Sunday was a late night for the cast and crew at American Players Theatre, as performers and backstage staff reminisced about the season and bade each other goodbye.

Usually the next day starts late, but not this year. At 6:30 a.m. on Monday morning, construction crews rolled up the hill to begin tearing down the stage, a $7.7 million project expected to last through the off-season.

"It’s been wonderful watching everybody get to work up there ... to take turns going up our one lane road," said Michael Broh, American Players' production manager.

"They’ve been moving earth and trying to prep the site for the rehearsal hall," Broh said. "They’ve been tearing down the existing acoustic walls, the roof right behind the control booth that forms the tunnel when you walk from one section of the house to another."

Loggers have also begun clearing out trees, which can be "pretty emotional for people, seeing things come down."

"As we lose these buildings it’s sad and sentimental, but it’s us that make the place special," Broh said. "A place like APT, our home here is about the people here. We’re trying to make things better for the people ... not necessarily the buildings."

APT has raised about 90 percent of its $7.7 million goal, and will likely continue fundraising through this fall's "shoulder season" production of "Mary's Wedding" in the 200-seat, indoor Touchstone Theatre.

Stephen Massicotte's 2002 drama, starring Laura Rook and Nate Burger, opens in previews on Sept. 29 and runs through Nov. 20.

Meanwhile, those who remain at APT are keeping busy.

"When we emptied out our clubhouse, where we store all the scenery," Broh said, "the place was empty in a way nobody had ever seen it, ever. It was cathartic.

"It was wonderful to see this place empty and to wonder what could be done with it if we started from scratch. We’re very excited."

APT's remodel is like a renovation of a beloved home shared with dozens of artistic and passionate people. Emotions have been mixed.

"When we had the ceremony on Sunday, I took a moment and really looked out at that sea of faces, so dedicated to the place," said Jim Ridge, an actor and company member who has performed at APT for 19 years. "That was the thing that made me tear up."

Ridge's family is there, at APT — he's married to fellow company member Colleen Madden — and he's done some growing up on the stage. The company itself presented its first performance in 1980.

"I love working at a place where the history is so much larger than me," Ridge said. He can't help but be a little "sentimental, or superstitious."

"We as human beings ascribe human characteristics to objects around us," he said. "That stage has been the place ... it's the altar, the icon. It's where the actors and the community gathers."

Aside from shifts in the aisles and accessibility upgrades to the outdoor lobby, one major change audiences will notice is the removal of the permanent bridge. That bridge, a platform fixed at center stage, is useful for staging Shakespeare, but designers have struggled with it.

"You always had to work around it," Ridge said. "I like the idea of doing the Scottish play ('Macbeth') and having Birnam Wood come out, most of the audience can see the army coming from backstage. We'll be able to move traps here and there.

"The spirit is definitely going to be the same. We don't land helicopters on our stage. You don't want to be competing with the stars."

Ridge won't miss some things, like cinder block bathrooms located outside of the actors' low-slung building of dressing rooms. The whole aesthetic is very KOA campground. While some say that breeds a heartier kind of actor, a few backstage comforts won't go unappreciated.

"It's one thing if you were born and raised in a home and suddenly you're moving across the country," Ridge said. "This is like a remodel, like this is a great house and I don't want to move, but I'd love a nice kitchen.

"We're going to have the same words, the same audience," Ridge said. "There's so much that's going to be the same, and the rest will be improvements."

Construction is expected to last through the off-season. APT accepted bids for the project in two stages, so as to start work right away.

"Every once in awhile you stop and you see a tree come down," Broh said, "and it feels like you’re tearing down your home a little bit, even if the new one’s going to be better."

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