About the Summer Theatre Festival

The Playhouse at White Lake is located near the shores of Lake Michigan in Whitehall, Michigan. A complete renovation and expansion of the 104 year-old theatre was completed in 2019. The new facility includes updated sound, lighting, expanded proscenium stage, dead hung rigging, two 20-station dressing rooms, a greenroom all new seating, a large lobby and accessible restrooms. This $4 million renovation has made the Playhouse a safe and accessible year-round facility for employees, local residents and visitors alike.

During the summer, The Playhouse at White Lake presents/produces seven shows in as many weeks. We partner with Central Michigan University’s Touring Company for two to three productions in one weekend, produce five shows of our own plus a youth theatre workshop production.

Our moderately normal schedule is that a show would strike on a Saturday night. Electrics and sound stay that night to rehang. Scenery loads in on either Saturday night or Sunday during the day with a paint call in the evening. Monday, load-in continues and focus is in the evening. We have our first tech rehearsal on Monday night. All of our shows start in costume at the top of tech. The last night of tech will always end in a dress rehearsal with a few hours of tech the following afternoon. All shows open Thursday evening. The shows run for three performances so the turnaround between shows is very tight.

Length of rehearsals vary depending on director/cast schedules, anywhere from two to five weeks. Actors are expected to essentially be off book when rehearsals begin. We have a rehearsal space at the theatre and at City Hall (the City owns the theatre). We also use space at our local community center, as needed.

The shows use combination of experienced community actors and some Equity Actors. Our shows are directed by mostly local people, all of whom have a wealth of knowledge, education, and experience in theatre. The rest of the creative teams are a combination of local and out of town designers as well as some designers new to us and some that have been with us for many shows in the past.

The White Lake Youth Theatre has been helping students ages 10-18 become involved both on and off stage for over 40 years. Each year we focus on a different skill or style of performance. On average we have 20 students participate in the 6 week workshop culminating in three performances.

We are committed to building and maintaining a positive work environment where everyone is valued. One of our goals is to provide opportunities to young theatre arts students and professionals where they can get a lot of hands on, practical experience in a short amount of time. The Managing Director is a directly involved through daily communication and weekly staff meetings and with works closely with everyone on the team. Our motto is “Work smarter, not harder.” We look forward to hearing from you.

Beth Beaman
Managing Director