‘The Tempest’ Au Naturel

Green Theatre Collective is a no-frills operation.

The Southampton-based company doesn’t have a stage or sets. The six actors, who will play 16 characters in upcoming productions of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” don’t wear elaborate costumes. Props are either homemade or left to the imagination. And their annual production budget is, at most, $60.

As one of the first sustainable, eco-theater troupes in the country, GTC is making a statement: entertainment is not determined by dollar signs. And the members of the troupe will set out to prove that this month by putting on several 90-minute outdoor performances of Shakespeare’s classic, starting this weekend at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island, followed by a staging in the apple orchard of Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett from Wednesday, July 18, through Sunday, July 22.

“We’re creating an entire shipwreck using two pieces of rope, six bodies and a drum,” artistic director Sarah Hankins said during an interview at the group’s Southampton headquarters, home to company founder Hal

Fickett. “Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. I think that’s going to set the bar pretty high. We’re challenging you to use your imagination and inviting you in to come along with us.”

The early 17th-century play is set on a remote island where Prospero, a magician and exiled Duke of Milan, portrayed by lead actor David Gautschy, is marooned and plots to restore his daughter, Miranda, to her rightful place using illusion and manipulation by calling upon all the elements of the world to create his magic. The tale is told through language that evokes a connection to the earth and the power of nature, Ms. Hankins said.

But it wouldn’t be Shakespeare without themes of revenge, betrayal, young love and forgiveness all wrapped into a coming-of-age story.

“These are all human traits and emotions, and he tapped into it from the very beginning,” Mr. Gautschy said.

“There’s a reason we’re still performing him, and it’s not just because our English teachers still like it. It really speaks to the human experience,” Ms. Hankins said. “I think Shakespeare requires the most of an actor. It’s like the Olympics of acting.”

Performing Shakespeare outdoors, especially in the heat of summer, is a full-body workout—mentally and physically—for the six actors, who are all in their mid- to late-20s, the artistic director said.

“You have to be ready to sweat,” she said. “A lot.”

Each actor is responsible for portraying at least two characters, according to Mr. Gautschy, who also plays the role of Stephano—a “loosey-goosey” drunk who is quite possibly the polar opposite of the commanding, regal Prospero.

Costume changes, to indicate a character switch, happen fast and right in front of the audience, whether it’s layering a shirt or slapping on a hat. The rest is up to the actor.

“It’s an instant,” Ms. Hankins snapped her fingers, “transformation, which is both a challenge for the actor but celebrates the fact that they’re able to create an entirely different person with just a shift of their bodies, a shift of their voice. Eventually, as we perform, the audience is so used to the shifts that they don’t even need the signifier anymore. They know instantly from the voice or the way the actor’s carrying himself. They just laugh because they’re in on the joke.”

The environment is the company’s set—either a windmill as a backdrop at Sylvester Manor or an apple orchard at Quail Hill, she explained. It is the way Shakespeare intended his plays to be performed: outdoors, though perhaps not so minimally.

“At this point in his work, he was already having machines that would fly someone in or they’d have a trap door,” she said. “So we’re even more hampered than he was at the period he’s doing ‘The Tempest.’”

“You have to create everything,” Mr. Gautschy said. “We do have a few props that we make, but we don’t have a whole lot of props. We certainly don’t have a lot of sets. For example, it’s not like you can go and sit at a table. It’s an empty space and we make it into whatever we need it to be, which is fantastic.”

He paused and the duo said, simultaneously, “And challenging.”

Ms. Hankins laughed and continued, “Theater is something that usually involves a lot of waste. Most of the sets find their way into a garbage disposal after the show closes. To create an opportunity to be highly theatrical, connect our audience to the earth, the environment, as well as provide entertainment that heals the soul makes us feel so much better. I think it’s something we’re crying out for. We need to tune our bodies back to being with the earth. We need it.”

Green Theatre Collective will stage its production of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” on Saturday, July 14, and Sunday, July 15, at 6:30 p.m. at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island. Tickets are $15 and $5 for children. Additional performances will follow from Wednesday, July 18, through Sunday, July 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the apple orchard at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett. Saturday’s performance will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for the performances in Amagansett are $20 and $5 for children. Audience members should bring something to sit on. For more information, visit greentreatrecollective.org.