLD SEMINARY SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL; FIRST PRODUCTION OPENS SATURDAY AT OLD ST. VINCENT'S SEMINARY

Robert W. Dillon Jr. is the founder and director of the Old Seminary Shakespeare Festival.

Trucks may rumble by in the background, a bee might dive bomb your lemonade, a drunk could even make a surprise entrance. Outdoor theater can provide moments -- some of them inspired -- that are difficult to control.

That's why director Robert W. Dillon Jr. doesn't think anything really can go wrong this weekend or next during the first Old Seminary Shakespeare Festival.

"That's just a part of it, maybe a wonderful part of it," he says.

The outdoor festival will present "A Summer Shakespeare Sampler: The Comedies" at 6 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of Old St. Vincent's Seminary on Morgan Oak in Cape Girardeau. The production will be repeated at 6 p.m. Sunday and at the same time July 5 and 6.

The stage is at the shaded area in front seminarians called the Quadrangle.

Audiences are encouraged to come early to find a good viewing spot, and to bring lawn chairs, blankets, air mattresses, food, drink and anything else that will make them comfortable. Admission is free, although donations will be accepted.

The performance is recommended for ages 10 and up.

Dillon will narrate the sampler from Shakespeare's comedies. Appearing with him will be Tana Howard, Alan Naslund, Jessica Nelms, Steven Ruppel, Shawn Seabaugh and Kimberly Westrich.

Howard and Naslund are community members who are in the River City Players. The remaining members of the cast are Southeast students who have varying degrees of experience with the University Theatre. Dillon is an assistant professor of theater at the university.

Chadie and Robert Fruewald also will entertain on the harp and recorder.

The costumes are by Sharon Anderson, who most recently costumed the University Theatre's production of "Rumpelstiltskin," and Brandon Haddock.

The 1 1/2-hour production splices together scenes from "As You Like It," "Twelfth Night," "Much Ado About Nothing," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Taming of the Shrew" and "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." Deception is the scenes' common denominator.

Dillon, who previously worked on a Shakespeare-in-the-park production in Springfield, says the big difference in this production for actors and audiences alike will be the great outdoors.

"Indoor theater focuses things for you," he says. "Here, the actors have to make sure they have contact with the audience.

"...There is nothing to keep the audience from looking where they're not supposed to look."

Nelms said rehearsing for the Shakespeare festival has been "harder than I thought it would be...There's so much to think about and you have to be so clear. You really have to hit your consonants."

Nelms had the title role in last year's University Theatre production of "Oleanna," playing a student who accuses her professor of sexual harassment. Three male parts are among her roles in the festival sampler.

Dillon says his youthful company wants every performance to be perfect, but he hopes they realize that "whatever happens is the wonder of it."

Ruppel, a sophomore from Jackson, has never performed outdoors before. "You have to be keenly aware of your environment," he has discovered.

"We hold for trucks," Howard adds.