MAT sets Spring Festival and 'Cyrano' June 7-8

The co-founders and artistic directors of the local acting troupe said they have pushed back the production of a play to shoot for good weather for what they hope becomes an annual outdoor event in Havre - Montana Actors' Theatre's Spring Festival.

"We really want to get out there that we're having this festival alongside the production," MAT Artistic Director Jay Pyette said.

The dates for MAT's production of "Cyrano de Bergerac" is now June 7-8, in the amphitheater behind Pershing Hall on the Montana State University-Northern campus.

Both performances are at 7 p.m., but the action starts that Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. with the Spring Festival.

Pyette added that entrance to both the festival and the play is free, due to the generosity of local sponsors. People will be offering food, beer and wine, historical crafts and trades, games, demonstrations and providing entertainment.

"It will have jugglers and madrigal singers and different sorts of entertianment all day long," MAT Assistant Artistic Director Grant Olson said.

The planning for the festival still is in the works - in fact, MAT still is looking for sponsors and people who would like to set up booths or do demonstrations.

Olson said the idea is to have people with items or demonstrations that are fairly accurate to the Renaissance, the period of "Cyrano," like spinning wool, making chainmail, throwing axes and shooting bows and arrows.

The sponsor of the play is The Atchison Family, but sponsors of the festival will have their names displayed on banners, shields, signs or in the program, depending on the level of sponsorship, as well as complimentary food, drinks and "serving wenches."

For more information about sponsoring or working the festival, people can contact Pyette at 945-0272 or via email at jay@mtactors.com.

Pyette said he has wanted to produce "Cyrano" for a long time, and it seemed appropriate to perform it outside in conjunction with the festival.

"We kind of shifted gears with this," he said. "We wanted it to be more of a festival atmosphere."

Olson said the version they are performing is a modern translation of the original, still in verse but easily understood by a modern audience.

The play tells the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, a poet, philosopher and expert duelist who is in love with Roxanne, but afraid to tell her because of his enormous nose. He writes love letters to Roxanne for Christian in order to win her hand for him. Roxanne falls madly in love with the author - but doesn't realize the writer is her friend Cyrano.

Olson is directing the production, with a cast including Jay Pyette as Cyrano, Tylyn Turner as Roxanne and Stephen Real as Christian.

Chester-native Jayme Green, a certified armsmaster who teaches at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, came up to give the performers two days of training in fencing.

"It was nice to have an outside influence come in to work with us," Pyette said.

Olson said the fight scenes, especially one involving the entire cast, is "pretty fun."

"There is some great fencing in there, kind of Errol Flynn-shwashbuckly, just like it should be," he said.

Pyette and Olson said the festival is something they hope to do every year.

"It's something to do outside," Pyette sauid. "This area is so beautiful in the spring. People don't want to sit indoors and watch a play. Instead they can sit down and watch an open-air production."