ARARAT, Va. — From John Wayne to comedy, the Cherry Orchard Theatre will give theater-goers this year a chance to experience work by local playwrights and actors.

Now running for 12 years, the Cherry Orchard Theatre in Ararat, Va., has set its 2010 summer season.

Producer Frank Levering said this year’s line-up includes four original pieces, all by regional playwrights and storytellers, and a weekend of live music from the 1960s.

“One of the things that really excites me the most is really being a way for local artists to have a venue for their work. This year is a classic example of that. Dan Hornak is just such a talented actor, but we didn’t know he was such a talented playwright,” Levering said. “This year he has had a chance to develop his play about John Wayne. We’ve got Heather Elliott, who is a first-time playwright and she has written what I’m sure is going to be a terrific play. Terry Ingalls has written a play about a relationship with her mother. The bottom line is that you have a lot of local folks with a lot of talent and this gives them a chance to stretch themselves as playwrights and as actors and have that experience that really helps you grow as an artist.”

The stage is set so that the actors and audience members are in close proximity. The audience gets a sunset view of the Piedmont Triad behind the stage as the actors play out their scenes.

“It’s certainly an unusual theater space. It’s beautiful for sure. It’s natural to the extent that birds and animals howling out there are part of the theater experience. I like to call it environmental theater in the sense that we are using that environment to compliment the materials in the plays a lot of times,” Levering said.

Levering suggested that playgoers bring a lawn chair or blanket depending on the weather. He said many people bring a picnic dinner and a beverage of their choice.

“Everyone is welcome to bring something to eat, and whatever they would like to drink — within reason. Wine is okay. A lot of people bring wine or soft drinks. It’s a very family-friendly atmosphere and we try to keep it that way,” said Levering.

He said it’s also a good idea for people to bring a sweater as the season progresses, it tends to be a little cooler up on the mountain after the sun goes down.

The season will open with “An Evening with The Duke,” a one-man show about legendary actor John Wayne, written and performed by Dan Hornak of Mount Airy. The play, spanning Wayne’s career from his early days as a fledgling actor till near the end, when the ailing star continued to perform, will run Friday through Sunday.

The second piece, “Pearl, Your Mother,” will run August 6-8 and August 13-15. Levering said, “the play promises a night of laughter and comedy when Heather Elliott and Terri Ingalls join to present a series of sketches and monologues about the mother-daughter relationship followed by a story-telling event by Terri about her mother,” said Levering.

“Mom was a bright, quick-witted and funny woman who was also conflicted and brilliantly manipulative. I’ve told ‘mom stories’ for years and finally succumbed to suggestions to put them all together in one performance,” said Ingalls.

The third show celebrates the 75th anniversary (1935 – 2010) of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Written by Frank Levering, “Riders in the Sky: A Blue Ridge Parkway Saga” taps regional storytellers and a communal campfire to unfold the creation and construction of the parkway. The show runs August 20-22 and 27-29.

Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-5, features a full-scale concert of folk, rock and pop music from the 1960s. Musician and instrument-maker Ken Bloom of Pilot Mountain – once a student of Pete Seeger; singer-actress Christine Gorelick of Winston-Salem; and West Virginia singer-songwriter Deane Kern headline this “giant party” of 60s standards and soulful folk songs. “This was a stirring, romantic world of mind-blowing music,” Levering said. “Bring a blanket – and your love interest.”

The season closes with “Come Quick, I’m Dying,” an original play by Heather Elliott, presented Sept. 10-12. It’s a lighthearted and funny story about a mountain woman who is concerned that her daughters are going to lose the old ways and lessons of healing and herbology. With her sister, a conservative and wacky free spirit, she pretends to be dying in order to bring her daughters home.

“We can do experimental and fun things at our theatre,” Levering said. “We can give local artists the opportunity to spread their wings and try new things. This summer will certainly do that.”

For more information contact Frank Levering at 786-4316 or at furbanski@roadrunner.com; or check out the Web site leveringorchard.com.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.