Actors stepped onto a balcony, exited through a tall iron gate and projected Shakespeare's words across a front lawn without a single microphone on Aug. 7 at 333 Forest Ave. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Moore-Dugal House is now a stage.

Forest Theatre Company opened its free outdoor production of "All's Well That Ends Well" on Friday, Aug. 7, launching a three-weekend run at the Oak Park landmark. Performances continue through Aug. 23, with shows scheduled Aug. 14–16 and Aug. 21–23, all starting at 5 p.m.

It's the company's sixth year staging outdoor Shakespeare but the first time in Oak Park. Previous seasons were held at the Altenheim in Forest Park. Founder and director Richard Corley told the Forest Park Review in July that the move was partly because Forest Park has plans to develop the village-owned portion of that property, and partly because he wants the company to serve all near western suburbs.

Corley said in that interview that performing in a residential neighborhood creates an intimacy that an open field cannot match. He performs without microphones or artificial lighting, a choice he described as radical, arguing that if the actor doesn't create the moment, it doesn't happen.

The Moore-Dugal House sits one block south of Wright's own home and studio on Forest Avenue. Built in 1895, it was destroyed above the first floor by a fire in 1922 and redesigned by Wright in 1923. The house is part of the Frank Lloyd Wright–Prairie School of Architecture Historic District and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973.

Michael Roush, who lives in the house and is restoring it, is the stepson of Jim Dugal, whose parents bought the property in 1962. Roush moved in last spring and is working to return the house to its 1923 condition. He studied classical theater at the University of Minnesota and previously worked with Corley in Arizona, where Corley cast him as Romeo and Hamlet.

At the opening performance, audience members brought blankets and sat in chairs set up on the lawn. Actors used the house itself as a backstage area, entering and exiting through the front door and a tall side gate, and appearing on the upstairs balcony for several scenes. The only disruption came when a passing helicopter forced actors to pause momentarily.

"Shakespeare is meant to be listened to. It's not really meant to be read," Roush told the Wednesday Journal after the Aug. 7 show. "I love that 'All's Well That Ends Well' isn't done a lot. It's a lesser-known play, so it's great to get to see something new."

The production features a predominantly female cast, with CC Meade as the heroine Helen and Megan Wells as the Countess. Corley said he intentionally chooses Shakespeare's less-popular works and noted that "All's Well That Ends Well" is the only Shakespeare play that opens with a speech by a woman and centers a woman's desire for a man.

Both Corley and Roush have said outdoor Shakespeare at the Moore-Dugal House will become an annual event. Roush hopes the first floor will be finished by next summer, at which point tours and private events may be possible. The house is also one of the only Wright-designed homes that is wheelchair accessible.

Admission is free. Tickets can be reserved at forest-theatre.org/plays.