Early in the 20th century, poet Edgar Lee Masters imagined what a person would see and hear if he visited a cemetery and heard the ''residents'' of the place describe their past lives with complete truth.
The poet imagined that his exercise would be especially meaningful in a small town, where the speakers would have known one another in life and where some of the stories would advance others, while other stories would disprove the beliefs of others.
Through Sunday, the Spoon River Project invites the public to visit beautiful Lake View Cemetery after dark, by the light of lanterns and torches and - surrounded by our own history - to hear the histories of those he has immortalized with his poetry.
The performances are offered by 11 local actors, accompanied by three musicians. The audience is treated to a quick tour of some of the notable residents of our own cemetery, after which they are taken to rows of benches in the heart of the beautiful cemetery. Through the darkness, we see lanterns light, and begin to move toward us, and the actors come, dressed in the fashion in which people of their ages in the period from the Civil War through the beginning of the 20th century would have worn.
One actor will say a name, and then the actor playing that role will speak for two or three minutes about the life he or she is representing. Masters placed his cemetery in the imaginary small town of Spoon River, Ill., and he peopled his town with people you could easily believe once lived in our own community, and walked among us, their truths kept hidden within them.
Occasionally two or three lives intersected and speakers will challenge or disagree with their neighbors. There are all kinds of stories. These were people who were honored or scoffed at, supported or betrayed, prayed for or executed. Perhaps the poet was a bit of a pessimist, because more of his characters retain a touch of anger or bitterness than rest at peace with the world, and yet one feels little condemnation. No matter what appeared on the surface, none of these people had a life of nothing but joy and kindness.
The actors speak cleanly and easily understandably. They very well understood how to project a real person, rather than just to say words.
They sang well and occasionally danced with distinction. Locally-born actor Tom Andolora was the director and the shaper of the text into a drama of just over an hour.
Actors were Skip Anderson, Samuel Genco, Mary Hoover, Adam Hughes, Jack McCray, Shannon Nixon, Daniel Pierce, Ron Robertson, Merle Szydlo, Kristy Woodfield, and Ruth Yancy-Walton. Beginning Friday, Ms. Yancy-Walton will be replaced by Karen Waterman.
Musicians who performed gentle, nostalgic music from more than a century past, to be sung and danced to by the actors were Adam McKillip on mandolin, Cody Hiller on violin, and Carol Svenson on keyboard. They performed such works as ''Softly and Tenderly,'' ''After the Ball,'' and ''Shall We Gather at the River.'' It's a very moving experience and I recommend it to you with enthusiasm.
The performances will continue through Sunday with most beginning with the tours at 8:30 p.m., followed immediately by the performances. There is a late night performance on Friday, and a daylight matinee on Sunday afternoon.
The entrance to Lake View Cemetery is located at the intersection of Buffalo Street and Lakeview Avenue.