Centre Stage previews summer

After scenes from a musical, with echoes from the actress's voice still filling the auditorium, the curtain in the Playhouse Theatre rose to spotlight . . . lunch.

Three scenes from this summer's musical Children of Eden were performed yesterday to preview the summer season of Pennsylvania Centre Stage at the third annual Taste of State College luncheon.

After the performances, the crowd -- made up of businesses and nonprofit organizations -- were invited on-stage to eat foods from four area restaurants.

Performances during summers in State College provide a change in audiences from the rest of the year, said Dan Carter, artistic director for Centre Stage and professor and director of the school of theatre arts.

"During the school year, three-quarters of the audience is students and about one-quarter is community members," Carter said. That's just about reversed in the summers."

This summer, Centre Stage will perform Death of a Salesman, from June 19 to July 4, The Foreigner, from July 3 to 18, and Children of Eden, from July 17 to Aug. 1.

Carter will direct Salesman, the classic Arthur Miller play. No stranger to the staging of classical material, Carter directed the University Resident Theatre Company's production of Macbeth last semester.

Though this is the first time Carter has directed Salesman, his experiences with classical plays gives him insight into the process, he said.

"Whenever you use world-class material, it's a challenge to rise to its level," Carter said. "The good thing is, the nature of the material will help you rise to the occasion."

Participating in Centre Stage is a real résumé builder for aspiring actors, said Joe Thompson, a member of this summer's Children of Eden cast.

"This definitely ranks higher than summer stock," Thompson said. "I saw the playbill for 1776 on Broadway and one actor said he was seen here in PA Centre Stage. It was on the program."

Tickets for Death of a Salesman and The Foreigner are $22 for students, $25 for the general public and free for children under 15. Tickets for Children of Eden will be $26 for students, $29 for the general public and $4.50 for children under 15. Tickets are available through the Arts Ticket Center at (814) 863-0255.