If These Trees Could Talk

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Hannah Jo Anderson

A summer rite of passage for Midwestern theater fans was removed from the calendar in 2020 when American Players Theatre was forced to postpone its season. If you are missing walking up the hill, APT has created a walking tour of the grounds, accompanied by recorded readings and recollections by core company members and others. Small groups depart every 15 minutes; tours are available from 3-5 pm and 6-8:45 pm Fridays and 11 am-5 pm and 6-8:45 pm Saturdays and Sundays, through Oct. 18. Find available times and tickets here.

press release: If These Trees Could Talk: An Audio Experience at APT

Fridays - Sundays, September 25 – October 18 | $25, on sale now.

Although our Hill stage is dark, the moon and stars continue to shine. And our woods still have stories to tell. “If These Trees Could Talk,” is an immersive, auditory experience. You’ll follow the paths around APT’s glorious property on a self-guided tour, as you listen to recorded poetry, stories and recollections read by APT’s core company and other talented artists. The route will take you on a walk around the grounds, with a finale in the Hill Theatre.

We have been blessed to call this place an artistic home for the past 40 years, and it's time to acknowledge what this land has seen and learned before we began treading her paths. And it's time for a new set of stories to join those that have long been told on our stages. To that end, we have created this unique and exquisite experience with poets who give their words as gifts back to the land. Our project honors the Indigenous voices of this land, joined in conversation with a community of poets, as we un-pack the complicated legacy of the ground we stand on.

So collect a few friends and picnic under the autumn sky. Take a walk on these beloved paths. Break your routine and escape reality for a few hours. Revisit favorite APT memories, and create new ones, as we honor and acknowledge the history of the land, and what she has given us.

Tours depart every 15 minutes, and each tour is limited to 8 people.

Fridays: Daylight Tours: 3:00-5:00 pm; Starlight Tours: 6:00-8:45 pm

Saturdays & Sundays: Daylight Tours: 11:00 am-5:00 pm; Starlight Tours: 6:00-8:45 pm

For more information, including COVID safety protocols and accessible tours, visit the website through the button below.

More Information

Upon arrival, each person will receive a personal audio device to listen to the narration and soundscape.

Please bring your own headphones to use, or we will have some available for a nominal charge. Headphones should have a 3.5mm standard stereo audio cable. Please note the listening devices do not accommodate Bluetooth and do not have speakers, so each person in your party will need headphones.

Tours begin at the Gateway box office. You’ll check in there, and then head up to John’s Place in the picnic area to listen to the Prologue. From there, you’ll continue on to the next movements, set on the Oak Savanna Trail and the Walk on the Wild Side. You’ll track back to the path that leads to the Hill Theatre, feeling that familiar excitement as you make your way through the woods. For the final act of our story, you’ll relax in the amphitheater. The whole tour takes about 100 minutes and covers just under two miles. It’s a moderate hike, and accessible options are available. Afterwards, (or before) feel free to have a picnic on the grounds.

The Starlight Tour includes all the same content with the familiar ambiance of an evening at APT. Instead of hiking on the Oak Savanna Trail and the Walk on the Wild Side, you’ll settle in at designated spots to listen and gaze at the stars before heading up to the Hill Theatre for the finale.